The Essays of Warren Buffett
The Essays of Warren Buffett is a definitive source of the bestselling collection of timeless wisdom from the world’s greatest investor—Warren Buffett. Covering broad scopes of information and investing wisdom, Buffett’s letters shared his principles on sound investing, selecting managers, valuing businesses, using financial information profitably, and other vital topics for investors. It also covers various topics such as the financial crisis, housing bubble, corporate governance, Berkshire Hathaway's acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the role of oversight in heavily regulated industries, today's best investing opportunities, and the weaknesses of popular option valuation models.
Table of Contents
Introduction
- Corporate Governance
- Finance and Investing
- Investment Alternatives
- Common Stock
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Valuation and Accounting
- Accounting Shenanigans
- Accounting Policy
- Tax Matters
- A. Full and Fair Disclosure
- B. Boards and Managers
- C. The Anxieties of Business Change
- D. Social Compacts
- E. An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity
- F. A Principled Approach to Executive Pay
- G. Risk, Reputation and Oversight
- A. Mr. Market
- B. Arbitrage
- C. Debunking Standard Dogma
- D. “Value” Investing: A Redundancy
- E. Intelligent Investing
- F. Cigar Butts and the Institutional Imperative
- G. Life and Debt
III. Investment Alternatives
- A. Surveying the Field
- B. Junk Bonds
- C. Zero-Coupon Bonds
- D. Preferred Stock
- E. Derivatives
- F. Foreign Currencies and Equities
- G. Home Ownership: Practice and Policy
IV. Common Stock
- A. The Bane of Trading: Transaction Costs
- B. Attracting the Right Sort of Investor
- C. Dividend Policy and Share Repurchases
- D. Stock Splits and Trading Activity
- E. Shareholder Strategies
- F. Berkshire’s Recapitalization
- A. Bad Motives and High Prices
- B. Sensible Share Repurchases Versus Greenmail
- C. Leveraged Buyouts
- D. Sound Acquisition Policies
- E. On Selling One’s Business
- F. The Buyer of Choice
VI. Valuation and Accounting
- A. Aesop and Inefficient Bush Theory
- B. Intrinsic Value, Book value, and Market Price
- C. Look-Through Earnings
- D. Economic versus Accounting Goodwill
- E. Owner Earnings and the Cash Flow Fallacy
- F. Option Valuation
VII. Accounting Shenanigans
- A. A Satire on Accounting Shenanigans
- B. Standard Setting
- C. Stock Options
- D. “Restructuring” Charges
- E. Pension Estimates
- F. Realization Events
VIII. Accounting Policy
- A. Mergers
- B. Segment Data and Consolidation
- C. Deferred Taxes
- D. Retiree Benefits
IX. Tax Matters
- A. Distribution of the Corporate Tax Burden
- B. Taxation and Investment Philosophy
Epilogue
Concept Glossary
Disposition Summary