This Has Been a Huge Win for Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A)

As an aside, it’s also important to note that Berkshire yet again raised its stake in Marmon late in the fourth quarter of 2012, bringing it to 90%. Additionally, according to its most recent 10-K, Berkshire will purchase the remaining 10% sometime in 2014 with a price to be determined from an existing formula based on Marmon’s future earnings.

Of course, any one of Berkshire’s “powerhouse five” could easily be considered a fantastic business in its own right. After all, that is why Buffett bought each of them in the first place. However, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s comprehensive value becomes much more apparent when you combine those businesses with its world-class insurance operations, which not only provided a $1.6 billion underwriting profit in 2012, but the float from which also gave Buffett more than $73 billion in free money to invest.

As we look at Berkshire from a broader standpoint, this also goes to show just how relentless and effective Buffett’s efforts have been to diversify his company’s income streams. In addition, considering the fact that Buffett still has a cash pile of least $15 billion pegged for acquisitions (even after putting $12 billion to work last month for a 50% stake in H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ)), you can bet it won’t be long before he adds another elephant to the ranks of his powerhouse brands.

Foolish final thoughts
In the end, I’m reminded of a comment last year from a friend of mine when he joked that Berkshire was his favorite “mutual fund.” There’s certainly some truth to the statement, but I think even that doesn’t do justice to the depth of Berkshire’s enviable moat.

As Buffett wrote in his 2011 shareholder letter, “When you look at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), you are looking across corporate America.” Thanks to his unparalleled good judgment, though, it might be more accurate to rephrase that statement as “When you look at Berkshire, you are looking across [the best of] corporate America” (addition mine).

The article This Has Been a Huge Win for Buffett originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Steve Symington.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway and H.J. Heinz Company. The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway.

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