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Shares of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway lost almost a third of their value in 2008, but the stock still managed to outperform the benchmark S&P 500 stock index for the third consecutive year.
Berkshire's Class A shares ended the year at $96,600 each. That's a drop of 31.8 percent from 2007's closing price of $141,600. It's Berkshire's worst performance in the roughly three decades for which we have data.
The S&P fell 38.5 percent during 2008, excluding dividends, its worst year since 1931.
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CNBC.com Photo Illustration |
Berkshire suffered steep losses in the fourth quarter of the year. On September 19, it closed at its highest point of the year: $147,000.
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Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) in blue vs. the S&P 500 (SPX) in orange, during 2008 |
The lowest close of the year came just two months later: $77,500 on November 20. That's a drop of 47.3 percent over 8 weeks. Apparently sparking the selling: Berkshire's disappointing third quarter earnings report, including big paper losses on long-term bets that stocks will eventually recover.
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Over the past three years, Berkshire's stock is up 9.0 percent, while the S&P is down 27.6 percent.
Since 1977, Berkshire has outperformed the S&P in 24 out of 32 years. Buffett's average annual gain is 28.4 percent, compared to 8.3 percent for the S&P.
Here's the updated scorecard. Berkshire's winning years are highlighted in blue.
Berkshire Hathaway Stock vs. S&P 500 Index Annual Gains |
| Year | BRK.A Close | BRK Pct. Change | S&P Close | S&P Pct. Change |
| 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 | +28.4% | +8.3% |
Happy New Year from Warren Buffett Watch, and from everyone at CNBC and CNBC.com.
Current Berkshire stock prices:
Class A: [US;BRK.A
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Class B: [US;BRK.B
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Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes