The Money Man Behind Rick Santorum: Who Is Foster S. Friess?
Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
In its annual letter to shareholders, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) reported net income of $8.1 billion and revenue of $112 billion for 2009. That's an improvement over the net income of $5.0 billion and revenue of $108 billion in 2008. However, net income in 2007 totaled $13.2 billion.
In dollar terms, the conglomerate's book value rose 19.8% last year to $21.8 billion, or $84,487 per share. That was the best gain since 2003, but trailed the S&P 500's return of 26.5% for the year.
Berkshire Hathaway's shareholder base was greatly increased last month when the company was included in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index after the company agreed to split its Class B shares as part of its acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe. About $1 trillion in assets is held by millions of investors in index and mutual funds that track the S&P 500.
The letter from Chairman Warren Buffett also discussed the company's transformation in recent years away from cash-generating financial operations such as insurance toward a capital-intensive industrial conglomerate with big holdings in utilities and railroads. Buffett said the "ever-growing collection of good to great businesses should produce above-average, though certainly not spectacular, returns in the decades ahead."
While the company's underlying returns rebounded strongly, there was weakness in several economically sensitive operating units. Its utilities and energy units gained $1.1 billion in 2009, down from $2.3 billion in 2008. Earnings from manufacturing, service and retailing operations fell to $1.1 billion from $2.3 billion the previous year.
Berkshire's Class A shares gained only about 3% in 2009. However, shares have gained nearly 20% since the announcement that it planned to purchase Burlington Northern Santa Fe in November.
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
