Buffet kirjutab enda 2015 kirjas
In the GAAP-compliant figures we show on page 38, amortization charges of $1.1 billion have been
deducted as expenses.
…
I suggest that you ignore a portion of GAAP amortization costs. But it is with some trepidation that I do
that, knowing that it has become common for managers to tell their owners to ignore certain expense items that are
all too real. “Stock-based compensation” is the most egregious example. The very name says it all: “compensation.”
If compensation isn’t an expense, what is it? And, if real and recurring expenses don’t belong in the calculation of
earnings, where in the world do they belong?
…
Our public reports of earnings will, of course, continue to conform to GAAP. To embrace reality, however,
you should remember to add back most of the amortization charges we report
…
Though we sold no Kraft Heinz shares, “GAAP” (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) required us
to record a $6.8 billion write-up of our investment upon completion of the merger. That leaves us with our
Kraft Heinz holding carried on our balance sheet at a value many billions above our cost and many billions
below its market value, an outcome only an accountant could love.