These are the 6 words Warren Buffett uses most in letters to shareholders

The optimistic language Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett uses to discuss his business may be the secret to his success, according to a CNBC report.

Data scientist Michael Toth performed a sentiment analysis on Mr. Buffett's annual letters to his shareholders from 1977 to 2016. A sentiment analysis is primarily used to identify and quantify the overall sentiment of a particular text.

To conduct the analysis, Mr. Toth split each letter into a set of distinct words and identified the most commonly used positive, negative and neutral words the billionaire used throughout his letters.

The top six words Mr. Buffett used include:

  • Loss
  • Gain
  • Worth
  • Significant
  • Debt
  • Outstanding

Mr. Toth said while some of Mr. Buffett's most-used words may have a negative connotation, the billionaire used those words in a positive context. For example, in Mr. Buffett's 2017 letter, he used the word "debt" to discuss how the company's multiple profit sources allowed it to "significantly lower [its] cost of debt," according to the report.

"Even when things are going badly, like in 2008 when everything was falling apart, [Mr. Buffett] is still measured in his approach in speaking to his shareholders," Mr. Toth wrote in a blog post. "Things are not always going to be perfect and I think [Mr.] Buffett's ability to still communicate and inspire confidence during those bad time periods is important."

To view a word map of Mr. Buffett's most-used words in letters to his shareholders, click here.

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