“Since 1965 both the S&P and BRKA have undergone three, distinct periods of growth.”

I need to correct this statement. The S&P 500 index and BRKA saw four, distinct periods of growth from 1965-2024. In late 2011 the P/E on the S&P bottomed at 13, down from 33 in late 1999, but, as everyone knows (even me when I’m not sleeping), the P/E then rose to 29 in late 2024. The annualized return of the index from Dec 1999 through Dec 2011 was 0.7%, and from Dec 2011 through Dec 2024 was 15%. Wake up, rrr13245.

Meanwhile the annualized return of BRKA from Dec 1999 through Dec 2011 was 6%, and from Dec 2011 through Dec 2024 was 15%.

When we split 2000-2024 into two periods, we get the following growth rates from 1965 through 2024:

Period…………… S&P 500 index………. BRKA stock price
1965-1980……….. 3%........................ 19%
1981-1999………. 13%........................ 27%
2000-2011…..…….1%......................... 6%
2012-2024………. 15%…………………….................15%

Please forgive my error. This correction does not change my intentionally provocative forecast for the next 20 years, which remains 4%/yr growth for the S&P 500 and 7%/yr growth for BRKA. Valuations, especially on the S&P 500 index, are predicted to fall.