2024 Letter to Shareholders

To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

In 2024, Berkshire Hathaway again demonstrated the power of its unique structure. Our insurance operations generated record float—now exceeding $170 billion—that serves as permanent, cost-free capital for investments. This float is the foundation of our competitive advantage and will outlast all of us.

"Insurance float is the greatest financial asset Berkshire owns. It costs us nothing as long as we maintain our underwriting discipline."

The Insurance Moat

Ajit Jain and his team achieved outstanding results in 2024. Our reinsurance operations wrote business at margins that would be impossible for competitors constrained by normal capital requirements. We can accept volatility that others cannot stomach.

The GEICO story illustrates why scale matters. In 2024, GEICO's direct digital sales platform continued gaining market share, with policies in force growing by over 500,000. Our data advantage—built on 88 years of loss experience—allows us to price risks more accurately than any competitor.

Energy and Infrastructure

Berkshire Hathaway Energy continued its mission of building infrastructure for the next century. In 2024, we completed over 2,000 miles of new transmission lines, enabling renewable energy from the Great Plains to reach population centers. These investments earn reasonable returns and serve a critical national need.

Our regulated utilities in Utah, Nevada, and Iowa provide essential services day in and day out. They are not exciting businesses, but they are essential ones—and that is exactly the kind we prefer.

Major Equity Holdings

Apple remains our largest investment. At year-end, our stake was worth over $150 billion. Apple's ecosystem has only strengthened since we first invested. Users who join the Apple universe tend to stay, and the company continues to invest heavily in R&D to maintain its technological lead.

American Express is a business that has compounded earnings for decades and shows no signs of stopping. The network effects of its payments system create an ever-widening moat. Every merchant that accepts Amex makes the card more valuable for every holder.

Succession and Culture

Greg Abel completed his first full year as CEO, and the transition could not have gone more smoothly. Greg has absorbed the Berkshire culture that Charlie Munger and I built. He thinks like an owner, acts with integrity, and makes decisions with a 50-year horizon.

Our board is actively engaged and properly incentivized. Directors own meaningful stakes in Berkshire, so their interests align perfectly with other shareholders. This structure will endure.

The American System

Once again, the American economy proved its resilience. Despite predictions of recession, employment remained strong, consumer spending held up, and corporate profits continued to grow. The "American system"—private enterprise, rule of law, democratic institutions—continues to generate prosperity.

Our task at Berkshire is simple: find wonderful businesses, overpay slightly, and hold forever. This strategy has worked for 59 years and will continue to work. The key is patience and avoiding the temptation to do something—anything—just because markets are noisy.

Looking Forward

We do not know what 2025 will bring. We do know that:

1. Our insurance float will compound — Every year it grows, our investment firepower increases
2. Our businesses will earn good returns — We own essential services in growing markets
3. Our culture will endure — Greg and the board will maintain what we built
4. America will create opportunities — We will be ready to seize them

Thank you for your continued trust.

Warren E. Buffett February 2025