Berkshire’s days of eye-popping profits are over, says Warren Buffett | World News – Business Standard

Warren Buffett warned Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that there is “no possibility of dazzling performance.” And that they ‘should do a little better’.

“There are only a handful of companies left in this country capable of truly leading Berkshire, and they have been endlessly acquired by us and others,” Buffett wrote.

Warren Buffett sought to reassure investors on Saturday that his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway would serve them well in the long run, even as he mourned the recent death of his longtime second-in-command Charlie Munger. In his widely read annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said there are very few deals that offer the kind of transformative impact that past acquisitions have had, such as the purchases of insurers Geico and National Indemnity or the BNSF Railroad. He also assured that his more than $900 billion conglomerate has become a fortress that could withstand even an unprecedented financial disaster and that “Berkshire is built to last,” Buffett wrote.

The letter was accompanied by Berkshire’s financial results, which included a record operating profit of $37.4 billion and net income of $96.2 billion for all of 2023. Berkshire’s shares have risen 4,384,748 percent since Buffett took over in 1965 .

First print: February 25, 2024 | 11:36 PM IST