Buffett's letter due tomorrow amid rising rates and recession fears

Warren Buffett's widely read annual letter to shareholders is scheduled to be posted tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 7 a.m. Central Time (8 a.m. Eastern) on the Berkshire Hathaway website.

The company's Q4 financials results and annual 10-K report, including some details on the May 6 shareholder meeting, will be released at the same time.

In a "what to expect" piece on CNBC.com, Yun Li writes the letter comes as interest rates, and recession worries, have been rising.

She quotes University of Maryland finance professor David Kass as saying, "Interest rates are the main determinant of equity prices, to quote Buffett, so I think I’m looking for and expecting a discussion on interest rates."

Kass also thinks Buffett may comment on how relatively high yields for Treasurys have made holding onto Berkshire's nearly $109 billion in cash, as of the end of September, less painful.

And with private equity and other competitors having to borrow at those higher rates, Kass notes that Buffett and Berkshire may have an advantage in the hunt for companies to acquire because they have plenty of money on hand.

Bill Stone, the CIO at Glenview Trust, says, "As a shareholder, what I’m most excited about is an update on the underlying operating business.

"We’ve already seen the publicly traded portfolio. I’m frankly more interested in how well the underlying businesses are operating and his view of the strengths and weaknesses."

CFRA analyst Catherine Seifert wants to know, "What (if any) corrective actions is Berkshire taking to remedy" problems at Berkshire's GEICO auto insurer, which has had consecutive quarters of underwriting losses.

She notes that many other auto insurers have raised premium rates to counter adverse claim trends.

BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET

Some links may require a subscription

• Investor's Business Daily: Warren Buffett Refuses To Part With 21 Beloved Stocks

• CNN Business: Warren Buffett is missing out on this year’s market comeback

• Yahoo Finance (video): Warren Buffett’s most important lessons on investing and portfolio growth, according to Lee Munson

• Barron's (subscription): Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Could Get an Energy-Stock Payoff

• Barrton's (subscription): Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Still Doesn’t Hold Earnings Conference Calls. It Should.

• Forbes: Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy And Hold In 2023

BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

BERKSHIRE'S TOP U.S. STOCK HOLDINGS - Feb. 24, 2023

Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly-traded U.S. stocks, and BYD, by market value, based on today's closing prices.

Holdings are as of December 31, 2022 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on February 14, 2023, except for:

• Apple, Bank of America, and Chevron, which also include shares held as of December 31, 2022 as disclosed in New England Asset Management’s 13F filing on February 14, 2023
• BYD, which is as of February 3, 2023

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)

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Also, Buffett's annual letters to shareholders are highly-recommended reading. There are collected here on Berkshire's website.

-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch