Understanding Berkshire Hathaway: Market Cap, Ownership, and More

The company owns a variety of well-known businesses, such as GEICO and Fruit of the Loom, and has significant minority interests in public companies such as Apple. What is now Berkshire Hathaway started as a textile company and evolved into one of the largest companies in the world by market cap. While Buffett generally does not invest in tech stocks, he has said that Apple is a consumer products company and that he understands consumer products businesses.

Industry

• Holders of class A stock are allowed to convert their stock to Class B, though not vice versa.
• That prospect lets investors fantasize about future profitability rather than face today’s business realities .
• Buffett had said that Apple has developed an ecosystem and level of brand loyalty that provides it with an economic moat, and that consumers appear to have a degree of price insensitivity when it comes to the iPhone.
• In May 2008, Mitek acquired Hohmann & Barnard, a fabricator of anchors and reinforcement systems for masonry.
• Berkshire later sold $1.4 billion worth of shares to Phillips 66 in exchange for Phillips Specialty Products.

Charlie and I avoid businesses whose futures we can’t evaluate , no matter how exciting their products may be . Over time , markets will do extraordinary , even bizarre , things . There are three connected realities that cause investing success to breed failure (talking about investment funds).

A truly great business must have an enduring “ moat ” that protects excellent returns on invested capital . Of course , some investment strategies — for instance , our efforts in arbitrage over the years — require wide diversification . By confining himself to a relatively few , easy — to — understand cases , a reasonably intelligent , informed and diligent person can judge investment risks with a useful degree of accuracy . 3 ) The certainty with which management can be counted on to channel the rewards from the business to the shareholders rather than to itself ;

Annual letters and shareholders’ meetings

This area of West Berkshire is the largest centre of racehorse training in the UK after Newmarket, and is known as the ‘Valley of the Racecourse’. Biosynth Carbosynth, along with its acquired companies, vivitide and Pepscan rebranded to Biosynth in 2022. Much of the county’s early history is recorded in the Chronicles of the Abingdon Abbey, which at the time of the survey was second only to the crown in the extent and number of its possessions, such as The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay. Despite investments in renewable energy, the company was criticized for its decision to operate these plants until at least 2049, raising public health and environmental concerns.

• Market allegory may seem out — of — date in today’s investment world , in which most professionals and academicians talk of efficient markets , dynamic hedging and betas .
• The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town.
• Berkshire sold its remaining bonds and preferred stock to Mars in 2016.
• And the market aberrations produced by them will be equally unpredictable , both as to duration and degree .
• Market who is your partner in a private business .

Towns and villages

But Buffett’s main problem berkshire hathaway letters to shareholders is not with the concept of debt — it is with the type of high-interest, variable-rate debt that consumer investors must take on if they want to use it to buy stocks. Much of Berkshire’s early success came down to the intelligent use of leverage on relatively cheap stocks, as a 2013 study from AQR Capital Management and Copenhagen Business School showed. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle There are some investment managers, of course, who are very good – although in the short term, it’s hard to tell whether a great record is due to luck or skill. When directors have skin in the game, they’re more likely to look out for the company’s best interests. This strategy of train and explain means you will leave this book with a wealth of knowledge you never knew you needed. Among those top 10 Berkshire Hathaway companies, the amount of earnings that are retained and reinvested is more than double the size of the earnings being paid out as dividends.

The salary for Buffett is $100,000 per year with no stock options, which is among the lowest salaries for CEOs of large companies in the United States. The increased market liquidity resulted in the company’s inclusion in the S&P 500. In January 2010, as part of the acquisition of BNSF Railway, Berkshire completed a 50-to-1 stock split of its class B shares. Berkshire Hathaway has never undergone a stock split of its Class A shares because of management’s desire to attract long-term investors as opposed to short-term speculation. As of June 30, 2025, the company had $344 billion in Treasury bills, which together with its reported cash of $44 billion made up the largest cash position of any U.S.-based public company.

Analyzing Berkshire Hathaway’s Investment Approach

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer – no Kindle device required. However, the company also manages hundreds of diverse businesses all over the world. As of 2025, Berkshire Hathaway had a market capitalization of over $1.05 trillion, making it one of the largest publicly traded companies worldwide. Its class A shares (BRK.A) are among the most expensive in the stock market and trade at over $700,000 dollars per share. Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company for a multitude of businesses, including GEICO and Fruit of the Loom, that is led by Warren Buffett. Buffett was reluctant to create the class B shares but did so to thwart the creation of unit investment trusts that would have marketed themselves as Berkshire look-alikes.

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In the second quarter of 2020, Berkshire added a position of more than 20 million shares in Barrick Gold; the shares were sold in 2021. Berkshire began investing in common shares of Occidental beginning in 2022 and has increased its position since. In April 2020, Berkshire sold all shares in the airlines due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial air transport. Buffett had made an investment in US Airways in 1989 which, although he sold for a profit, almost lost Berkshire a substantial sum of money. Aggressive stock purchases continued and by March 31, 2017, Berkshire had amassed a stake of 129 million shares (2.5% of Apple). In the first quarter of 2016, Berkshire began investing in Apple Inc., with a purchase of 9.8 million shares (0.2% of Apple) worth $1 billion.

The south-east of the county contains Swinley Forest, a remnant of Windsor Forest now used as a forestry plantation. The Thames then forms Berkshire’s northern border, flowing past Maidenhead, before entering the county and flowing past Slough and Windsor. The Berkshire Downs, a chalk downland and area of outstanding natural beauty, occupy the west of the county. The historic county included the parts of Oxfordshire south of the River Thames, which formed its northern border, but excluded Caversham and Slough.

Indeed , if you aren’t certain that you understand and can value your business far better than Mr . It is his pocketbook , not his wisdom , that you will find useful . On these occasions he will name a very low price , since he is terrified that you will unload your interest on him . When in that mood , he names a very high buy — sell price because he fears that you will snap up his interest and rob him of imminent gains . Even though the business that the two of you own may have economic characteristics that are stable , Mr .

I enjoy reading the letter first (with no spoilers), then peruse the various newspaper and media commentary, and finally re-read the letter again. As always, I recommend reading it yourself (only 13 pages total this year). Post that, I read another book named The Essays of Warren Buffett – it is an excellent compilation of all the letters by Lawrence A. Cunningham. Intense competition in the reinsurance business has produced major losses for practically every company operating in the area. It was really fun to read through the history and see how Buffett went from small time to big time.

In April 2007, Berkshire acquired 10.9% of BNSF Railway for $3.23 billion. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, TTI is the largest distributor specialist of passive, interconnect, and electromechanical components. In 2019, Applied Underwriters was sold back to its founder for $920 million. Products are produced in the United States and Europe and are sold primarily through a global network of independent dealers and distributors, with peak sales occurring in the second and third quarters. CTB, headquartered in Milford, Indiana, is a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of systems used in the grain industry and in the production of poultry, hogs, and eggs. In April 2002, Berkshire acquired Fruit of the Loom for $835 million in cash.

Major stock purchases and sales

In January 1986, Berkshire acquired Fechheimer Brothers, owner of Flying Cross, which manufactures public safety uniforms, and Vertx, a civilian tactical clothing company. In 2014, Graham Holdings Company sold its Miami television station, ABC affiliate WPLG to BH Media in a cash and stock deal. He has estimated that had he invested the same money directly in insurance businesses instead of indirectly via Berkshire Hathaway (due to what he perceived as a slight by an individual), it would have paid off several hundredfold. Buffett has described buying the Berkshire Hathaway textile company as the biggest investment mistake he had ever made, denying him compounded investment returns of about $200 billion over the subsequent 45 years. In 1964, Buffett offered to sell his shares back to the company for $11.50 each. In August 2024, Berkshire Hathaway became the eighth U.S. public company and the first non-technology company to be valued at over $1 trillion on the list of public corporations by market capitalization.

Buffett concedes that those who invest in companies on the speculation that they may one day be worthwhilecould reap returns — he just has no interest in that kind of investment. For these extremely asset-laden businesses that have constant equipment and capital needs, debt makes more sense, and they will generate plentiful amounts of cash for Berkshire Hathaway even in an economic downturn. I learned most of the ideas in this investment discussion from Ben’s book The Intelligent Investor, which I bought in 1949. This is a must read for anyone who wants to seriously consider investing in equities. So much to learn on investing and really gels wells with my investment philosophy.

From 1965 to 2023, the stock price had negative performance in only eleven years. Buffett personally owns 38.4% of the Class A voting shares of Berkshire Hathaway, representing a 15.1% overall economic interest in the company. Greg Abel now oversees most of the company’s investments and has been named as Buffett’s successor. ( This overstatement of earnings exists at all railroads . ) When CEOs or investment bankers tout pre — depreciation figures such as EBITDA as a valuation guide , watch their noses lengthen while they speak .

Abel was appointed vice chairman for non-insurance business operations, and Jain became vice chairman of insurance operations. In early 2012, 50-year-old Ted Weschler, founder of Peninsula Capital Advisors, joined Berkshire as a second investment manager. In October 2010, Berkshire announced that 39-year old Todd Combs, manager of the hedge fund Castle Point Capital, would join as an investment manager. Charlie Munger served as vice chairman of the company from 1978 until his death on November 28, 2023. Berkshire’s annual shareholders’ meetings, nicknamed “Woodstock for Capitalists”, take place at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett also receives approximately $300,000 worth of home security services from the company annually.

Would that description have then made any sense to someone who was offered the entire company at a vastly — reduced price ? If we calculate the value of a common stock to be only slightly higher than its price , we’re not interested in buying . Market allegory may seem out — of — date in today’s investment world , in which most professionals and academicians talk of efficient markets , dynamic hedging and betas . At other times he is depressed and can see nothing but trouble ahead for both the business and the world . At times he feels euphoric and can see only the favorable factors affecting the business .

He focused on selecting stocks that would be held for the long term. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Berkshire’s public market equity portfolio was valued at more than $346 billion. Class A shares have never split and closed above $734,000 per share on October 10th of 2025 (its Class B shares traded at about $489 on the same date). Berkshire Hathaway has a long history of operating success and smart investments.