Businesses(巴菲特给股东的信2007).doc

Businesses – The Great, the Good and the Gruesome 卓越、优秀和可憎的业务 (2007年巴菲特给股东信摘译 英汉对照) Let’s take a look at what kind of businesses turn us on. And while we’re at it, let’s also discuss what we wish to avoid. 让我们来看一下什么样的业务会让我们很兴奋。谈论这个话题的同时，我们也探讨一下什么样的业务是我们要避免的。 Charlie and I look for companies that have a) a business we understand; b) favorable long-term economics; c) able and trustworthy management; and d) a sensible price tag. We like to buy the whole business or, if management is our partner, at least 80%. When control-type purchases of quality aren’t available, though, we are also happy to simply buy small portions of great businesses by way of stock-market purchases. It’s better to have a part interest in the Hope Diamond than to own all of a rhinestone. 查理和我所寻找的公司应是: a)我们所了解的商业；b)有着良好的长期经济前景；c)管理层有能力且值得信任；d)价格合理。我们喜欢买下整个公司，或者如果管理层是我们的合伙人，我们至少买入80％的股份。当我们无法获得控股权的时候，我们还是会乐于仅仅在股市上买入这类伟大企业的小部分股份。拥有“希望钻石”(Hope Diamond，世上现存最大的一颗蓝色钻石，重45.52克拉——译者注)的部分权益要好于拥有一颗人造钻石的全部权益。 A truly great business must have an enduring 搈oat?that protects excellent returns on invested capital. The dynamics of capitalism guarantee that competitors will repeatedly assault any business 揷astle?that is earning high returns. Therefore a formidable barrier such as a company抯 being the low-cost producer (GEICO, Costco) or possessing a powerful world-wide brand (Coca-Cola, Gillette, American Express) is essential for sustained success. Business history is filled with 揜oman Candles,?companies whose moats proved illusory and were soon crossed. 一家真正伟大的企业必须拥有持久的“护城河”，它能为投资者获得丰厚的投资回报提供保护。资本主义的动力必定会使竞争者不断的攻击那些赚取丰厚利润的企业的“城堡”，因此，拥有诸如低成本(GEICO和好事多公司)或者强大的全球性品牌(可口可乐?吉列和美国运通公司)等这种令人望而生畏的高门槛对企业获得持续成功至关重要。纵观整个商业历史，我们可以看到到处都有“罗马焰火筒”现象(roman candle），即那些有着不牢靠护城河的企业很快会被其他企业征服。 Our criterion of “enduring” causes us to rule out companies in industries prone to rapid and continuous change. Though capitalism抯 揷reative destruction?is highly beneficial for society, it precludes investment certainty. A moat that must