Shareholder Letter Examples: 6 CEO Letters Compared

A shareholder letter is the one place a CEO speaks to investors in their own voice, without an analyst filter. Six well-known letters show six approaches: Berkshire Hathaway's owner's manual, Amazon's 1997 letter, Google's 2004 founders' letter, Groupon's 2011 letter, Facebook's 2012 letter and Etsy's 2015 letter. This guide compares them and shows what to copy and what to avoid.

Updated November 6, 2026. Letters are summarized from the public record and press coverage. Read each original before quoting it.

What is in this guide?

• What does a shareholder letter do?

• How do the six letters compare?

• What did each letter do?

• What do investors look for in a letter?

• How do you write a shareholder letter?

• What should a shareholder letter avoid?

• Frequently asked questions

What does a shareholder letter do?

A shareholder letter explains how management thinks. It sets the time horizon, describes what the company will and will not do, and gives investors a way to judge future decisions. It comes in two main forms. An annual letter accompanies a company's yearly report. A founders' letter opens an IPO filing and introduces the company to buyers who have never owned the stock.

The letter is also a PR document. Reporters quote it, analysts reread it when results disappoint and employees use it as a statement of principles. A line written casually can be thrown back at the company for years, which is why drafting takes legal, finance and communications together. For the rules that shape what a company can say before and after listing, see Virgo PR's guides to IPO quiet period rules and pre-IPO communications planning.

How do the six letters compare?

LetterYearAuthorTypeSignature moveMain risk

Berkshire Hathaway1996 owner's manual and annual lettersWarren BuffettAnnual and standing manualPlain-language statement of how the owner and manager thinkHard to match without a long record Amazon1997Jeff BezosAnnualLong-term market leadership over short-term resultsInvestors hold you to it every quarter Google2004Larry Page and Sergey BrinIPO founders' letter"Not a conventional company" and control by foundersRead as arrogant Groupon2011Andrew MasonIPO founder's letterIrreverent tone and rejection of standard investor concernsRidiculed in the press Facebook2012Mark ZuckerbergIPO founder's letterThe Hacker Way and a social missionCalled vague by critics Etsy2015Chad DickersonIPO CEO letterNo regular quarterly forecastsLess short-term visibility for investors

What did each letter do?

Berkshire Hathaway: the model others copied

Buffett's annual letters and his 1996 owner's manual set the template for plain, direct writing to shareholders. Google's founders said their own letter was inspired by Buffett's essays and owner's manual, and a footnote in their filing credited him. What to copy: first-person voice, short sentences and honest discussion of mistakes. What not to copy: the assumption that readers will tolerate length without a long track record.

Amazon, 1997: a time horizon investors could hold you to

Jeff Bezos's first letter to shareholders, titled "It's All About the Long Term," told investors that Amazon would favor long-term market leadership over short-term profitability and Wall Street reactions. Bezos later attached the 1997 letter to subsequent annual letters, a signal that the principles had not changed. What to copy: state your decision rules so investors can judge you against them. The risk is that every miss gets measured against the letter.

Google, 2004: a manual that set up founder control

Google's letter opened its IPO filing and ran across seven pages numbered with Roman numerals. It began by saying Google is not a conventional company and does not intend to become one. It explained the dual-class share structure, with supervoting rights for founders, and committed to a long-term focus. It also served a practical purpose, answering questions the company could not take in public during the quiet period. What to copy: explain unusual governance up front. What to avoid: a tone that reads as "we know best."

Groupon, 2011: personality as strategy, and the cost

Andrew Mason opened Groupon's filing with an irreverent letter that included the line "Life is too short to be a boring company." It dismissed standard investor concerns and focused on customers and merchants. Commentators mocked it, and a Fortune column used it as an example of the founder's letter going too far. What to copy: a clear culture statement. What to avoid: humor that makes serious investors feel unserious.

Facebook, 2012: a mission and a management philosophy

Zuckerberg's letter of about 2,200 words opened by saying Facebook was not originally created to be a company and was built to accomplish a social mission. It described "The Hacker Way," a management approach built on building quickly and letting code win arguments. Critics said the social mission was vague, and the letter sat on page 61 of the filing, far from the front. What to copy: a memorable management philosophy. What to avoid: a mission statement without specifics.

Etsy, 2015: a policy announcement inside the letter

Etsy's CEO letter in its IPO filing echoed Google's long-term framing and used the letter to announce that the company would not provide regular quarterly financial forecasts. What to copy: use the letter to state policies, such as guidance practice or capital allocation, that shape how investors should read the company. What to avoid: a policy you may not be able to keep when markets pressure you.

What do investors look for in a letter?

Investors and analysts tend to read a letter for signals rather than slogans. These are the things worth making easy to find.

• Time horizon. Does management optimize for the next quarter or the next decade?

• Capital allocation. How will cash be spent, returned or held?

• Governance. Who controls decisions, and are voting rights unusual?

• Candor. Does the CEO admit mistakes and say what changed?

• Consistency. Do the letter, the filings and the earnings call say the same thing?

A letter that answers these questions earns trust. A letter that avoids them invites analysts to answer for the company.

How do you write a shareholder letter?

• Decide the one idea. Pick the single message investors should remember, such as time horizon, culture or capital allocation.

• Write in first person. The CEO or founder should sound like a person, not a committee.

• State your decision rules. Say what you will optimize, what you will not, and how you will judge success.

• Be specific. Replace words like innovation and passion with numbers, decisions and examples.

• Admit what went wrong. Name a mistake and what changed because of it. Investors trust candor.

• Explain unusual structures. Dual-class shares, guidance policy or buybacks need a plain explanation.

• Add safe harbor language. Mark forward-looking statements. See forward-looking statements safe harbor.

• Have counsel and finance review. Every figure and promise needs a source.

• Place it where it will be read. Put the letter at the front of the document, as Google did, not deep inside.

What should a shareholder letter avoid?

• Slogans that could belong to any company.

• Promises you cannot keep when conditions change.

• Humor that undercuts credibility.

• Numbers without definitions or sources.

• Length without structure. Use headings so a skimmer finds the key points.

• Silence about bad news that investors already know about.

Two practical points. A letter is a public statement, so anything in it that is material needs to be consistent with filings. And a published letter lives on your investor relations pages, so keep it findable. Virgo PR covers that in investor relations website rules, and the wider function on its investor relations page.

Frequently asked questions

Is a shareholder letter required?

No. US public companies file annual reports and proxy statements, but a CEO letter is optional. Many companies include one because it lets management explain its thinking.

How long should a shareholder letter be?

Length varies. Facebook's IPO letter ran about 2,200 words, and Google's ran seven pages. A shorter letter with headings is easier to read, so match length to how much you have to say.

Who should write the letter?

The CEO or founder should own the voice, with finance, legal and investor relations contributing facts and review. A letter written entirely by staff tends to read like one.

Annual letter versus founders' letter?

An annual letter reviews a year and looks ahead. A founders' letter in an IPO filing introduces the company and its principles to buyers who do not yet know it.

Can a shareholder letter create legal risk?

Yes. Statements about the future, performance or risks can be scrutinized. Counsel should review the letter and it should include forward-looking statement language where appropriate.