Essays of warren buffett summary

But in many ways his reputation for sagacity is simply a by-product of a very basic, company-related project. What Buffett set out to do was to cultivate a certain type of shareholder for Berkshire — one that that understands and appreciates his long-run approach to investing. In other words, each additional letter is a part of a continuing conversation or, perhaps, monologue and each letter can be best appreciated within that larger context.

Their central theme is that fundamental analysis should guide business investment, a theme discussed in regard to understanding the proper roles of managers and shareholders, finance, mergers, valuation, and accounting.

Buffett has applied these principles as CEO since of Berkshire Hathaway, a textile business he purchased and transformed into a holding company that came to own completely or to have substantial stock holdings in a number of profitable companies.

Finally, in the last two sections, devoted to accounting matters, Buffett discusses the proper use of financial information. As the chief manager of Berkshire, he stresses here his role as a partner with the shareholders and asserts that his interest is identical with theirs: Buffett argues for the need for full and fair reporting by management.

CEOs, he says, should avoid predictions since these invariably create targets that lead to unwholesome maneuvering with regard to earnings statements. Buffett addresses the often-difficult relationship between boards and CEOs: These sorts of problems generally are not found in the companies Buffett has assembled for Berkshire, companies led by talented managers he admires whom he wishes to leave alone to do their jobs.

Managers of most public corporations in making charitable donations, Buffett points out, never solicit the opinion of their owner-shareholders. Another common problem in corporate America that Buffett has attempted to solve is how stock options benefit executives in a manner detached from their real job performance.

For managers of Berkshire companies, Buffett has designed an incentive compensation system that seeks to provide rewards on the basis of results achieved rather than stock price.

Corporate Finance and Investing The key to successful investing, Buffett posits, is to purchase shares in good businesses at times when market prices are at a large discount from business values.

This might seem commonsense, but Buffett points out that most institutional investors in the s, under the spell of business school professors who contended that markets were totally efficient in establishing stock prices, considered underlying business values to be of little importance.

Buffett uses the example of the hypothetical Mr. Market, a creation of his teacher, Ben Graham. Market spews out price quotations that reflect his severe emotional pathology.

A headache for many investors, this is good news for the wise investor able to insulate himself from these contagious emotions and make investment decisions based on the real values of businesses he can understand. Following this approach, such investors will find that times of declining stock prices provide the best opportunities.

Eventually, Buffett knows, the market will validate their decisions. Investment decisions, rather than being based on opinions about short-term market prospects, instead should reflect judgments about long-term prospects of specific companies.

What makes sense for a business owner is the same as what is smart for a shareholder: When it comes to conventional portfolio theory, Buffett disagrees with the popular notion of diversification in investing, arguing rather that investors should focus on what they understand.

His definition of the best businesses to own are those that over an extended period can employ large amounts of capital at very high rates of return. In acquiring such, whether they are complete companies or large share portions, he insists on the importance of a margin of safety: Alternatives to Common Stock In the selections making up this chapter, Buffett applies his principles to various investment categories areas that fulfill the criteria of being both understandable and offering good deals.

He stresses the need to comprehend specific business situations as opposed to following investing trends. Similarly, zero-coupon bonds at times made good investments, but these produced unfortunate results when issued by companies with weaker and weaker credit.

Buffett here also shows the breadth of his investment wisdom in discussions about convertible preferred stocks and about experiences with oil and silver investments. To make real this intention, he has sought to attract shareholders who have a long-term perspective rather than a short-term, market-oriented strategy.

Another area in which Berkshire has diverged from common corporate practices involves dividend policy. For each dollar retained by a corporation, Buffett believes that at least one dollar of market value should be created for the owners.

Berkshire has never paid a dividend.

It is all too common elsewhere for corporate managers to invest in subsidiary businesses that may inflate their egos but often provide poor returns. In keeping with the importance of maintaining a rational stock price and a business—rather than market—orientation, Berkshire has never split its stock.

The often-missed irony, Buffett points out, is that were the buying company to sell its entire business, it could likely get full intrinsic value.

However, in making an acquisition—which in fact involves a partial sale of itself via the issuing of shares—it can get a price no higher than what the market assigns it, which is frequently lower than intrinsic value. Berkshire strongly prefers to use cash instead of stock in buying companies.

Unusually for an acquiring company, Berkshire seeks to purchase companies from owners whom it wishes to retain as managers and who are promised autonomy to run their businesses. Buffett makes it clear that he especially prefers to buy from owners who have lovingly built businesses and will be most happy continuing to operate them, freed from having to deal with the various enticements to which generating excess cash would have subjected them.

He discusses the differences between accounting earnings and economic earnings, between accounting goodwill and economic goodwill, and between book value and intrinsic value.

As a set of conventions, accounting can be manipulated, demonstrated here in a satire by Ben Graham on how U. Steel could report greatly enhanced earnings without spending extra cash or increasing sales.

Accounting Policy and Tax Matters Whatever accounting methods are chosen, Buffett states that the key challenge is to report data that helps readers answer three questions:The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, published in , is compiled by Lawrence A.

Cunningham from the Essays of Warren Buffett. The editor prepares this collection of Buffett essays as the core of a symposium and standard text for his course in business practices.

Warren Buffett There are many ways to describe Warren Buffett such as genius, best investor of all time, down to earth, and full of wisdom.

Buffett is the second richest man on the planet and still seems to come off as an average person. The Essays of Warren Buffett Summary and Quotes The Essays of Warren Buffett Summary Every year for nearly the last half century, Warren Buffet has written an annual letter to his shareholders sharing his views and thinking on markets and investing.

The Essays of Warren Buffett PDF Summary, the Wizard of Omaha discusses various topics which will be interesting to both young and professional investors.

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America Summary & Study Guide includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis, quotes, character descriptions, themes, and more.

Warren Edward Buffett is an American investor, industrialist and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people/5.