Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements: The Search for the Company with a Durable Competitive Advantage

by Mary Buffett, David Clark Narrated by Karen White

Overview

Mary Buffett and David Clark clearly outline Warren Buffett's strategies in a way that will appeal to newcomers and seasoned Buffettologists alike. Inspired by the seminal work of Buffett's mentor, Benjamin Graham (The Interpretation of Financial Statements, 1937), this book presents Buffett's interpretation of financial statements with anecdotes and quotes from the master investor himself.



Potential investors will discover:



-Buffett's time-tested dos and don'ts for interpreting an income statement and balance sheet



-Why high research and development costs can kill a great business



-How much debt Buffett thinks a company can carry before it becomes too dangerous to touch



-The financial ratios and calculations that Buffett uses to identify the company with a durable competitive advantage-which he believes makes for the winning long-term investment



-How Buffett uses financial statements to value a company



-What kinds of companies Warren stays away from no matter how cheap their selling price



Once audiences complete and master Buffett's simple financial calculations and methods for interpreting a company's financial statement, they will be well on their way to identifying which companies are going to be tomorrow's winners-and which will be the losers that should be avoided at all costs.



Destined to become a classic in the world of investment books, Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements is the perfect companion volume to The New Buffettology and The Tao of Warren Buffett.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Just as top musicians memorize scales, and the best golfers perfect swings at the driving range, investors who want sustainable, good returns must master the critical basics that Mary Buffett and David Clark lay out for us in this clear explanation of Warren Buffett's methods. I don't think there has been a better time for investors to relearn the fundamentals. Follow these methods and you will see results!" - Timothy P. Vick, senior portfolio manager, The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company, and author of How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett

OCTOBER 2009 - AudioFile

Narrator Karen White keeps a professorial distance from this fascinating lesson on how the richest man in the world predicts long-range company profitability. She measures her enthusiasm as she unfolds one technical concept after another but is consistent in her tone of admiration for Buffet’s famously down-to-earth outlook. The authors are Buffett insiders—one a financial expert and ex-Buffett daughter-in-law, the other a money manager and family friend. They write concisely about the financial characteristics (such as minimal capital expenditures and low debt-to-shareholder-equity ratio) that Buffett wants companies to have. They know how to explain accounting metrics with accessible language and connect Buffett's benchmarks to practical aspects of market success that everyone will understand. This is a financial asset for all independent investors. T.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170663545
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	12/08/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1
Two Great Revelations That Made Warren the Richest Person in the World

In the mid-sixties Warren began to reexamine Benjamin Graham's investment strategies. In doing so he had two stunning revelations about what kinds of companies would make the best investments and the most money over the long run. As a direct result of these revelations he altered the Graham-based value investment strategy he had used up until that time and in the process created the greatest wealth-investment strategy the world has ever seen.

It is the purpose of this book to explore Warren's two revelations —

1. How do you identify an exceptional company with a durable competitive advantage?

2. How do you value a company with a durable competitive advantage?

— to explain how his unique strategy works, and how he uses financial statements to put his strategy into practice. A practice that has made him the richest man in the world. Copyright © 2008 by Mary Buffett and David Clark

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