The Essays of Warren Buffett

The Essays of Warren Buffett, edited by Lawrence A. Cunningham, is not a book written by Buffett in the conventional sense but a curated compilation of his annual shareholder letters to Berkshire Hathaway, organized thematically rather than chronologically. First published in 1997 and periodically revised, it distills decades of Buffett’s thinking into sections covering corporate governance, finance and investing, investment alternatives, common stock, mergers and acquisitions, accounting, and taxation. Its central framework is owner-oriented business thinking: Buffett argues that shareholders should be treated as partners, that managers should act as owners, and that a company’s primary test is whether it creates intrinsic value per share over time. The book develops his distinction between “look-through earnings” and reported earnings, his preference for businesses with durable competitive advantages (“economic franchises” or “moats”), and his insistence on a margin of safety in purchases. It also presents his critique of EBITDA, stock options, and accounting gimmicks that obscure true economic performance. Recurring arguments include the folly of predicting market cycles, the value of concentration over diversification for knowledgeable investors, and the importance of temperament over intellect. Through examples such as See’s Candies, Coca-Cola, and Berkshire’s insurance operations, Buffett illustrates how capital allocation, float, and rational buybacks drive compounding. The collection remains a primary source for understanding his investment philosophy and Berkshire’s corporate culture.