NEW YORK Not even Mr Warren Buffett, one of the worlds most successful investors, was immune in 2022 to whipsawing markets.
But as his conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, reported a big loss, the billionaire executive urged shareholders to focus on the long term and the underlying health of his empire, which includes insurance, railroads, energy and stock holdings in the likes of Coca-Cola, American Express and more.
Berkshire reported on Saturday that it lost US$22.8 billion (S$30.8 billion) in 2022, driven by US$53.6 billion in unrealised losses on its investments. That mirrored the experience of other investors, who were hit by market volatility as inflation rose swiftly and central banks responded by rapidly raising interest rates.
But in his annual letter to shareholders, Mr Buffett pointed to the companys operating earnings, which are drawn from its underlying businesses and exclude those paper investment values. On that basis, Berkshire earned a record US$30.8 billion in 2022.
And its holdings of cash and equivalents have grown to US$125 billion, giving Mr Buffett more firepower to invest in stocks and, potentially, buy new companies.
Factoring Berkshires investment performance into its overall returns is 100 per cent misleading, he wrote, since those results are likely to change easily from quarter to quarter.
Berkshires vast business empire is often seen as a microcosm of American industry. And many of its subsidiaries reported being hurt by the broader economic forces affecting the United States.
Weaknesses included Berkshires consumer products businesses, which in 2022 reported a 23 per cent drop in earnings from 2021, hurt by lower demand and higher costs for raw materials and shipping. In its annual report, Berkshire said it expected continued soft demand in 2023, and planned to right-size its operations and reduce product inventories.
The conglomerates core insurance businesses, which generate the cash that powers Mr Buffetts vast investments, also reported underwriting losses from catastrophic events, including hurricanes, and a rise in auto claims at Geico.
And BNSF Railway, whose parent company is a subsidiary of Berkshire, reported a slight drop in earnings in large part because of the rising cost of fuel and lower volumes of shipments.
Still, Mr Buffett professed continued faith in the resilience of the US. I have yet to see a time when it made sense to make a long-term bet against America, he wrote. NYTIMES More On This Topic SoftBank loses another $7.9 billion as founder Masayoshi Son skips earnings call for first time China Renaissance shares extend loss after chairman goes missing