<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VALUE PORTFOLIO
QUARTERLY
REPORT
DECEMBER 31, 1997
ONE PACIFIC PLACE, SUITE 600
1125 SOUTH 103 STREET
OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68124-6008
402-391-1980
800-232-4161
402-391-2125 FAX
<PAGE>
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- VALUE PORTFOLIO
PERFORMANCE SINCE INCEPTION
A long-term perspective on our portfolio's performance is shown below. The table
below shows how an investment of $25,000 in the Value Portfolio at its inception
would have grown over the years (after deducting all fees and expenses and
assuming reinvestment of all dividends). The table also sets forth average
annual total return data for the Value Portfolio for the one, five and ten year
periods ended December 31, 1997, calculated in accordance with SEC standardized
formulas.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
VALUE OF VALUE OF VALUE OF
INITIAL CUMULATIVE CUMULATIVE TOTAL ANNUAL
$25,000 CAPITAL GAIN REINVESTED VALUE OF RATE OF
PERIOD ENDED INVESTMENT DISTRIBUTIONS DIVIDENDS SHARES RETURN
- ---------------- ----------- ------------- ----------- ---------- -----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
May 9, 1986 $ 25,000 -- -- $ 25,000 --
Dec. 31, 1986 25,863 -- -- 25,863 3.5%+
Dec. 31, 1987 24,253 264 1,205 25,722 -0.5
Dec. 31, 1988 27,430 299 2,223 29,952 16.5
Dec. 31, 1989 30,763 2,103 3,701 36,567 22.1
Dec. 31, 1990 28,040 2,112 4,500 34,652 -5.2
Dec. 31, 1991 33,940 3,811 6,475 44,226 27.6
Dec. 31, 1992 36,350 6,019 7,884 50,253 13.6
Dec. 31, 1993 42,010 9,114 9,199 60,323 20.0
Dec. 31, 1994 36,075 10,414 7,899 54,388 -9.8
Dec. 31, 1995 45,955 17,447 11,855 75,257 38.4
Dec. 31, 1996 51,478 24,054 13,792 89,324 18.7
Dec. 31, 1997 62,878 42,824 18,398 124,100 38.9
</TABLE>
The portfolio's average annual total return for the one, five and ten year
periods ending December 31, 1997, was 38.9%, 19.8%, and 17.0%, respectively.
These returns assume redemption at the end of each period and reinvestment of
dividends.
Since inception, the total amount of capital gains distributions reinvested in
shares was $30,336, and the total amount of income distributions reinvested was
$9,949. This information represents past performance of the portfolio and is not
indicative of future performance. The investment return and the principal value
of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost. Additional information is
available from the Weitz Funds at the address listed on the front cover.
+Return is for the period 5/9/86 through 12/31/86
1
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- VALUE PORTFOLIO
DECEMBER 31, 1997 - QUARTERLY REPORT
January 8, 1998
Dear Fellow Shareholder:
1997 was a terrific year for the Value Portfolio. Our total return, after
all expenses, was +38.9%, ranking us #5 of 611 "growth and income" funds (our
Lipper Analytical Services category).* This compares to 33.4% for the S&P 500,
+24.9% for the Dow, and 27.1% for the average growth and income fund tracked by
Lipper. (Past performance is no guarantee of future success.)
Although it is fun to report a +38.9% year, longer-term performance is
more important. The table below shows Value Portfolio returns (after deducting
expenses) over various intervals compared to those of the S&P 500 and the
average "growth and income" mutual fund.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
1 YEAR 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
----------- ----------- -----------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
VALUE PORTFOLIO 38.9% 19.8% 17.0%
S&P 500 33.4 20.2 18.0
Average Growth and Income Fund 27.1 17.6 15.9
</TABLE>
The power of compounding is shown in the table on page 1. As you can see,
an initial investment of $25,000 on May 9, 1986, has grown to $124,100 at
year-end 1997 (assuming reinvestment of dividends). It is also clear from this
table that the pattern of returns from year to year has been erratic. This is
not to say that the growth patterns of our portfolio COMPANIES have been erratic
(they were not), but if we had tried to jump in and out of the market, guessing
WHEN the stock market would reward us for owning these stocks, we would
undoubtedly have missed some of the gains.
*Ranking is based upon total return. According to Lipper
Analytical Services, the Value Portfolio was ranked 42 of 240 and
30 of 136 among growth and income funds for the five-year and
ten-year periods ended December 31, 1997, respectively.
2
<PAGE>
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
The year was a good one for stocks in general. As long as one managed to
miss the implosions of the various "momentum" stocks which disappointed their
fans and the "emerging" Asian markets which turned into SUBMERGING markets this
fall, it should have been a good year.
Cable television stocks, as a group, were the most significant
contributors to our 1997 results. Gains for the year ranged from 57% for U.S.
West Media Group to 222% for Adelphia Cable. For a number of reasons which have
been chronicled in the last few quarterly letters, investor perception of the
group shifted during the year from revulsion, to indifference, to acceptance and
even (dare I say it) mild excitement.
Cellular telephone stocks were also contributors, on balance. Centennial
(+69%), AirTouch (+65%), and CommNet (+28%) were helpful, while 360
Communications (-13%) and CoreComm (-49%) were not.
A few other relatively large positions were especially profitable.
Valassis, whose prosaic coupon business generates lots of excess cash, rose by
75%. NHP spun off Washington Mortgage and was then acquired by Aimco, leaving us
with a gain on the two-part transaction of roughly 100%. Seafield, which was
meant to be a very low risk, moderate return "workout" investment, completed its
reorganization and in the end returned about 90%. The Seafield return was
significantly enhanced by a small venture capital investment which we knew had
potential but which was so speculative that we had valued it at $0. This kind of
good fortune is not something we want to depend on, but it tends to happen
periodically with workouts and "asset plays."
On the other hand, one of my favorite stocks (and the fund's largest
single position), Redwood Trust, had an awful year. Redwood buys adjustable rate
mortgages and finances them with borrowings, just as a savings and loan company
would, but has a much lower cost structure because it has no branches, employs
very few people, and as a real estate investment trust, pays no taxes. Redwood
started the year at $37 and ended the year at $20, a decline of 46%. Since it
paid $2.15 in dividends and since we sold stock as high as $55 and repurchased
shares as low as $19, our overall total return was not quite that bad, but it
cost us several percentage points of performance. Redwood's volatility was
caused by a combination of unrealistic investor expectations and temporary
earnings disappointments, and I think we will be glad that we were able to buy
more shares in the high teens and low twenties.
In short, a fortunate combination of growth in the business values of our
companies and the willingness of investors to pay more for a unit of business
value (valuation inflation) resulted in a great year for our portfolio.
3
<PAGE>
OUTLOOK
Conditions have been nearly perfect, returns have been well above normal,
and investor expectations are very high. I do not know what comes next for the
economy or the stock market, but it seems reasonable to me to expect more modest
stock returns over the next few years. I am not predicting the end of the world
- -- just a return to more normal rates of growth.
Over-priced stocks can return to fair value quickly, by declining in
price, or slowly, by moving sideways while the values of the underlying
businesses "grow into" the stock prices. In this environment, it is more
difficult, but not impossible for us to find interesting new investments. Three
months ago, I wrote about why I liked Redwood Trust at $30. Today the stock is
$20, and although their growth has been slowed by conditions in the mortgage
market, I am very excited by their prospects. We nearly doubled our Redwood
holdings in the 4th quarter, and as a firm we now own about 14% of the company.
Several others of our companies are doing very well but are misunderstood and/or
overlooked, and we have been adding to those holdings. There are six of us
looking for new investment ideas, and I am confident that we will find something
worthwhile. In the meantime, our cash and short-term bond reserves are just over
20% of the portfolio, so a sharp (but temporary) sinking spell would probably be
good for our long-term performance.
SHAREHOLDER MEETING
Please mark your calendars for our shareholder meeting on Wednesday, May
27 at 4:00 p.m. We will be meeting at the Omaha Marriott again and at this
point, it looks as if we will be able to avoid having any official business to
conduct. That means that we can spend all our time answering your questions and
talking about the things you want to talk about. Between now and then, Rick, Tom
and I are always happy to talk with you about your investments or any questions
you may have about our portfolio or our strategy. Please feel free to call
anytime.
Best regards,
/S/ WALLACE R. WEITZ
Wallace R. Weitz
President, Portfolio
Manager
4
<PAGE>
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
5
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- VALUE PORTFOLIO
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES
DECEMBER 31, 1997
(UNAUDITED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS COST VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
COMMON STOCKS -- 80.7%
BANKING -- 2.8%
30,000 Wells Fargo & Co. $ 4,966,258 $ 10,183,125
------------- -------------
CABLE TELEVISION -- 16.7%
250,500 Adelphia Communications Corp. CL A* 1,865,587 4,634,250
1,349,000 Century Communications Corp. CL A* 7,990,357 13,152,750
52,000 Comcast UK Cable Partners Limited CL A 653,976 490,750
490,000 Comcast Corp. Special CL A 7,031,910 15,465,625
400,000 Tele-Communications, Inc. CL A* 5,287,462 11,175,000
569,000 U.S. West Media Group* 10,307,053 16,429,875
------------- -------------
33,136,345 61,348,250
------------- -------------
CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES -- 3.1%
135,000 American Classic Voyages Co.* 1,296,363 2,446,875
220,000 Lab Holdings, Inc. 6,818,922 5,115,000
4,875 Lady Baltimore Foods, Inc. 227,781 253,500
300,000 Protection One, Inc. 541,111 3,393,750
------------- -------------
8,884,177 11,209,125
------------- -------------
FEDERAL AGENCIES -- 4.1%
90,000 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. 385,147 3,774,375
75,000 Federal National Mortgage Association 1,270,544 4,279,688
50,000 SLM Holding Corp. 1,837,925 6,956,250
------------- -------------
3,493,616 15,010,313
------------- -------------
FINANCIAL SERVICES -- 5.5%
70,000 American Express Co. 2,031,996 6,247,500
110 Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.* 640,550 5,060,000
128,000 Capital One Financial Corp. 3,107,958 6,936,000
70,000 Imperial Credit Industries, Inc.* 1,090,000 1,435,000
30,000 PS Group, Inc.* 233,125 375,000
------------- -------------
7,103,629 20,053,500
------------- -------------
INFORMATION AND DATA PROCESSING -- 1.7%
142,100 BRC Holdings, Inc.* 3,457,554 5,435,325
180,000 Intelligent Systems Corp.* 380,869 877,500
------------- -------------
3,838,423 6,312,825
------------- -------------
</TABLE>
6
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- VALUE PORTFOLIO
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES, CONTINUED
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS COST VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT -- 11.0%
11,590 Chris-Craft Industries, Inc.* $ 471,840 $ 606,302
57,200 Daily Journal Corp.* 1,254,216 2,116,400
300,000 Gabelli Global Multimedia Trust, Inc. 2,071,150 2,625,000
135,000 TCI Satellite Entertainment CL A* 1,509,907 928,125
485,000 Tele-Communications Liberty Media CL A* 7,888,849 17,581,250
200,000 Tele-Communications TCI Ventures Group A* 2,556,885 5,662,500
291,000 Valassis Communications, Inc.* 4,457,840 10,767,000
------------- -------------
20,210,687 40,286,577
------------- -------------
MORTGAGE BANKING -- 6.9%
300,000 Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. 4,656,092 12,862,500
75,000 Long Beach Financial Corp.* 487,500 871,875
25,000 New Century Financial Corp.* 275,000 256,250
544,485 Resource Bancshares Mtg. Grp., Inc. 6,178,351 8,881,912
179,999 WMF Group, Limited* 1,646,991 2,249,987
------------- -------------
13,243,934 25,122,524
------------- -------------
REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION -- 6.9%
115,000 Catellus Development Corp.* 671,575 2,300,000
90,000 Forest City Enterprises, Inc. CL A 2,159,453 5,231,250
540,000 NHP, Inc.*+ 8,000,298 14,837,310
238,500 Presley Companies CL A* 328,089 178,875
50,000 SLH Corp.* 319,167 2,800,000
------------- -------------
11,478,582 25,347,435
------------- -------------
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS -- 8.8%
157,400 Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings, Inc.*** 2,364,334 2,597,100
185,000 NovaStar Financial, Inc.** 2,775,000 3,075,625
180,000 NovaStar Financial, Inc. Common 3,240,000 2,846,250
1,163,609 Redwood Trust, Inc. 27,899,925 23,708,533
------------- -------------
36,279,259 32,227,508
------------- -------------
TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- 13.2%
650,000 360 Communications Co.* 13,107,219 13,121,875
180,000 Airtouch Communications, Inc.* 5,105,671 7,481,250
504,000 Corecomm, Inc.* 10,996,870 5,103,000
785,000 Centennial Cellular Corp. CL A* 11,573,473 16,092,500
82,800 CommNet Cellular, Inc.* 2,204,647 2,944,575
80,000 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. 2,966,739 3,725,000
------------- -------------
45,954,619 48,468,200
------------- -------------
Total Common Stocks 188,589,529 295,569,382
------------- -------------
</TABLE>
7
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- VALUE PORTFOLIO
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES, CONTINUED
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS COST VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
NON-CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS -- 1.3%
10,000 Community Bank 13% Pfd. Series B $ 257,550 $ 280,000
15,000 Crown American Realty Trust 11% Pfd. Series A 750,000 783,750
30,000 Prime Retail, Inc. 10.5% Pfd. Series A 645,000 817,500
69,941 Riggs National Corp. 10.75% Pfd. Series B 1,852,839 1,975,833
34,000 River Bank America 15.0% Pfd. Series A 845,750 782,000
------------- -------------
Total Non-Convertible Preferred Stocks 4,351,139 4,639,083
------------- -------------
<CAPTION>
FACE
AMOUNT
- ------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
CORPORATE BONDS -- 1.2%
$ 500,000 Salomon, Inc. Sr. Notes 7.125% 8/01/99 500,000 507,082
750,000 Local Financial Corp. 11.0% 9/08/04 750,000 791,250
1,000,000 Dime Savings 10.5% 11/15/05 1,047,595 1,077,500
2,000,000 National Education Debs. 6.5% 5/15/11 1,936,299 1,953,822
------------- -------------
Total Corporate Bonds 4,233,894 4,329,654
------------- -------------
U.S. GOVERNMENT AND AGENCY SECURITIES -- 7.0%
750,000 U.S. Treasury Note 6.0% 5/31/98 749,386 751,289
4,750,000 Federal Natl. Mtg. Assn. 6.625% 7/12/00 4,750,580 4,837,578
2,000,000 Federal Home Loan Bank 7.0% 5/28/02 2,007,263 2,009,688
6,000,000 Federal Home Loan Bank 0.0% 1/21/03 4,240,462 4,250,840
3,000,000 Federal Natl. Mtg. Assn. 7.54% 6/04/04 3,008,506 3,016,875
2,500,000 Federal Natl. Mtg. Assn. 7.55% 6/10/04 2,498,873 2,547,656
1,000,000 Federal Home Loan Bank 6.44% 11/28/05 1,001,245 1,027,031
1,000,000 Federal Natl. Mtg. Assn. 7.44% 11/06/06 1,002,807 1,007,187
6,000,000 Federal Natl. Mtg. Assn. 6.56% 11/26/07 6,000,000 6,035,508
------------- -------------
Total U.S. Government and Agency Securities 25,259,122 25,483,652
------------- -------------
SHORT-TERM SECURITIES -- 8.9%
18,333,620 Norwest U.S. Government Money Market Fund 18,333,620 18,333,620
3,750,000 Federal Home Loan Bank Discount Note 1/02/98 3,749,439 3,748,969
2,600,000 U.S. Treasury Bill 1/08/98 2,597,395 2,598,070
2,000,000 Federal Home Loan Bank Discount Note 3/06/98 1,980,195 1,979,561
6,000,000 Federal Home Loan Bank Discount Note 3/30/98 5,918,820 5,917,675
------------- -------------
Total Short-Term Securities 32,579,469 32,577,895
------------- -------------
Total Investments in Securities $ 255,013,153 362,599,666
------------- -------------
------------- -------------
Securities Sold Short -- (4.0%) (14,736,750)
Other Assets Less Liabilities -- 4.9% 18,126,032
-------------
Total Net Assets -- 100% $ 365,988,948
-------------
-------------
Net Asset Value Per Share $ 25.151
-------------
-------------
</TABLE>
8
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- VALUE PORTFOLIO
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES, CONTINUED
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS PROCEEDS VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
SECURITIES SOLD SHORT
401,000 Apartment Investment & Management Co.+ $ 12,921,509 $ 14,736,750
------------- -------------
------------- -------------
</TABLE>
+Apartment Investment & Management Co. ("AIV") is scheduled to acquire NHP, Inc.
("NHP") in the 1st quarter of 1998. As part of the acquisition, NHP shareholders
are expected to receive approximately .75 share of AIV for each share of NHP.
AIV has been sold short in anticipation of receipt of AIV shares in exchange for
NHP shares currently owned by the Value Portfolio.
*Non-income producing
**These units, purchased in a private placement, consist of one share of
preferred stock convertible to common and one stock purchase warrant and are
restricted securities exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933
(the "Act"). Unless registered under the Act or exempted from registration, they
may only be sold to qualified institutional investors or certain accredited
investors.
***Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one stock purchase
warrant.
9
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lorraine Chang
John W. Hancock
Richard D. Holland
Thomas R. Pansing, Jr.
Delmer L. Toebben
Wallace R. Weitz
OFFICERS
Wallace R. Weitz, President
Mary K. Beerling, Vice-President & Secretary
Linda L. Lawson, Vice-President
Richard F. Lawson, Vice-President
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Wallace R. Weitz & Company
DISTRIBUTOR
Weitz Securities, Inc.
CUSTODIAN
Norwest Bank Nebraska, N.A.
TRANSFER AGENT AND DIVIDEND PAYING AGENT
Wallace R. Weitz & Company
This report has been prepared for the information of shareholders of Weitz
Series Fund, Inc. -- Value Portfolio. For more detailed information about the
Fund, its investment objectives, management, fees and expenses, please see a
current prospectus. This report is not authorized for distribution to
prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus.
