Most chairmen’s letters describe how well everything went, under the circumstances, hoping the shareholders will buy it. Buffett’s stress the negative, knowing that they won’t. In the most recent report, immediately after observing that Berkshire Hathaway’s 18-year rise in book value represents a 22% compound annual rate of growth, he adds: “You can be certain that this percentage will diminish in the future. Geometric progressions eventually forge their own anchors.”
