巴菲特致股东的信（2020年）⑦一个可能让你吃惊的数字

A Berkshire Number that May Surprise You

一个可能让你吃惊的数字

Recently, I learned a fact about our company that I had never suspected: Berkshire owns American-based property, plant and equipment – the sort of assets that make up the “business infrastructure” of our country – with a GAAP valuation exceeding the amount owned by any other U.S. company. Berkshire’s depreciated cost of these domestic “fixed assets” is $154 billion. Next in line on this list is AT&T, with property, plant and equipment of $127 billion.

最近，我了解到一个关于我们公司的事实，以前我从未意识到：伯克希尔拥有的美国本土的房产、厂房和设备——构成我国"商业基础设施"的那类资产——其通用会计准则估值超过了任何其他美国公司。伯克希尔这些国内"固定资产"折旧后的成本为1,540亿美元。紧随其后的是美国电话电报公司 (AT&T)，房产、厂房和设备价值1,270亿美元。

Our leadership in fixed-asset ownership, I should add, does not, in itself, signal an investment triumph. The best results occur at companies that require minimal assets to conduct high-margin businesses – and offer goods or services that will expand their sales volume with only minor needs for additional capital. We, in fact, own a few of these exceptional businesses, but they are relatively small and, at best, grow slowly.

我要补充一句，我们在固定资产持有金额上的领先地位，本身并不意味着投资的成功。最好的结果出现在那些只需极少资产就能经营高利润率生意的公司——而且这些公司的产品或服务只需要少量额外资本就能扩大销售。事实上，我们也拥有几家这样的杰出企业，但它们规模相对较小，增长也比较缓慢。

Asset-heavy companies, however, can be good investments. Indeed, we are delighted with our two giants – BNSF and BHE: In 2011, Berkshire’s first full year of BNSF ownership, the two companies had combined earnings of $4.2 billion. In 2020, a tough year for many businesses, the pair earned $8.3 billion.

不过，重资产公司也可以成为好投资。事实上，我们对自己的两大巨头——BNSF和BHE——非常满意。2011年，也就是伯克希尔完全拥有BNSF的第一个全年，两家公司合计利润为42亿美元。2020年，对许多企业来说是艰难的一年，但这对搭档赚了83亿美元。

BNSF and BHE will require major capital expenditures for decades to come. The good news is that both are likely to deliver appropriate returns on the incremental investment.

BNSF和BHE在未来几十年将需要大量的资本支出。好消息是，两家公司都很可能为增量投资带来合适的回报。

Let’s look first at BNSF. Your railroad carries about 15% of all non-local ton-miles (a ton of freight moved one mile) of goods that move in the United States, whether by rail, truck, pipeline, barge or aircraft. By a significant margin, BNSF’s loads top those of any other carrier.

让我们先看看BNSF。你们的铁路承运了美国所有非本地货物吨英里数（一吨货物运送一英里）的约15%，无论是铁路、卡车、管道、驳船还是飞机运输。BNSF的运输量以显著的优势领先于所有其他承运商。

The history of American railroads is fascinating. After 150 years or so of frenzied construction, skullduggery, overbuilding, bankruptcies, reorganizations and mergers, the railroad industry finally emerged a few decades ago as mature and rationalized.

美国铁路的历史引人入胜。在经历了大约150年的疯狂建设、坑蒙拐骗、过度扩张、破产、重组和合并之后，铁路行业终于在几十年前走向成熟与合理化。

BNSF began operations in 1850 with a 12-mile line in northeastern Illinois. Today, it has 390 antecedents whose railroads have been purchased or merged. The company’s extensive lineage is laid out at http://www.bnsf.com/bnsf-resources/pdf/about-bnsf/History_and_Legacy.pdf.

BNSF于1850年在伊利诺伊州东北部以一条12英里长的线路起家。如今，它已经收购或合并了390家前身铁路公司。该公司详尽的历史沿革可以在以下网址找到：http://www.bnsf.com/bnsf-resources/pdf/about-bnsf/History_and_Legacy.pdf

Berkshire acquired BNSF early in 2010. Since our purchase, the railroad has invested $41 billion in fixed assets, an outlay $20 billion in excess of its depreciation charges. Railroading is an outdoor sport, featuring mile-long trains obliged to reliably operate in both extreme cold and heat, as they all the while encounter every form of terrain from deserts to mountains. Massive flooding periodically occurs. BNSF owns 23,000 miles of track, spread throughout 28 states, and must spend whatever it takes to maximize safety and service throughout its vast system.

伯克希尔在2010年初收购了BNSF。自收购以来，BNSF已在固定资产上投入了410亿美元，比其折旧费用多出200亿美元。铁路运输是一项户外运动，一英里长的列车必须在严寒和酷暑中可靠运行，同时穿越从沙漠到山脉的各种地形。大规模洪水也会周期性地发生。BNSF拥有23,000英里的铁路轨道，遍布28个州，它必须不惜代价在其庞大的系统中确保安全和服务质量。

Nevertheless, BNSF has paid substantial dividends to Berkshire – $41.8 billion in total. The railroad pays us, however, only what remains after it both fulfills the needs of its business and maintains a cash balance of about $2 billion. This conservative policy allows BNSF to borrow at low rates, independent of any guarantee of its debt by Berkshire.

尽管如此，BNSF向伯克希尔支付了丰厚的股息——累计418亿美元。当然，BNSF只有在满足了自身业务需求并保持约20亿美元现金余额之后，才把剩余部分支付给我们。这种保守的策略使BNSF能够以较低的利率借款，而不依赖伯克希尔对其债务提供任何担保。

One further word about BNSF: Last year, Carl Ice, its CEO, and his number two, Katie Farmer, did an extraordinary job in controlling expenses while navigating a significant downturn in business. Despite a 7% decline in the volume of goods carried, the two actually increased BNSF’s profit margin by 2.9 percentage points. Carl, as long planned, retired at yearend and Katie took over as CEO. Your railroad is in good hands.

关于BNSF还有一点要说：去年，CEO卡尔·艾斯 (Carl Ice) 和他的二把手凯蒂·法默 (Katie Farmer) 在业务大幅下滑期间出色地控制了开支。尽管货运量下降了7%，两人竟然还将BNSF的利润率提高了2.9个百分点。按照既定计划，卡尔在年底退休了，凯蒂接任CEO。你们的铁路交到了好手里。

BHE, unlike BNSF, pays no dividends on its common stock, a highly-unusual practice in the electric-utility industry. That Spartan policy has been the case throughout our 21 years of ownership. Unlike railroads, our country’s electric utilities need a massive makeover in which the ultimate costs will be staggering. The effort will absorb all of BHE’s earnings for decades to come. We welcome the challenge and believe the added investment will be appropriately rewarded.

与BNSF不同，BHE的普通股不支付股息，这在电力公用事业行业极为罕见。在我们21年的持有期间，这种斯巴达式的政策始终如一。与铁路不同，我们国家的电力设施需要大规模改造，最终成本将是惊人的。这项工程将在未来几十年消耗BHE所有的利润。我们欢迎这个挑战，并相信增加的投资会获得适当的回报。

Let me tell you about one of BHE’s endeavors – its $18 billion commitment to rework and expand a substantial portion of the outdated grid that now transmits electricity throughout the West. BHE began this project in 2006 and expects it to be completed by 2030 – yes, 2030.

让我来说说BHE的一项事业——它承诺投入180亿美元来重建和扩展目前向整个美国西部输送电力的老旧电网中的相当大一部分。BHE在2006年启动了这个项目，预计2030年完工——没错，2030年。

The advent of renewable energy made our project a societal necessity. Historically, the coal-based generation of electricity that long prevailed was located close to huge centers of population. The best sites for the new world of wind and solar generation, however, are often in remote areas. When BHE assessed the situation in 2006, it was no secret that a huge investment in western transmission lines had to be made. Very few companies or governmental entities, however, were in a financial position to raise their hand after they tallied the project’s cost.

可再生能源的兴起使我们的项目成为一项社会必需。历史上，长期主导的燃煤发电厂都建在大型人口中心附近。然而，风能和太阳能发电的最佳地点往往在偏远地区。2006年BHE评估形势时，西部输电线路需要巨额投资已不是什么秘密。然而，在算完项目费用后，很少有公司或政府机构有财力站出来承接。

BHE’s decision to proceed, it should be noted, was based upon its trust in America’s political, economic and judicial systems. Billions of dollars needed to be invested before meaningful revenue would flow. Transmission lines had to cross the borders of states and other jurisdictions, each with its own rules and constituencies. BHE would also need to deal with hundreds of landowners and execute complicated contracts with both the suppliers that generated renewable power and the far-away utilities that would distribute the electricity to their customers. Competing interests and defenders of the old order, along with unrealistic visionaries desiring an instantly-new world, had to be brought on board.

应该指出的是，BHE决定推进这个项目，是基于对美国政治、经济和司法制度的信任。在产生可观收入之前，必须先投入数十亿美元。输电线路必须跨越各州和其他管辖区的边界，每个地方都有自己的规则和利益群体。BHE还需要与数百名土地所有者打交道，并与可再生能源的发电供应商以及远方的公用事业配电公司签订复杂的合同。既得利益者和旧秩序的捍卫者，以及那些渴望一夜之间建成新世界的不切实际的理想主义者，都得一一打交道。

Both surprises and delays were certain. Equally certain, however, was the fact that BHE had the managerial talent, the institutional commitment and the financial wherewithal to fulfill its promises. Though it will be many years before our western transmission project is completed, we are today searching for other projects of similar size to take on.

意外和延误是必然的。不过同样可以肯定的是，BHE拥有管理才能、机构层面的坚定承诺和充足的财力来兑现自己的承诺。虽然我们的西部输电项目还要多年才能完工，但我们今天已经在寻找其他类似规模的项目。

Whatever the obstacles, BHE will be a leader in delivering ever-cleaner energy.

无论遇到什么障碍，BHE都将在提供更清洁能源方面发挥领导作用。