Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
Part One Introduction and Background 1
Chapter 1 The Thrill of Investing in Common Stocks 3
Chapter 2 1965-2009: Lessons from Significant Events in Berkshire History 9
Part Two Buffett Investing = Value + Growth 23
Chapter 3 Value Investing-It's Like Buying Christmas Cards in January 25
Chapter 4 Growth Investing 43
Chapter 5 Intrinsic Value 57
Chapter 6 Buffett Investing = Value + Growth 69
Part Three Other People's Money 87
Chapter 7 Insurance-Other People's Money 89
Chapter 8 Reinsurance: More of Other People's Money 99
Chapter 9 Tax Deferment: Interest-Free Loans from the Government 109
Part Four Success in Retailing, Manufacturing, and Utilities 113
Chapter 10 If You Don't Know Jewelry, Know Your Jeweler 115
Chapter 11 Compete Like Mrs. B 123
Chapter 12 Why Invest in Utility Companies? 129
Chapter 13 High Profits in Honest-to-Goodness Manufacturing Companies 137
Part Five Risk, Diversification, and When to Sell 143
Chapter 14 Risk and Volatility: How to Think Profitably About Them 145
Chapter 15 Why Hold Cash: Liquidity Brings Opportunities 155
Chapter 16 Diversification: How Many Baskets Should You Hold? 161
Chapter 17 When to Sell 169
Part Six Market Efficiency 175
Chapter 18 How Efficient Is the Stock Market? 177
Chapter 19 Arbitrage and Hedge Funds 185
Part Seven Profitability and Accounting 193
Chapter 20 M = Monopoly = Money 195
Chapter 21 Who Wins in Highly Competitive Industries? 205
Chapter 22 Property, Plant and Equipment: Good or Bad? 211
Chapter 23 Key to Success: ROE and Other Ratios 217
Chapter 24 Accounting Goodwill: Is It Any Good? 223
Part Eight Psychology 229
Chapter 25 How Much Psychology Should You Know? 231
Chapter 26 How to Learn from Mistakes 243
Part Nine Corporate Governance 249
Chapter 27 Dividends: Do They Make Sense in This Day and Age? 251
Chapter 28 Should You Invest in Companies That Repurchase Their Own Shares? 257
Chapter 29 Corporate Governance: Employees, Directors, and CEOs 263
Chapter 30 Large Shareholders: They Are Your Friends 273
Conclusion B = Baseball = Buffett 277
Appendix A Summary of the Book 281
Notes 283
About the Author 295
Index 297
