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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: The Rules Are Stacked in Your Favor

One of the most influential books the young Warren Buffett read was Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor. Buffett has called it “By far the best book on investing ever written.”

In chapter 8 of the book, Graham famously anthropomorphizes the actions of the stock market into the erratic “Mr. Market.” Graham wrote that sometimes the prices for stocks that Mr. Market quotes are reasonable, but sometimes “Mr. Market lets his enthusiasm or his fears run away with him, and the value he proposes seems to you a little short of silly.”

“It’s a marvelous game,” Warren Buffett said at the 2012 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “The rules are stacked in your favor, if you don’t turn those rules upside down and start behaving like the drunken psychotic instead of the guy that’s there to take advantage of it.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Pilot Flying J

Pilot Company and Kodiak Robotics Partner to Bring Self-Driving Truck Services to Pilot and Flying J Travel Centers

Pilot Company, the largest operator of travel centers in North America, announced today a strategic partnership with Kodiak Robotics, Inc., a leading self-driving trucking company. Through this partnership, Pilot Company and Kodiak are collaborating to develop autonomous truck services at Pilot and Flying J travel centers.

Pilot Company and Kodiak are in the process of creating an autonomous truckport in the Atlanta area to evaluate potential service offerings and explore scalable solutions. These services will include spaces to pick-up and drop-off autonomous trucking loads; conduct inspections; maintain and refuel trucks; and the ability to transfer data for processing, such as feature development and mapping. To strengthen the ability to work together to develop a solution that works best for its customers, Pilot Company has made a strategic investment in Kodiak and will join the company’s Board of Directors.

“Pilot Company is committed to providing best in class service to its customers today and going forward,” said John Tully, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Pilot Company. “In making this strategic investment, we understand that our customers have a need for real solutions that help address the growing demand to move goods and Kodiak is a strong leader in the autonomous trucking space. As we explore the future of autonomous trucks and how we can best support these customers, we will continue to be the travel center network that the trucking industry and professional drivers can count on for the services and care they need.”

Combining Pilot Company’s nationwide network of travel centers and services with Kodiak’s technology will play a crucial role in the deployment of autonomous trucks. Kodiak will lend its expertise as Pilot Company looks to integrate autonomous truck services into its operations. The partnership will further define service and maintenance requirements, operational necessities, facilities planning, and more to meet the needs of autonomous trucks.

“Pilot Company’s industry-leading network of highway-adjacent travel centers provides unprecedented geographic reach for the launch and scale of Kodiak’s fast-growing network of autonomous trucking lanes,” said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics. “Their customer first approach, with a focus on technology, scale, and infrastructure, makes Pilot Company an ideal partner to support the service and maintenance of self-driving trucks nationwide. We are honored to have Pilot Company as an investor, strategic partner, and supporter of our continued commercial footprint growth.”

Kodiak entered a hyper-growth phase in 2022, significantly expanding its service footprint and partner network. In July, the company announced a partnership with 10 Roads Express, a provider of time sensitive surface transportation for the U.S. Postal Service, expanding the company’s service to Florida. Earlier this year, Kodiak announced a new route between Dallas and Oklahoma City with CEVA Logistics and a route between Dallas and Atlanta with U.S. Xpress. The company has been delivering freight commercially since 2019 and currently has six routes that run regularly between Dallas and Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Jacksonville, Florida.


Berkshire Hathaway and Pilot

In 2017, Berkshire Hathaway made a $2.76 billion investment in Pilot, obtaining an initial 38.6 percent stake in the company, and Berkshire will become the majority owner in 2023.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Expands on Mexico’s Pacific Coast

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has announced that Applegate Realtors, one of the most respected real estate agencies in Puerto Vallarta and the Banderas Bay region, has joined the global network and will operate as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Applegate Realtors.

The company will be owned and operated by Moray Applegate, an industry veteran who has more than 25 years of experience in the Puerto Vallarta real estate market. As one of the most respected real estate agencies in Puerto Vallarta and the Banderas Bay region, the company will continue to nourish relationships with previous clients as well as build relationships with new clients.

“Joining forces with a renowned brand like Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices allows us to provide an added level of global exposure to our clients and listings,” said Moray Applegate, Broker and Owner, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Applegate Realtors. “Our company culture is built on trust and integrity, and it was important that we aligned ourselves with a brand that values these same principles.”

“The real estate market in Puerto Vallarta continues to flourish,” said Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “Moray and his incredible team have a passion for and are highly respected in this market, and we are proud to welcome them as an affiliate.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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BYD

BYD’s July EV Sales Up 183% Over 2021

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

In July 2022, Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD sold a total of 162,530 new energy vehicles, which includes 162,214 new energy passenger vehicles.

The sales represent a 183% YOY increase from July 2021.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $7.69 billion as of December 31, 2021.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: When It Comes to Investing, You Don’t Have to Have Original Ideas

If you are songwriter and you copy somebody else’s song, you are going to get sued for plagiarism. However, when it comes to investing, there is no downside to copying someone else’s strategy, as long as you understand it. Warren Buffett credits reading Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor and Phil Fisher’s Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits for many of his ideas.

“I think you can learn a lot from other people,” Warren Buffett said at the 1995 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “In fact, I think, if you learn reasonably well from other people, you don’t have to get any new ideas or do much on your own. You can just apply the best of what you see.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Mouser Electronics

Mouser Electronics Announces Major Expansion of Global Distribution Center

Berkshire Hathaway’s Mouser Electronics recently broke ground on a 416,000-square-foot, three-story building that will expand its distribution center, located south of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

“With a larger warehouse space and continuing investment into automation and staffing, Mouser is preparing for the future while ensuring the highest levels of customer service today,” says Pete Shopp, Mouser Electronics’ Senior Vice President of Business Operations. “The tools and systems we’ve put in place offer another way we can help shorten our customers’ time to market.”

Upon completion of the new construction, Mouser’s 78-acre global headquarters and massive distribution center will consist of almost 1.5 million square feet to accommodate Mouser’s vast inventory of 1 million unique SKUs for products and technologies from over 1,200 electronic component manufacturers. The new building will feature a triple-mezzanine floorplan, advanced automation, and a skybridge connector to the existing distribution center building. Altogether, the new addition will solidify Mouser’s place as having some of the most advanced receiving, order pulling, and shipping departments in e-commerce.

In spring 2022, Mouser completed installation of 120 vertical lift modules (VLMs), the largest VLM installation in the world. VLMs are essentially giant vertical filing cabinets, complete with shelves and an automated extractor to bring the components to the employee’s workstation. This increases efficiency and floor space and can reduce an employee’s walking time by 45% or more.

In addition to the massive VLM installation, Mouser’s distribution center features multiple Ultipack and I-Pack machines — a sophisticated automated system for sealing and labeling shipments that can process up to 14 orders per minute — as well as an OPEX Perfect Pick system for consolidation and an AutoStore system.

Though the adoption of start-of-the-art automation acts primarily as a means of boosting efficiency, productivity, accuracy and speed, the systems also enable more sustainable operations and improved customer satisfaction.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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BYD

BYD Makes Fortune’s Global 500 List

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD, one the world’s leading manufacturers of new energy vehicles, has been named to the Fortune Global 500 list.

Fortune noted that BYD’s aggregate sales increase of 19% is the highest annual growth rate in the list’s history.

BYD’s high-tech enterprise encompasses a product line that includes battery electric automobiles, heavy duty electric vehicles including transit buses and Class 8 trucks, rail transit products including SkyRail, Type D and Type A battery electric school buses, material handling and new energy solutions and electronic devices.

Backed by its innovative technologies, such as the Blade Battery, DM-i super hybrid technology, and the e-platform, BYD sold 730,093 passenger vehicles in 2021, including 593,745 new energy passenger vehicles, with a YoY increase of 231.6%. In the first half of 2022, BYD sold 638,157 new energy passenger vehicles, up 324.8% YoY.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $7.69 billion as of December 31, 2021.

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: You Don’t Need to Be Good at Market Timing, Just Investing

Warren Buffett is living proof that you don’t have to spend your energy timing the stock market to be a successful investor. As Buffett notes, “we haven’t the faintest idea what the stock market is going to do when it opens on Monday.” For Buffett, more important than trying to time the market, is recognizing when a particular stock is undervalued.

“I totally missed, you know, in March of 2020,” Warren Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “We have not been good at timing. We’ve been reasonably good at figuring out when we were getting enough for our money. And we had no idea when we bought anything (well, we always hoped it would go down for a while so we could buy more) and we hoped even after we were done buying and ran out of money that if it was cheap the company would keep buying, in effect, taking our interest up. I mean, that’s stuff you can learn it in fourth grade. But it’s not what’s taught in school.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Brooks

Brooks Running Achieves Double-Digit Growth in Q2

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s running shoe and fitness apparel company, Brooks Running, for the second consecutive quarter holds the top spot in the U.S. adult performance running footwear market with 21% market share based on revenue, and continued its momentum with record global revenue, up 11% compared to the second quarter of 2021.

In the face of ongoing economic and supply chain stressors, Brooks began to meet strong demand in May, keeping the company on track for projected double-digit revenue growth in 2022.

Brooks captured five of the top 25 adult performance running footwear shoes at U.S. retail in the first half of 2022: the Ghost 14, Adrenaline GTS 22, Adrenaline GTS 21, Revel 5, and Glycerin 19. The Ghost and Adrenaline maintained their positions as the top two selling franchise lines in the U.S. market, with a combined 14% of sales revenue.

“We’ve seen great excitement over our revolutionary nitrogen-infusion technology and the launch of our Glycerin 20 franchise, and we look forward to bringing the carbon neutral Ghost 15 to runners this November,” said CEO Jim Weber. “By spreading the run and its energy to an even greater number of individuals across the globe, Brooks has captured double-digit growth with more to come in the second half of this year.”

The running market around the world continues to normalize after the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruptive impact on consumer behavior, retail markets, and the supply chain. While the running footwear market in the U.S. was down 10% in Q2 versus last year, Brooks’ long-term growth outlook remains positive as global participation is expected to grow coming out of the pandemic and outpace historical trends.

Manufacturing recovery allowed Brooks to fully meet demand beginning in May and launch the highly anticipated Glycerin 20 franchise in June, both key factors in achieving 12% revenue growth in the U.S. and 38% revenue growth in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions in the second quarter. Brooks also began a soft launch into the China market in Q2, focusing on digital sales. With over 20 million people in China running, the country represents a large market for premium running footwear, with over $1.5 billion in sales and 13 million pairs sold annually.

Brooks gains insight through human and science-based research to deliver products for any type of runner. Brooks launched its latest footwear innovation in engineered midsole technology with the nitrogen-infused DNA LOFT v3. This technology allows Brooks to control cell structures and density in its midsoles, fine-tuning the underfoot experience of each style to meet the different needs, preferences, and environments of runners.

Developed through the brands’ BlueLine Lab, this nitrogen-infused technology provides more cushioning in the midsole without sacrificing weight. Road runners and trail runners can reap the benefits when wearing the Glycerin 20 franchise or Caldera 6 shoes. Brooks will continue to invest in technology to bring innovation into more products that deliver the performance gear that every runner deserves.

Brooks was back to in-person running events this past quarter, engaging runners in the community and representing the brand at the highest levels of the sport. Four Brooks athletes competed at the World Athletics Championships, and the brand gathered the nation’s top high school runners to compete in the Brooks PR Invitational and attempt a personal record (PR). Now in its 10th year, the event saw the fastest U.S. time recorded in the girls’ 400m in 2022 and a record in the boys’ mile.

This August, Brooks launched a global brand campaign, “It’s Your Run.” The campaign is a celebration of the creative ways all types of runners get to their personal finish lines. Built on the insight that running can be hard for even for the most committed runners, the campaign focuses on the creative ways that runners achieve their best run.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Announcements

Berkshire Adds $100 Million to Cash Pile

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

No matter how much Berkshire Hathaway seems to spend on stock purchases and acquisitions, it always seems to end up with even more cash. And you can add an additional $100 million to its cash pile.

Seritage Growth Properties, a national owner and developer of 161 retail, residential and mixed-use properties, announced that on August 5, 2022, the Company made a voluntary prepayment of $100 million toward its $1.6 billion term loan facility provided by Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska. With the prepayment, $1.34 billion of the term loan facility remains outstanding.

At June 30, 2022, Berkshire’s insurance float was approximately $147 billion, relatively unchanged from the end of the prior quarter.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.