Walmart Inc.

Why Berkshire paid too much for Kraft

“particularly in the case of Amazon and Walmart and their reaction to it, and Costco, and Aldi”

RARE Charlie Munger 2017 Daily Journal AFTER Interview

“Do you think Walmart can turn into Sears? Well, not for a long time.”

Afternoon Session - 2024 Meeting

“the Walton family would be the number one thing in Walmart and certainly Bill did the same thing at Bill Gates did the same thing at Microsoft”

RWH037: Celebrating Charlie Munger w/ Mohnish Pabrai, Tom Gayner, Joel Greenblatt, & Chris Davis

“we blew Walmart, too, when it was a total cinch.”

RWH037: Celebrating Charlie Munger w/ Mohnish Pabrai, Tom Gayner, Joel Greenblatt, & Chris Davis

“he added, we blew Walmart, too, when it was a total cinch.”

RWH037: Celebrating Charlie Munger w/ Mohnish Pabrai, Tom Gayner, Joel Greenblatt, & Chris Davis

“we blew Walmart, too, when it was a total cinch”

Learning from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger w/ Chris Davis

“watching the changing narratives around Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates or Sam Walton and Walmart”

Learning from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger w/ Chris Davis

“watching the changing narratives around Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates or Sam Walton and Walmart”

Afternoon Session - 2023 Meeting

“I'm from Bentonville, Arkansas, home of Walmart. I'm her shareholder since 2019”

Afternoon Session - 2023 Meeting

“Walmart does a great job of distribution for us, and it's a good product for Walmart. It's a good product for us.”

Daily Journal Annual Meeting 2023 — Munger Q&A

“I've talked with Doug McMillon of Walmart, who carries around in his wallet, like on him, he carries around a list of the top retailers”

"People on the extremes of both sides are a little nuts"

“no problem owning Costco or Walmart, you know, and a substantial number of their stores”

2021 Annual Meeting Highlight Reel

“we have no problem owning Costco or Walmart, you know, and a substantial number of their stores”

Part 1 - 2021 Meeting

“We have no problem owning Costco or Walmart, you know, and a substantial number of their stores.”

Part 1 - 2021 Meeting

“Berkshire Hathaway Energy and 12 other companies, including the apples of the world, Google, Walmart, committed to Paris”

Morning Session - 2019 Meeting

“the position of the retailer relative to the brands... Amazon and Walmart and their reaction to it, and Costco, and Aldi”

Buffett: "I was wrong" on Kraft Heinz | February 25, 2019

“the really strong brands, they can go toe to toe with Walmart or Koshka or whomever it may be.”

Buffett: "I was wrong" on Kraft Heinz | February 25, 2019

“I've seen other figures on retail that are strong. you know, including Walmarts, but I would say our retail”

Buffett: "I was wrong" on Kraft Heinz | February 25, 2019

“Walmart's done a very, very, very, very good job. You had Doug McMillan on”

Criticizing the cryptocurrency craze | May 7, 2018

“their hand becomes stronger as the Costco's and the Walmarts and in other countries as other countries.”

Morning Session - 2018 Meeting

“you'll get Walmart and some other 7-Eleven on the other side of the deal”

Buffett's health care partnership is "determined" to contain costs | February 26, 2018

“I mean, I admire enormously Walmart and Costco. They sell cigarettes, do I think cigarettes are good.”

"I was wrong" on IBM | August 30, 2017

“you get particularly strong retailers, a Walmart, a Costco, and now on Amazon, and they keep getting stronger, their position improves.”

Afternoon Session - 2017 Meeting

“Walmart was more productive than department stores, and that will continue in America”

Morning Session - 2017 Meeting

“We blew one, we blew Walmart too. When it was a total cinch, we were smart enough to figure that out and we didn't.”

Afternoon Session - 2017 Meeting

“We bought it from Walmart. And Walmart is our biggest customer. I can't tell you the precise volume, but, well, to get Walmarts and Sam's together”

Afternoon Session - 2017 Meeting

“Walmart wanted to sell it. They came to see us, and we made a deal. The CFO came. We talked for a while...we said what we would pay. It was cash. And we got it done very promptly, and they were terrif”

Buffett buys airlines and Apple | February 27, 2017

“Walmart's a fabulous company. And what Sam Walton's successors did, I mean, that's one of the great stories of American business.”

Buffett buys airlines and Apple | February 27, 2017

“not Walmarts pushing forward online themselves. And they have got all kinds of strengths.”

Buffett on Trump vs. Clinton, Brexit, and Amazon's Bezos | May 2, 2016

“Let's talk about another big retailer and another one that came up over the weekend, and that is Walmart. You're in an interesting position with Walmart”

Buffett on Trump vs. Clinton, Brexit, and Amazon's Bezos | May 2, 2016

“I believe that Walmart's online business, and this may be worldwide, I'm not sure about the figure, but you know, you're talking $12 or $14 billion”

Buffett on Trump vs. Clinton, Brexit, and Amazon's Bezos | May 2, 2016

“Walmart is a terrific customer. And incidentally, historically, they've had a reputation for being very tough on suppliers.”

Buffett on Trump vs. Clinton, Brexit, and Amazon's Bezos | May 2, 2016

“they're a huge, powerful company. But they still, you were running Walmart and you looked out five or 10 years and you saw what Amazon was doing”

Afternoon Session - 2016 Meeting

“last year, a Walmart, for example, went to almost all of their suppliers, as I understand, and certainly the companies that we supply”

Defending Clayton Homes and Berkshire's IBM stake | May 4, 2015

“Exxon Mobil's large, apples large, Walmart's large. There's plenty of big companies around.”

Afternoon Session - 2015 Meeting

“largest businesses in the country like Walmart and McDonald's. How concerned are you about income inequality”

Morning Session - 2015 Meeting

“I mean, ExxonMobil's large, Apple's large, Apple's large, Walmart's large”

Morning Session - 2015 Meeting

“Walmart has plenty of power, but so does Coca-Cola. And the brand, you've got to nourish them.”

Fifty years of Buffett's Berkshire | March 2, 2015

“Walmart, other companies that have said we're raising our employees' wages on our own. That's the market doing it itself... I think Walmart obviously made a good decision for Walmart.”

Fifty years of Buffett's Berkshire | March 2, 2015

“One of those stocks, Warren, that you do own a big chunk in. I think $5 billion we were just talking about this is Walmart.”

2015 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“63,507,544 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ....................... 2 . 0 3,593 3,893”

We'll never want to "go to war" with Coca-Cola | May 5, 2014

“you can't do it with a chain of stores in Canada when you're competing with Walmart up there and a whole bunch of other people.”

Vice Chairman's Thoughts — Past and Future (2014)

“huge errors were in not making a purchase, including not purchasing Walmart stock when that was sure to work out enormously well”

Daily Journal Annual Meeting 2014 — Munger Q&A

“And Sam's Club? It's a competitive world out there.”

2014 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“67,707,544 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ....................... 2 . 1 3,798 5,815”

2014 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“including not purchasing Walmart stock when that was sure to work out enormously well”

2013 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“56,805,984 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. .................. 1 . 8 2,976 4,470”

"No question" the global economy is slowing | October 24, 2012

“And then we've bought some more Walmart a while back, another $700 or $800 million of that.”

Morning Session - 2012 Meeting

“one of Berkshire's largest investments in recent years has been Walmart. Has your opinion of this company changed as a result of the Mexican bribery scandal?”

Morning Session - 2012 Meeting

“Walmart does operate on low gross margins, which means it offers low prices, and that works in retailing, and a lot of other things they do work in retailing.”

Morning Session - 2012 Meeting

“he is as big as Walmart. You're going to have an occasion. no glitch. I don't think there's something fundamentally dishonorable about Walmart.”

2012 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“54,823,433 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. .................... 1 . 6 2,837 3,741”

2011 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“39,037,142 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ................... 1 . 1 1,893 2,333”

Wesco 2010 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks

“Charlie recognized Walmart as a northern pike.”

2010 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“A dollar of then-value in the hands of Sears Roebuck's or Montgomery Ward's CEOs in the late 1960s had a far different destiny than did a dollar entrusted to Sam Walton.”

2010 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“39,037,142 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ............................. 1 . 1 1,893 2,105”

2009 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“the largest by far Wal-Mart”

Wesco 2009 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Peter Boodell)

“I think Walmart may be more important than Harvard. These are very important places.”

2009 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“39,037,142 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ............................. 1 . 0 1,893 2,087”

2008 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“19,944,300 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. .......................... 0 . 5 9 4 2 1,118”

2007 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“19,944,300 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. .............................. 0.5 942 948”

Afternoon Session - 2006 Meeting

“when Sam Walton died, and I think, what, 1991 or something, I wondered whether Walmart would continue in the same tradition. Well, you know, the fact that it did has made that place a lot stronger”

Afternoon Session - 2006 Meeting

“You go to Walmart and most of the high-product, high-end product and electronics, or most of the any value-added products”

Afternoon Session - 2006 Meeting

“At Walmart, it's inconsequential. I just, that's we're reading their annual report. And the LIFO adjustment isn't worth a hiccup”

Afternoon Session - 2006 Meeting

“I think the future of both Gillette and P&G are better as a combined enterprise...because of the strengths of the Walmarts and the Costco's”

Morning Session - 2006 Meeting

“you bought stock and some great businesses trading at fair prices, such as Walmart and Budweiser”

Morning Session - 2006 Meeting

“I think Berkshire has the lowest turnover...I put Walmart up there because the Walton family owns about the same”

2006 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. .............................. 0.5 942 921”

Morning Session - 2005 Meeting

“They did not worry about the fact that Sears or Walmart or pennies or whomever with polar advertising.”

Afternoon Session - 2005 Meeting

“you talked about the $10 billion mistake of starting to buy Walmart and then stopping after it had ticked up a little bit”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I'm not unhappy that Wal-Mart is expanding in China.”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I think the country is better off for having Wal-Mart. It's a fabulous enterprise that does a lot of good”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“As far as I'm concerned, I think Wal-Mart does a lot of good with efficient distribution.”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I like Wal-Mart's culture. As far as I'm concerned, Wal-Mart is one of the glories of civilization.”

2005 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“men's and boys' underwear, in which we account for about 48.7% of the sales recorded by mass-marketers (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.)”

2005 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“19,944,300 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ......................... 0.5 944 933”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I'm not unhappy that Wal-Mart is expanding in China.”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I think the country is better off for having Wal-Mart. It's a fabulous enterprise that does a lot of good”

Wesco 2005 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I like Wal-Mart's culture. As far as I'm concerned, Wal-Mart is one of the glories of civilization.”

Poor Charlie's Almanack

“failing to buy Walmart stock because it moved up a bit, a $10 billion mistake”

Poor Charlie's Almanack

“It's quite interesting to think about Wal-Mart starting from a single store in Arkansas—against Sears, Roebuck...He played the chain store game harder and better”

Poor Charlie's Almanack

“the world is better for having Wal-Mart... it's an interesting model of how the scale of things and fanaticism combine to be very powerful”

Poor Charlie's Almanack

“you'd be holding a block of Wal-Mart and a block of Coca-Cola and a block of something else”

Poor Charlie's Almanack

“For example, buy WalMart when Sam Walton first goes public and so forth.”

Refraining from certain investments has cost Berkshire billions

“Do you have anything worse to confess than Walmart? No, Walmart. I cost us about – I'd probably – It's up to $10 billion now. I cost us about $10 billion.”

Morning Session - 2004 Meeting

“this summer in July, it will go on sale at Walmart, a very special celebration”

Afternoon Session - 2004 Meeting

“Costco and Walmart figured out ways to do things at lesser costs that people needed to, where people spent money in big quantity, and those two companies are winning.”

Afternoon Session - 2004 Meeting

“the compensation system, I will guarantee you at Walmart or Charlie's involved in Costco. They're going to be rational because you had very rational people running them.”

Morning Session - 2004 Meeting

“Do you have anything worse to confess than Walmart? No, Walmart. I cost us about, it's up to $10 billion now. I cost us about $10 billion. I set out to buy $100 million shares of Walmart pre-split at ”

Morning Session - 2004 Meeting

“One great example of that, of course, has been at Walmart, where when Sam Walton died...the Walton family has...not only of selecting successors to run the place, but having successors who reinforce t”

Wesco 2004 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I think Berkshire's culture will last, just as Wal-Mart's culture has lasted for 15 years after Sam Walton's death.”

Wesco 2004 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I think we're way more like Wal-mart than Disney.”

Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“Sam Walton talked to Sol Price about buying what is now Costco, but those two titans never got together.”

Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“Wal-Mart was an $8 billion sin. What happened is that we started to buy it and the price started to go up and we're naturally so cheap that we stopped buying.”

Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“In fact, Wal-Mart has the best retailing record in the history of the world. It was started by a guy in his 40s”

Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“Obviously based on past history, with Garan and McLane, we trust Wal-Mart. We admire Wal-Mart.”

Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“Wal-Mart has perhaps the best buying systems on earth. They won't be buying from us because they like us.”

Wesco 2003 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“I think Wal-Mart sold it because they're the best in the world at retailing”

How to know when you're in your "circle of competence"

“you understand Walmart. That doesn't mean whether you decide whether, you decide whether”

Afternoon Session - 2002 Meeting

“you can certainly understand Walmart. That doesn't mean whether you decide what the price should be”

Afternoon Session - 2001 Meeting

“go up with Sam Walton at Walmart. I think if you've taken those same individuals and dropped them down”

Afternoon Session - 2001 Meeting

“Sears and General Motors and people like that thought there were some very wide moats around their businesses, and it turned out otherwise. when in case of Sears, Walmart, for example, came along.”

Afternoon Session - 2001 Meeting

“add the Walmarts and the Costco's and the Sams and the... It's a different world”

Wesco 2001 Annual Meeting — Notes of Charlie Munger's Remarks (Whitney Tilson)

“Costco is a better operator in the warehouse club format than Sam's.”

Afternoon Session - 1999 Meeting

“it could be Walmart paid more. I wouldn't be surprised if Walmart paid more.”

Afternoon Session - 1997 Meeting

“the DAO now is becoming as the Walmart of the security business in the world”

Morning Session - 1997 Meeting

“in the United States is probably Walmart. Just because they're the biggest seller of everything.”

Afternoon Session - 1994 Meeting

“That same line of thinking might have applied to Walmart or some company, because just take the extreme example”

USC Lecture: A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom (1994)

“A CASE STUDY IN ECONOMIES VS. DISECONOMICS - WAL-MART VERSUS SEARS, ROEBUCK.”

USC Lecture: A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom (1994)

“Sam Walton played the game harder and better than anyone... How does a guy in Bentonville, Arkansas with no money blow right by Sears, Roebuck?”

USC Lecture: A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom (1994)

“I personally think that the world is better for having Wal-Mart. I mean you can idealize small town life.”

USC Lecture: A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom (1994)

“you'd be holding a block of Wal-Mart and a block of Coca-Cola and a block of something else”

USC Lecture: A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom (1994)

“buy Wal-Mart when Sam Walton first goes public and so forth”

1992 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“We're admirers of the Wal-Mart, Nucor, Dover, GEICO, Golden West Financial and Price Co. models.”

1991 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter

“high-technology (Apple), or even brilliant merchandising (Wal-Mart). We will never develop the competence”