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2013年股东大会 · 买入股票时,哪个财务指标是最重要的?

66 段 · 3 位说话人 · 原片 8:07
M1
M10:05

嗨,Warren 和 Charlie。

Hi, Warren and Charlie.

我叫 Vincent Wong,来自 Seattle。

My name is Vincent Wong from Seattle.

人们分析一只股票的时候,很多人会看一些量化指标,比如 P/E ratio、return on equity、debt-to-asset ratio,等等。

When people analyze a stock, a lot of them look at quantitative metrics such as P/E ratio, return on equity, debt-to-asset ratio, etc.

所以,Buffett 先生,当您分析一只股票、准备买入的时候,您最看重的五个量化指标是什么?每个指标您偏好的数值又是多少?

So, Mr. Buffett, when you analyze a stock for purchase, what's your top 5 quantitative metrics that you look at, and what's your preferred number for each metric?

谢谢。

Thank you.
M2
M20:40

这个嘛,我们看的是量化和定性的东西。

Well, we're looking at quantitative and qualitative.

我们不是在看股票本身的那些表面特征,我们看的是一家企业的特质。

We aren't looking at the aspects of the stock, we're looking at the aspects of a business.

这一点非常重要。

It's very important.

要有这样一种思维方式:我们是在买企业,不管我们买的是某个东西的一百股,还是把整家公司都买下来。

To have that mindset that we are buying businesses, whether we're buying 100 shares of something or whether we're buying the entire company.

我们始终把它们当成企业来看。

We always think of them as businesses.

所以,当 Charlie 和我翻看 Value Line,或者看送到我们桌上的 annual report,或者读报纸,不管是什么渠道,首先有一点,我们确实对很多行业、很多公司积累了长期的认知,当然,离“全都懂”还差得远。而且,不同的数字、各种数字,重要性都不一样,要看具体是哪一类企业。

So when Charlie and I leaf through Value Line or look at annual reports that come across our desk or read the paper or whatever it may be, that for one thing, we have a—we do have this cumulative knowledge of a good many industries and a good many companies, not all by a long shot. And different numbers are of different importance, or various numbers are of different importance, depending on the kind of business.

我的意思是,如果你是个篮球教练,你走在街上,有个身高五英尺四的人跑来跟你说,你应该签下我,因为你该看看我控球有多厉害,那你大概率一开始就会对这事有点天然的偏见。

I mean, if you were a basketball coach, you know, you would—if you were walking down the street and some guy comes up that's 5'4" and says, you know, you ought to sign me up because you ought to see me handle the ball, you would probably have a certain prejudice against it.

当然,也许真有那么一个球员,这种情况是说得通的;但总体来说,我们还是会说,祝你好运,孩子,不过你知道,我们是在找七英尺高的球员。然后就算我们找到了七英尺高的,还得再操心他们是不是协调性过得去、能不能继续待在学校之类的事。

But there might be some—there's one player out there that it made sense on, but on balance, we would say, well, good luck, son, but, you know, we're looking for 7-footers, and then if we find 7-footers, we have to worry about whether we can get them halfway coordinated and keep them in school and a few things like that.

不过,我们确实会看到某些东西,它们会很强烈地提醒我们:再深入看一看,或者再多想一层。

But we see certain things that shout out to us, look further, or think further.

这些年来,我们对各种类型的企业积累起了这样的背景知识。

And over the years, we've accumulated this background of knowledge on various kinds of businesses.

同时,我们也得出了一个结论:并不是所有类型的企业,我们都能做出有判断力的分析。

And we also have come up with the conclusion that we can't make an intelligent analysis about all kinds of businesses.

然后通常又会有某个小事实忽然冒出来,让我们重新思考原来的看法。

And then usually some little fact slips into view that causes us to rethink something.

刚才有人提到,我是在泡澡的时候想到去买 Bank of America,或者说,想到向 Bank of America 提出 preferred stock 的投资方案,这确实是真的。

It was mentioned how I got the idea about buying Bank of America, or making an offer to Bank of America on a preferred stock when I was in the bathtub, which is true.

不过,浴缸其实并不是关键因素。

But the bathtub really was not the key factor.

事实是,五十多年前我读过一本书,叫《Biography of a Bank》。

The truth is, I read a book more than 50 years ago called Biography of a Bank.

那是一本非常棒的书,讲的是 A.P. Giannini 和这家银行的历史。而且这么五十年来,我一直在关注 Bank of America,也一直在关注其他银行。

It was a great book about A.P. Giannini and the history of the bank, and I have followed Bank of America, and I followed other banks, you know, for 50 years.

Charlie 和我都买过银行。

Charlie and I have bought banks.

六十年代末的时候,我们还曾经在 Chicago 四处奔波,想多买一些银行。

We used to trudge around Chicago trying to buy more banks in the late '60s.

所以,当我们考虑一家银行时,我们脑子里会想的那些东西,跟我们买一辆二手车时会想的,当然完全不一样。

And so we have certain things we think about in terms of a bank that are different than we think about when we're buying a used car.

所以,并不存在一种放之四海而皆准的标准。

And so there is not one size fits all.

我们在买一家保险公司的时候,会考虑一些特定的东西。

We think about when we're buying an insurance company.

而在买一家依赖品牌的公司时,我们又会考虑另外一些特定的东西。

Then there's certain things we think about when we're buying a company dependent upon brands.

有些品牌非常容易跨地域传播,Coca-Cola 就是个绝佳的例子;而有些品牌则不行。

Some brands travel very well, Coca-Cola being a terrific example, and some brands don't travel.

而且,你知道,我们就是这样不断去学习这类事情。

And, you know, we just keep learning about things like that.

然后,时不时地,我们就会发现一些机会。

And then every now and then we find some opportunity.

Bank of America,呃,不管是在二零一一年的什么时候吧,当时市场上关于它有很多传言,情况很糟——我是说,做空仓位很多,士气也很低落,还有各种别的问题。

The Bank of America, uh, whenever it was in 2011, was subject to a lot of rumors, terrible— I mean, lots of big short interest, morale was terrible, and everything else.

我当时一下子觉得,Berkshire 如果去投这家银行,可能会对它有帮助,对我们来说也可能是笔合适的投资。

It just struck me that an investment by Berkshire might be helpful to the bank and might make sense for us.

而且到那个时候,我还从来没见过 Brian Moynihan。

And I'd never met Brian Moynihan at that point.

也许我在哪个活动上见过他吧,你知道,某个聚会之类的,但我完全没印象。

Maybe I'd met him at some function, you know, some party or something, but I had no memory of it.

我手上也没有他的电话号码,不过我还是给他打了个电话。

And I didn't have his phone number, but I gave him a call.

这种事就是会发生。

And things like that happen.

这不是因为我去精确计算什么市盈率,也不是什么市净率之类的,不管具体是什么指标。

And it's not because I calculate some price-precise P/E ratio or price-book value ratio or whatever it might be.

而是因为我对这家公司五年后或者十年后可能会是什么样子,有一个大致的判断,而且我对这个判断有相当程度的信心。

It is because I have some idea of what the company might look like in 5 or 10 years, and I have a reasonable amount of confidence in that judgment.

而且价格和价值之间有差距,这个差距还很大。

And there's a disparity in price and value, and it's big.

Charlie,你要不要再展开讲讲?

Charlie, would you like to elaborate?
M3
M35:03

我们不会只是看财务数字,再根据各种比率下判断,就知道该怎么买股票。

We don't know how to buy stocks just by looking at financial figures and making judgments based on ratios.

那些数据可能会对我们有一点影响,但我们还得更了解这家公司实际是怎么运作的。

We may be influenced a little by some of that data, but we need to know more about how the company actually functions.

凡是电脑能拿来做筛选的那一套。

Anything a computer could function to do in terms of screening.

我知道我自己是从来不用的。

I know I never do it.

你会用电脑来筛选什么东西吗?

Do you use a computer to screen anything?
M2
M25:32

不会,我都不知道怎么用。

No, I don't know how to.

Bill 到现在还在试着跟我解释这个。

Bill's still trying to explain it to me.

这个有点难说得特别准确,因为我们其实并不真正用筛选器。

It's a little hard to be precise on because we don't really use screens.

不过另一方面,我们其实又是在筛选所有东西,只是不是那种坐在那里说,你知道,我们要去看那些市净率低的,或者市盈率低的,或者类似那种东西。

On the other hand, we're screening everything, but it's not like we sit there and say, you know, we want to look at things that are low price-to-book value or low P/Es or something of the sort.

我们看一家企业的方式,跟别人直接走进来把整家公司卖给我们时,我们会怎么看,完全是一样的。然后我们会去想,这家公司五年后、十年后会是什么样子,我们对这个判断到底有多大把握?

We are looking at businesses exactly like we'd look at them if somebody came in and offered us the entire business, and then we try to think, what is this place going to look like in 5 or 10 years, and how sure are we of it?

而大多数——很多公司,你知道,我们就是不知道这个问题的答案。

And most— a lot of companies, you know, we just don't know the answer to it.

我们不知道十年以后哪家汽车公司会表现得特别出色,或者哪一家会惨到只能勉强撑着。

We do not know which auto company is going to, you know, be knocking the ball out of the park 10 years from now, or which one's going to be hanging on by its fingernails.

你知道,我们观察汽车行业已经五十年了。

You know, we've watched the auto business for 50 years.

这是个很有意思的行业,但对于这种行业,我们还做不到足够准确地预见未来。

It's a very interesting business, but we don't know how to foresee the future well enough on something like that.
M3
M36:37

我们认为,十五年后 Burlington Northern 依然会有竞争优势,这一点我们有非常高的把握。

We think that Burlington Northern will have a competitive advantage 15 years from now with a high degree of confidence.

但对 Apple,我们永远不可能有那种程度的把握,不管它的财务报表看起来多漂亮。

We would never have that degree of confidence about Apple, no matter what their financial statements showed.

这实在太难了。

It's just too hard.
M2
M26:55

对啊,比如说一家 oil company 十年以后会怎么样,我们并不知道,你知道,像它的产品到时候会卖什么价格之类的,我们都不知道。但我会说,对 Burlington Northern、GEICO,或者另外一些我就不点名的公司,我们几乎有百分之百的信心。

Yeah, we don't know about an oil company 10 years from now, you know, in terms of what the product will be selling for or anything, but I would say we're virtually 100% confident about a Burlington Northern or a GEICO or some other companies that I won't name.
M3
M37:13

那些智商很高、数学很好的人,天然会想找一种体系,让他们只要看看数学模型,就能知道该买什么证券。

People with very high IQs who are good at math naturally look for a system where they can just look at the math and know what security to buy.

事情没那么容易。

It's not that easy.

你真的得了解这家公司,了解它的竞争地位,以及它为什么会有这样的竞争地位。

You really have to understand the company and its competitive position and the reasons why its competitive position is what it is.

而这些东西,很多时候不是靠那些数学数字就能看出来的。

And that is often not disclosed by the math.
M2
M27:35

对,这不是我从 Ben Graham 那里学来的,虽然把股票看成企业来分析这种基本原则,还有看待市场的态度之类的东西,绝对仍然是那套教义的一部分。

Yeah, it's not what I learned from Ben Graham, although the fundamentals of looking at stocks as businesses and, and the attitude toward the market and all that is absolutely still part of the catechism.

不过,嗯,我不会——如果我只是想靠那些数字来管钱,我还真不知道自己具体会怎么做,因为那样做会做得很糟。

But, uh, I wouldn't— I don't know exactly how I would manage money if I was just trying to do it by the numbers that, uh, you do it poorly.

对,这个问题就说到这儿了。

Yeah, that takes care of that.

好,Carol。

Okay, Carol.