Berkshire Hathaway uses its "operating earnings," which exclude the capital gains or losses from its investment portfolio, to measure its bottom-line growth instead of its net income on a generally accepted accounting principles ( GAAP) basis. Buffett says that proprietary metric tunes out the near-term noise from the stocks in its portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares have appreciated 3,999,494% since Warren Buffett took over the company in 1965.

Berkshire Hathaway is set for success with defensive strategies, rising profits, and a strong cash position. Read more on BRK.A stock here.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), the $1.1 trillion holding company with a diverse portfolio of businesses and stocks, released its annual report, revealing a record $334 billion in cash,