The first letter of Buffett's report was dominated by his thoughts on GAAP accounting rules. In 2019, the company earned $81.4 billion, broken down into $24 billion of operating earnings, $3.7 billion of realized capital gains and a $53.7 billion gain from an increase in the amount of net unrealized capital gains that exist in the stocks we hold. Each of those components of earnings is stated on an after-tax basis.
