Shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (Class A) have finished the year with a gain of 21.4 percent for 2010, far outperforming the benchmark S&P’s 12.8 percent gain, excluding dividends.
The win reverses Buffett’s defeat in 2009, when the S&P’s 23.5 percent advance clobbered Berkshire’s 2.7 percent gain.
Berkshire has beaten the S&P in four of the past five years, and six of the past ten years.
Berkshire Hathaway Stock vs. S&P 500 Index Annual Gains |
| Year | BRK.A Close | BRK Pct. Change | S&P Close | S&P Pct. Change |
| 2010 | 120,450 | +21.4% | 1257.64 | +12.8% |
| 2009 | 99,200 | +2.7% | 1115.10 | +23.5% |
| 2008 | 96,600 | -31.8% | 903.25 | -38.5% |
| 2007 | 141,600 | +28.7% | 1468.36 | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 109,990 | +24.1% | 1418.30 | +13.6% |
| 2005 | 88,620 | +0.8% | 1248.29 | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 87,900 | +4.3% | 1211.92 | +9.0% |
| 2003 | 84,250 | +15.8% | 1111.92 | +26.4% |
| 2002 | 72,750 | -3.8% | 879.82 | -23.4% |
| 2001 | 75,600 | +6.5% | 1148.08 | -13.0% |
| 2000 | 71,000 | +26.6% | 1320.28 | -10.1% |
| 1999 | 56,100 | -19.9% | 1469.25 | +19.5% |
| 1998 | 70,000 | +52.2% | 1229.23 | +26.7% |
| 1997 | 46,000 | +34.9% | 970.43 | +31.0% |
| 1996 | 34,100 | +6.2% | 740.74 | +20.3% |
| 1995 | 32,100 | +57.4% | 615.93 | +34.1% |
| 1994 | 20,400 | +25.0% | 459.27 | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 16,325 | +38.9% | 466.45 | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 11,750 | +29.8% | 435.71 | +4.5% |
| 1991 | 9,050 | +35.6% | 417.09 | +26.3% |
| 1990 | 6,675 | -23.1% | 330.22 | -5.8% |
| 1989 | 8,675 | +84.6% | 350.67 | +26.3% |
| 1988 | 4,700 | +59.3% | 277.72 | +12.4% |
| 1987 | 2,950 | +4.6% | 247.08 | +2.0% |
| 1986 | 2,820 | +14.2% | 242.17 | +14.6% |
| 1985 | 2,470 | +93.7% | 211.28 | +26.3% |
| 1984 | 1,275 | -2.7% | 167.24 | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 1,310 | +69.0% | 164.93 | +17.3% |
| 1982 | 775 | +38.4% | 140.64 | +14.8% |
| 1981 | 560 | +31.8% | 122.55 | -9.7% |
| 1980 | 425 | +32.8% | 135.76 | +25.8% |
| 1979 | 320 | +110.5% | 107.94 | +12.3% |
| 1978 | 152 | +10.1% | 96.11 | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 138 | +55.1% | 95.10 | -11.5% |
| Average | +27.5% | +8.9% |
Source: CNBC
7cp2zy Good point. I hadn’t thought about it quite that way. 🙂