Shadowing Practice: Warren Buffett: I'm not buying the Uber IPO, but I've never bought any IPO - Learn English Speaking with Video

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You both have made some comments about, recently to us, that you think prices are very high in terms of what
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you have to pay for a premium for buying a company outright.
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Is that still the case?
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There's probably more competition for buying companies by people who are using other people's money
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and therefore have less sensitivity to price
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and who are willing to borrow a whole lot more
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and are being offered the ability to borrow a whole lot more with less in the way of covenants.
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So the competition is tough on it.
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And they get part of the upside and none of the downside.
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In fact, they make money on the downside.
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Yeah, so that is really terrible competition for us.
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And it gets worse every year.
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Is that why you're sitting on such a big pile of cash at this point?
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Part of the reason? Of course.
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It's residual.
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On the other hand, you know, I would much rather own many common stocks than bonds.
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And, of course, that's—I think stocks compared to bonds, and you have to compare—they are the ultimate.
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And we've talked about bond yields and, in fact, being gravity.
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And when they're very low, there's very little gravity to pull down stocks.
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And that condition exists today.
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You know, we'd so much rather own the business of America than get a 3 percent for 30 years from the government.
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And people were making those choices all the time in the investment world.
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Stocks actually, in many cases, they look like perfectly intelligent investments.
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Charlie, you agree with that?
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Sure.
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Let's talk about some of the IPOs that have been coming to market recently, because there has been a bit of a fervor.
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Many of these IPOs have done very well, although not all of them.
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Lyft shares are under pressure.
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Uber comes to market this week.
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And Warren, you mentioned this weekend, you talked once again about how you had looked at Uber about 18 months ago and passed on that.
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What do you think about Uber coming to market now?
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Well, because I looked at it, I really don't want to discuss Uber.
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I don't have any special feelings about it than any other coming to market.
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But I would say that in 54 years, well, I don't think Berkshire's ever bought a new issue.
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I mean, the idea of saying the best place in the world I
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can put my money is something where all the selling incentives are there, commissions are higher, you know,
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the animal spirits are rising.
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That's going to be better than a thousand other things I can buy where there is no similar selling enthusiasm
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and the desire to get the deal done and extra commissions.
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That's the single best thing to buy on a given day.
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I mean, it's...
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And I can't think of a time we've ever done it.
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Ever bought an IPO?
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Yeah, never bought one.
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How can it be that?
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They don't even call us.
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Yeah, but how could it be the best single thing to use your money for in a given day?
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Is it something that you've got?
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They got everybody in the world out pushing it.
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It just doesn't make any sense.
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I mean, I'm not saying that necessarily what we're buying is going to work out better,
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But there have to always be better things than one single issue.
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If you make one decision on investing, if you can't find something among all the choices we see that is better than something that,
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and like I say, the commissions used, they've come down I think now on this,
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but the highest commission thing that a stock salesman can sell a security was the new issue.
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So you have all this push-by.
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We like to buy things where nobody's making a dime selling them to us.
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Charlie, just specifically on some of these companies, and I won't talk about Uber versus any of the others, but a lot of these companies are coming very late in the cycle.
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They've had massive private capital that's been put to work to this point, and they still have massive losses in the need for more capital.
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What's even worse than that?
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Some of them have preference for each round, and so the rounds aren't really fair rounds.
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There's a lot of lying in modern finance.
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So you're not in favor of any of these big companies?
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I don't like lying.
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What do you think of these?
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I ask this because we have a lot of retail investors who watch
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and who are looking at this and they feel the excitement behind it.
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Well, don't you get any wonderful advice from us about buying IBOs?
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Whenever you buy a stock, let's say you're buying General Motors, 1.4 billion shares out.
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We'll say the stock's four years a little below that.
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You should be able to take out a one-page sheet of paper and say, I am buying the General Motors Company at $56 billion because.
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And if you can't answer that question, if you can't write that out, then you'll go on to something else.
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And if you're buying Berkshire, you have to say, I am buying Berkshire Hathaway at $500 billion because.
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And if the answer isn't something you can write, you can't say I'm buying it because my neighbor thinks it's going to go up
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or because everybody's talking about it on CNBC this morning or whatever it may be.
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Or I'd like to ride around an Uber.
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Yeah.
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No. That's the question you answer.
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Now, when you buy groceries, buy everything else, you can answer that question.
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But if you can't answer it on something that you're involving your savings of many years for,
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why in the world should you be doing it?
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Thank you.

About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by analyzing a discussion featuring Warren Buffett on his investment strategies, particularly regarding IPOs (Initial Public Offerings). You will focus on enhancing your listening abilities, improving English pronunciation, and familiarizing yourself with key financial terminology. This activity will help you build confidence in speaking about complex topics and promote effective communication in English.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • IPO - Initial Public Offering, the first time a company offers its shares to the public.
  • Investment - The act of allocating resources, usually money, in order to generate profit.
  • Competition - The rivalry between companies or individuals in the market for resources or customers.
  • Common stocks - Shares that represent ownership in a company and a claim on a part of the company's assets and earnings.
  • Bond yields - The earnings generated and realized on an investment over a particular period of time, expressed as a percentage.
  • Animal spirits - A term used to describe the instincts and emotions that influence human behavior in economic decision-making.
  • Commissions - Fees paid to brokers or agents for their services, often tied to the sale of stocks or financial products.
  • Residual - Referring to profits or assets that remain after other liabilities have been subtracted.

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning and improve English pronunciation while engaging with this video, consider the following shadowing techniques:

  • Listen Actively: Pay close attention to the rhythm and intonation of Warren Buffett's speech. His tone can shift depending on the content, so listening actively will help you capture his nuances.
  • Shadow the Speech: As you listen, try to repeat what he says almost simultaneously - this is known as shadowspeak. Use pauses to catch up if necessary, but aim to maintain the natural flow of his dialogue.
  • Emphasize Key Terms: Focus on the key vocabulary mentioned in this lesson. When shadowing, put extra stress on these terms to help them stick in your memory.
  • Record Yourself: After practicing, record your shadowing session. Listening back will help you identify areas to improve, particularly regarding clarity and pronunciation.
  • Engage with the Content: Discuss the video’s themes with another learner or a tutor. This IELTS speaking practice can further solidify your understanding and fluency on the topic.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.