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The week's question
In March 2025, in the thread "Re: OT, out", Umm asked the members: "Do you think it is because America is made up of magical soil that makes businesses based in America magically profitable?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
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Author: EVBigMacMeal ✸  😊 😞
Number: of 22354 
Subject: Re: America’s Most Valuable Companies 1995-2023
Date: 12/10/23 4:35 AM
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Agreed re Microsoft. It’s a hell of a business.

The cloud, enabling constant improvements without end users involved in software updates, along with beta options is accelerating product evolution. I deeply regret not buying in 2020.

One thing that concerns me about Apple, which is obviously also a great business, is the involvement in helping to facilitate screen addiction. Doesn’t sit well with Charlie Munger’s ideas around selling products you would not buy yourself. Clearly Charlie was a huge Apple fan and no doubt Apple will be a good citizen by helping users to control usage but it’s a tricky one. Tobacco for mental health. Are people going to be handing these phones to their kids in 2050?

Microsoft doesn’t have this problem in the business world and is perhaps much ‘less evil’ as its customers are doing productive work.

Always sceptical of any technology company. (After all, technology is literally innovation, which probably prevented Buffett from paying up for big technology companies. Apple was, what 10x). However, when you throw in Microsoft’s new Co-Pilot sitting in Teams and doing all kinds of powerful tasks efficiently (writing quality minutes, with action points in seconds) the next 5 years at least look very bright for Microsoft.

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This community has written 21,861 posts about Berkshire Hathaway. The article-length ones it recommended most:
BRK: Why Not XOM? · 62 recs · 2024
Second quarter comments · 60 recs · 2023
Berkshire's Profit Contributors · 58 recs · 2023
Summary of 2Q 2026 · 55 recs · 2026
3Q Summary · 53 recs · 2024
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