The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that on Saturday, Berkshire released its annual report, including the latest edition of Mr. Buffett's plain-English letter to shareholders. The Globe's Tony Keller writes that as always, it contains a page showing Berkshire's performance since 1965. At the end of 2023, the stock was up 4,384,748 per cent. Over the same period, the S&P 500 index including dividends reinvested was up 31,223 per cent. Mr. Buffett, now 93, is mortal. He has chosen several capable successors to run his giant conglomerate, but even if they are as wise as him, or wiser, they face an insurmountable obstacle. Berkshire's big problem is bigness. Its market capitalization on Thursday afternoon was $886-billion (U.S.). That is roughly a third of the value of the entire Toronto Stock Exchange. To outperform the market, it must not only find exceptional investment opportunities, but enormous ones. Think 11 figures, minimum. "There remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they have been endlessly picked over by us and by others," Mr. Buffett wrote in his annual letter. "All in all, we have no possibility of eye-popping performance."