Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters
Warren Buffett's annual letters to shareholders from 1970 to present, documenting Berkshire's evolution and investment philosophy.
The Buffett Letters
Since 1971, Buffett has written annual letters to Berkshire shareholders. These letters are considered the most important investment writing of the 20th century.
Nomad Letters to Partners 2001-2014
Nick Sleep's complete collection of letters to Nomad Investment Partnership partners covering 13 years of investment philosophy and portfolio evolution
Berkshire Hathaway Thanksgiving Message 2025
Buffett's announcement of Greg Abel succession and reflection on his life
2024 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 2024 annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
2023 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 2023 annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
2022 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 2022 annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
Martin Capital Management 2022 Annual Report
Frank Martin's annual report covering 2022 market performance, Fed policy impact, and investment philosophy
2021 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 2021 annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
2020 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 2020 letter during the COVID-19 pandemic
Berkshire Hathaway Letter 2019
Buffett's famous retained earnings essay and insurance strength
2018 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2018 letter explains the $20.6 billion unrealized loss under new GAAP rules, shows quarterly swings from $25.4B loss to $18.5B profit, and emphasizes operating earnings grew 41%.
2017 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2017 letter explains why most of the gain came from unrealized investment gains, discusses the new GAAP rule on mark-to-market, and emphasizes operating earnings strength.
2016 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2016 letter discusses the shift from securities to operating businesses, explains the book value limitations, and reviews Berkshire's diverse business portfolio.
2015 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2015 letter discusses Kraft Heinz impairment, the shift from securities to operating businesses, and explains why book value increasingly understates intrinsic value.
2014 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2014 letter celebrates 50 years of Berkshire, discusses the Kraft Foods deal, explains why intrinsic value exceeds book value significantly, and emphasizes patience in investing.
2013 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2013 letter discusses the 'Powerhouse Five' businesses earning $12.4 billion, explains book value vs intrinsic value gap, and announces Heinz performance.
2012 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2012 letter announces the Heinz partnership with 3G Capital, explains the 'elephant hunting' continues, and discusses the five-year winning streak.
2011 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2011 letter introduces Todd Combs and Ted Weschler as future investment managers, discusses the Lubrizol acquisition, and emphasizes succession planning.
2010 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2010 letter emphasizes Berkshire's unmatched financial strength, announces $8 billion U.S. capital investment commitment, and discusses the 'Mr. Market' analogy for market prices.
2009 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2009 letter discusses the BNSF acquisition, explains Berkshire's 'normal earning power' of $17 billion, and defends American resilience during the financial crisis.
2008 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 2008 letter during the financial crisis, famously titled "The Leveraging of the American Dream"
2007 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2007 letter warns about the coming housing bubble, introduces the 'swimming naked' analogy, and discusses Iscar and TTI acquisitions.
2006 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2006 letter discusses GEICO's 47% productivity gain, explains why Berkshire is 'a big business' not by design, and notes that only 1 of 10 largest 1965 companies remains in 2006 list.
2005 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2005 letter discusses Katrina's $3.4 billion impact, GEICO's 32% productivity improvement, and introduces the four-group business classification system.
2004 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2004 letter explains why $43 billion in cash is 'not a happy position,' admits to striking out on acquisitions, and discusses the '35 years of normal returns' illusion.
2003 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2003 letter discusses the shift from stocks to whole businesses, explains why large capital limits opportunities, and reviews the 'unforced errors' environment at Berkshire.
2002 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2002 letter beats S&P by 32.1 percentage points, discusses the 'pro-forma earnings' problem, and explains why Berkshire's actual earnings exceeded their pro-forma figures.
2001 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2001 letter is the first negative year since 1990, discusses the post-9/11 world, explains the 'two inflationary surpluses' concept, and reviews theGen Re scandal.
2000 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 2000 letter discusses the 'new economy' bubble, explains why Berkshire doesn't pay dividends, and announces the sale of flight-services business while keeping NetJets.
1999 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1999 letter admits his worst absolute and relative performance ('a D in capital allocation'), discusses Jordan's Furniture and MidAmerican acquisitions, and explains why S&P returns will be lower going forward.
1998 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1998 letter discusses the General Re acquisition, explains why 48.3% book value gain 'is not as good as it looks,' and announces the need to earn $58 billion in five years for 15% growth.
1997 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1997 letter introduces the 'Duck Rating' analogy, explains why Berkshire's tax burden hurts relative performance, and discusses the high-priced market environment.
1996 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1996 letter introduces the dual-column intrinsic value table (investments per share vs. operating earnings per share), discusses GEICO's transformation, and announces the FlightSafety acquisition and Class B shares.
1995 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1995 letter announces three acquisitions (Helzberg, R.C. Willey, GEICO), explains the dual approach of buying whole businesses and minority stakes, and introduces the 'Skim Milk masquerades as cream' analogy.
1994 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1994 letter explains why 'fat wallet is the enemy of superior investment results,' introduces the Ted Williams hitting analogy, and discusses the $100 million minimum investment threshold.
1993 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1993 letter discusses the Dexter Shoe acquisition, GAAP changes affecting unrealized gains, and introduces Ben Graham's 'voting machine vs weighing machine' quote.
1992 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1992 letter presents the annual performance chart comparing Berkshire vs S&P 500, discusses the Salomon aftermath, and explains why issuing shares requires 'equal value.'
1991 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1991 letter introduces the 'Second Job' concept (Salomon chairmanship), explains the bacteria analogy for capital base limits, and discusses the H.H. Brown acquisition.
1990 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1990 letter discusses the 'big four' stock holdings performance, the Salomon interim chairmanship, and explains why 15% growth requires $5.3 billion capital.
1989 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1989 letter introduces the bacteria analogy for growth limits, explains 'double-dip' gains are over, and discusses the $712 million tax bill.
1988 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1988 letter explains why 15% growth now requires $10.3 billion vs $3.9 billion four years ago, and announces the Borsheim's jewelry acquisition.
1987 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1987 letter reveals the Sainted Seven earned 57% ROE vs 30% for Fortune's best 1000 companies, explains why book value and intrinsic value often diverge.
1986 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1986 letter introduces 'The Sainted Seven' businesses earning 57% ROE, explains why hiring 'bigger than we are' creates giants, and discusses capital allocation.
1985 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1985 letter announces 48.2% gain (matching Halley's Comet appearance), explains why 23% annual returns are impossible going forward due to size, and discusses the Capital Cities/ABC acquisition and Scott & Fetzer.
1984 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1984 letter discusses the drag of a growing capital base on returns, explains why 22% annual returns are history and 15% will require 'big ideas'.
1983 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's classic 1983 letter articulates Berkshire's core partnership principles including 'we eat our own cooking' and the $1 retained = $1 market value test.
1982 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1982 letter introduces 'economic earnings' vs 'accounting earnings', using GEICO's $23M excluded earnings to demonstrate how accounting distorts reality.
1981 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1981 letter discusses non-controlled ownership earnings, explains why buying 10% at X beats 100% at 2X, and introduces the 'elephant' acquisition metaphor.
1980 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1980 letter explains the iceberg theory of earnings - that conventional accounting only shows less than half of Berkshire's true earnings power, with retained earnings at non-controlled companies often exceeding reported operating earnings.
1979 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1979 letter introduces the 'investor's misery index' concept, explaining how inflation plus taxes can turn 20% returns into zero real gains, while announcing 18.6% ROE.
1978 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1978 letter covers the Diversified Retailing merger, insurance excellence, and introduces the concept of concentrating holdings in businesses that can be understood and are priced attractively.
1977 Shareholder Letter
Warren Buffett's 1977 letter discusses excellent insurance results, introduces the concept of return on equity as the proper measure of managerial performance, and explains why he remains in the textile business despite poor returns.
1976 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1976 letter announces strong recovery with 17.3% ROE and $16.47 per share, with National Indemnity's combined ratio improving dramatically from 115.4 to 98.7.
1975 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1975 letter announces worst ROE since 1967 at 7.6%, explains why inflation creates disproportionate problems for insurance, and discusses the V-shaped textile recovery.
1974 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1974 letter announces worst ROE since 1970 at 10.3%, warning about insurance industry underreserving and the destructive combination of 1% monthly cost increases with flat premiums.
1973 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1973 letter discusses 17.4% ROE despite stock portfolio losses, Jack Ringwalt's retirement, and the transition to Phil Liesche while maintaining faith in long-term stock investments.
1972 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1972 letter announces record 19.8% return on equity, explains why exceptional underwriting profits contain the seeds of future problems, and highlights three key acquisitions that built Berkshire's foundation.
1971 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1971 letter announces 14% return on equity, discusses insurance excellence driven by favorable conditions, and explains the Home-State expansion strategy with key acquisitions like Home & Auto.
1970 Shareholder Letter
Buffett's 1970 letter discusses the transition from Buffett Partnership to Berkshire, noting textile operations break-even performance despite industry difficulties while insurance and banking delivered strong returns.
Berkshire Hathaway Letter 1969
1969 annual report on banking acquisition and textile exit
Berkshire Hathaway Letter 1968
1968 annual report on entry into publishing business
Berkshire Hathaway Letter 1967
1967 annual report marking entry into insurance business
Berkshire Hathaway Letter 1966
1966 annual report on textile market challenges and financial restoration
Berkshire Hathaway Letter 1965
1965 annual report showing first profitable year under new management
About These Letters
Investment Philosophy
Buffett explains intrinsic value, margin of safety, and the importance of long-term thinking.
Business Analysis
Deep dives into Berkshire's insurance operations, acquisitions, and capital allocation.
Historical Record
50+ years of documented investment thinking and business judgment.
Must-Read
The 2008 and 2020 letters are especially relevant for crisis investing.