1979年 华伦·巴菲特 致股东的信.pdf

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1、BERKSHIREHATHAWAYINC.SHAREHOLDERLETTERSCHAIRMAN’SLETTERS1979TotheShareholdersofBerkshireHathawayInc.:Again,wemustleadoffwithafewwordsaboutaccounting.Sinceourlastannualreport,theaccountingprofessionhasdecidedthatequitysecuritiesownedbyinsurancecompaniesmustbecarriedonthebalancesheetatmarketvalue.

2、Wepreviouslyhavecarriedsuchequitysecuritiesatthelowerofaggregatecostoraggregatemarketvalue.Becausewehavelargeunrealizedgainsinourinsuranceequityholdings,theresultofthisnewpolicyistoincreasesubstantiallyboththe1978and1979yearendnetworth,evenaftertheappropriateliabilityisestablishedfortaxesoncapit

3、algainsthatwouldbepayableshouldequitiesbesoldatsuchmarketvaluations.Asyouknow,BlueChipStamps,our60%ownedsubsidiary,isfullyconsolidatedinBerkshireHathaway’sfinancialstatements.However,BlueChipstillisrequiredtocarryitsequityinvestmentsatthelowerofaggregatecostoraggregatemarketvalue,justasBerkshire

4、Hathaway’sinsurancesubsidiariesdidpriortothisyear.ShouldthesameequitiesbepurchasedatanidenticalpricebyaninsurancesubsidiaryofBerkshireHathawayandbyBlueChipStamps,presentaccountingprinciplesoftenwouldrequirethattheyendupcarriedonourconsolidatedbalancesheetattwodifferentvalues.(Thatshouldkeepyouon

5、yourtoes.)MarketvaluesofBlueChipStamps?equityholdingsaregiveninfootnote3onpage18.1979OperatingResultsWecontinuetofeelthattheratioofoperatingearnings(beforesecuritiesgainsorlosses)toshareholders?equitywithallsecuritiesvaluedatcostisthemostappropriatewaytomeasureanysingleyear’soperatingperformance

6、.Measuringsuchresultsagainstshareholders?equitywithsecuritiesvaluedatmarketcouldsignificantlydistorttheoperatingperformancepercentagebecauseofwideyear-to-yearmarketvaluechangesinthenetworthfigurethatservesasthedenominator.Forexample,alargedeclineinsecuritiesvaluescouldresultinaverylowMarketvalue

7、?networththat,inturn,couldcausemediocreoperatingearningstolookunrealisticallygood.Alternatively,themoresuccessfulthatequityinvestmentshavebeen,thelargerthenetworthbasebecomesandthepoorertheoperatingperformancefigureappears.T