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FEBRUARY 27, 2010, 8:11 A.M. ET<\/small>
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By Scott Patterson
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Download the 2009 Warren Buffett Letter & 2009 Annual Report to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders<\/a>
<\/pre>\n A strong stock market and a steady stream of premiums from its vast insurance holdings helped Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bounce back last year from a rough 2008, but it underperformed the broader market, results released early Saturday showed. <\/p>\n
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.) <\/p>\n
In his widely read annual letter<\/a>, Warren Buffett reported that Berkshire in 2009 gained 19.8% to $84,487 in book value per share from $70,530 last year, a common metric the company uses to track performance. That marks a strong rebound from 2008, when book value per share slid 9.6%, the biggest decline since Buffett took over the company in 1965 when it was a family-run East Coast textile manufacturer. <\/p>\n In dollar terms, it was one of the biggest annual increases in Berkshire’s shareholder equity on record. <\/p>\n
Still, it was less than the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index’s return of 26.5% in 2009. The year marked only the seventh time Berkshire has trailed the index under Buffett. <\/p>\n
Since 1965, Berkshire has gained 20.3%, compared with the S&P 500’s 9.3% total return. In mid-February, Berkshire entered the S&P 500, opening up the company to a broader range of investors. <\/p>\n
Berkshire’s Class A shares gained just 3% in 2009. Still, Berkshire appears to be recovering solidly as the economy pulls out of its steep dive. Its shares have been on a roll of late as well, gaining nearly 20% since early November, when Berkshire said it planned to purchase the railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26 billion. The stock joined the S&P earlier this month.<\/p>\n
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