Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies (Interpublic) is a global advertising company that was a significant common stock holding for Berkshire Hathaway in the late 1970s.

📝 The Investment

Portfolio Concentration: Listed in the 1978 letter as a major holding with a large unrealized gain.
Position (1978): Berkshire held 592,650 shares with a cost of $4.5 million and a market value of $19.0 million.
Economic Characteristics: Buffett's investment in advertising agencies (including Interpublic, Ogilvy & Mather, and Grey Advertising) highlighted businesses with low capital requirements and high returns on tangible assets.

🔗 Connections

Company: SAFECO Corporation (Portfolio peer)
Source: 1978 Letter

📚 Historical Mentions & Citations (1)

Click a reference document below to expand and read the exact paragraph(s) containing this concept in the archive.

📜

1978 LetterExcerpt Available

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| No. of Shares | Company | Cost | Market | | :--- | :--- | :---: | :---: | | 246,450 | American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. | $ 6,082 | $ 8,626 | | 1,294,308 | Government Employees Insurance Company Common Stock | 4,116 | 9,060 | | 1,986,953 | Government Employees Insurance Company Convertible Preferred | 19,417 | 28,314 | | 592,650 | Interpublic Group of Companies | 4,531 | 19,039 | | 1,066,934 | Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation | 18,085 | 18,671 | | 453,800 | Knight-Ridder Newspapers, Inc. | 7,534 | 10,267 | | 953,750 | SAFECO Corporation | 23,867 | 26,467 | | 934,300 | The Washington Post Company | 10,628 | 43,445 | | | Total | $ 94,260 | $163,889 | | | All other Holdings | 39,506 | 57,040 | | | Total Equities | $133,766 | $220,929 |

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