Warren Buffett calls out a spike in deceptive earnings, bemoans a lack of bargains, and trumpets Berkshire Hathaway's 'Four Giants' in his shareholder letter

In his annual letter to his shareholders on Saturday, Warren Buffet called out a spike in deceptive adjustments to corporate earnings.

He criticized a lack of stock-market bargains, highlighted his company's scale and tax contributions, and mourned the chief of one of his subsidiaries.

The BNSF railroad generated a record $6 billion of earnings in 2021. He pointed out that the figure was net of interest, tax, and other costs, unlike how some companies have presented their profits recently.

As stocks have risen, deceptive and fanciful adjustments to earnings have become more frequent.

The centibillionaire and unabashed bargain hunter lamented the lack of attractive deals on the stock market.

He noted that at the end of December, his company had over $150 billion in cash and short-term investments.

The Four Giants account for a big chunk of the value of the company. The difference between premiums and claims has ballooned from $19 million in 1967. On December 31, he highlighted the $161 billion value of the 5.6% stake in Apple that he had in his stock portfolio.

BNSF is the number one artery of American commerce and the earnings of the company have grown from $122 million to a record $4 billion under his ownership.

The CEO highlighted that his company has over $150 billion of domestic infrastructure assets, and paid $3.3 billion in federal income tax last year.

TTI is an electronic-components distributor that is owned by Berkshire. The company started with $500 of savings in 1971 and grew to over $7 billion last year.

The investor recalled agreeing to acquire TTI after a single meeting with Andrews in 2006 and noted that the executive declined salary bumps for years.

Finally, he thanked the shareholders for trusting him to be the steward of their savings. He encouraged attendees to buy a pontoon party boat designed by Jimmy Buffet and manufactured by Forest River, which will be on sale during the weekend of the meeting, as he confirmed his company plans to hold its famous shareholder meeting in person this year.

Warren Buffet is facing rampant inflation and interest rate hikes. Luis Torras warns that many investors will succumb to the challenges.