The question is; how many Congressional districts does me feel like buying this fall?
February 24, 2018
By Adam Shell
Warren Buffett (click here) got right to the point Saturday in his folksy and blunt annual letter to investors.
The billionaire and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway highlighted a $29 billion tax gain for his company, bemoaned a lack of good deals and reminded his readers that owning stocks through low-cost index funds was the best way to build wealth over time.
Buffett's yearly check-in with his company's shareholders is a closely watched event on Wall Street and Main Street. He is among the world's best investors, and his insights and nuggets of wisdom on the economy and financial markets, as well as his investment advice, are always in demand.
In 2017, Berkshire saw its net worth grow $65.3 billion, boosting its per share book value by 23%, according to Buffett's letter, published on Saturday. He noted, however, that only $36 billion came from Berkshire’s business operations.
"The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the U.S. Tax Code," he explained. The new law cut the corporate income tax rate to 21% from 35%, a change that has seen boosting the earnings of scores of U.S. companies....
...He let investors know why Berkshire, which is now sitting on a record $116 billion in cash, didn't pull the trigger on any mega-deals last year.
The biggest thing missing from the deals Buffett eyed was one of the key qualities he looks for when buying a company: "a sensible purchase price."
"That requirement proved a barrier to virtually all deals we reviewed in 2017, as prices for decent, but far from spectacular, businesses hit an all-time high," Buffett wrote.
Too many CEOs chased deals because they were given the go ahead, and they ignored price, he claimed....
