“In all of our communications, we try to make sure that no single shareholder gets an edge: We do not follow the usual practice of giving earnings guidance or other information of value to analysts or large shareholders. Our goal
Berkshire’s Repurchase Policy: Too Little, Too Late?
Berkshire Hathaway acquired $928 million of its own stock during the third quarter of 2018 through a series of purchases of Class A and Class B shares from August 7 to 24. A repurchase of this size, relative to the
Thoughts on Share Repurchases and Capital Allocation
The concept of share repurchases is not particularly complicated. Repurchase programs allow companies to allocate capital toward purchasing its own shares either on public marketplaces or through privately negotiated transactions. Capital allocation is one of the most important recurring functions
Book Review: University of Berkshire Hathaway
“It can’t possibly be this easy!” A first time attendee of a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting might find it hard to believe that there could be any skeptics in the crowd. In contrast to the boring, useless, and perfunctory meetings
Highlights from Markel’s 2016 Annual Letter
Intelligent investors should be skeptical when reading about companies that could be the “next Berkshire Hathaway” or executives who resemble a “younger Warren Buffett”. The reality is that very few companies have even a remote chance of replicating Berkshire’s 20.8