Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter to Shareholders 2022

Warren Buffett's 2022 annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders reports record operating earnings of $30.8 billion, which Buffett defines as GAAP income excluding capital gains or losses from equity holdings. Buffett cautions that GAAP figures — which swung from -$43.8 billion in Q2 to +$18.2 billion in Q4 — are '100% misleading when viewed quarterly or even annually.' The letter highlights the acquisition of Alleghany Corporation, a property-casualty insurer, which helped grow Berkshire's insurance float from $147 billion to $164 billion in 2022. Buffett revisits the Coca-Cola and American Express positions — each originally purchased for $1.3 billion in the 1990s — noting that annual dividends from Coke have grown to $704 million and from Amex to $302 million, with the holdings now valued at $25 billion and $22 billion respectively. Buffett defends value-accretive share repurchases, arguing that critics who call all buybacks harmful are 'either an economic illiterate or a silver-tongued demagogue.' He also notes Berkshire paid $32 billion in federal corporate income taxes over the decade ending 2021, roughly one-tenth of 1% of all Treasury receipts. The letter closes with Buffett reaffirming a long-term constructive view on the U.S. economy, stating he has 'yet to see a time when it made sense to make a long-term bet against America.'