Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)
Financials · NYSE · US
Fundamentals
Valuation and ratings
Berkshire Hathaway trades at $488.35, close to the $490.00 our discounted cash flow model puts on the business. On this measure the market and the model broadly agree, so the interesting question is which of them is wrong.
Our moat model scores it 78 out of 100, which is a wide moat. A moat is a structural reason competitors cannot take the profits away, and it matters more to a long holding period than any single quarter's numbers do.
It changes hands at 14.7 times earnings. Be careful reading that in isolation: for a cyclical business a low P/E arrives at the top of the cycle, when profits are peaking and about to fall, which is exactly when the shares look cheapest and are not.
About Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility businesses. The company provides property, casualty, life, accident, and health insurance and reinsurance; operates railroad systems in North America; generates, transmits, stores, and distributes electricity from natural gas, coal, wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, and geothermal sources; operates natural gas distribution and storage facilities, interstate pipelines, liquefied natural gas facilities, and compressor and meter stations; and holds interest in coal mining assets. It manufactures boxed chocolates and other confectionery products; specialty chemicals, metal cutting tools, and components for aerospace and power generation applications; prefabricated and site-built residential homes, flooring products; insulation, roofing, and engineered products; building and engineered components; paints and coatings; and bricks and masonry products, as well as offers manufactured and site-built home construction, and related lending and financial services. In addition, the company provides recreational vehicles, apparel, footwear, toys, jewelry, custom picture framing products, alkaline batteries, logistics services, and professional aviation training and shared aircraft ownership programs; castings, forgings, fasteners/fastener systems, aerostructures, and precision components; and cobalt, nickel, and titanium alloys. Further, it distributes televisions and information, and grocery and non-food consumer products; franchises and services quick service restaurants; and distributes electronic components. Additionally, it retails automobiles; furniture, bedding, and accessories; household appliances, electronics, and floor coverings; watches, home decor and repair services; sells kitchenware; and motorcycle clothing and equipment. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
BRK.B passes 5 of our 30 screens today
Each screen prints the exact criteria it used, and the circumstances in which it is wrong.
Smart money ownership
46 of the funds we track reported a position in their latest SEC 13F filing. Largest first:
- Bill Gates, GATES FOUNDATION TRUST$8.17B · 25.8% of book
- Duan Yongping, H&H International Investment, LLC$4.38B · 21.9% of book
- Thomas Gayner, MARKEL GROUP INC.$1.47B · 6.6% of book
- Capital Research Global, Capital Research Global Investors$924.26M · 0.1% of book
- Cliff Asness, AQR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC$786.87M · 0.4% of book
A word of warning on reading these figures: a 13F reports the market value of a holding, so a fund that traded nothing at all still appears to have sold when the price fell. We found 102 companies where the standard reading gives the opposite answer. Only the share count is honest.
Common questions
Is Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) undervalued?
Against our discounted cash flow estimate of $490.00, BRK.B at $488.35 is 0% below fair value. That is one model's answer, not a recommendation, and most of a DCF's output sits in a terminal value nobody can forecast.
Which funds own BRK.B?
46 of the institutions we track reported a position in BRK.B in their most recent SEC 13F filing. A 13F is filed up to 45 days after quarter end, so it tells you what a fund held then, not what it holds now.
What is BRK.B's P/E ratio?
BRK.B trades at 14.7 times earnings. A low P/E is not automatically cheap: on a cyclical company it is usually a warning that earnings are at a peak.
The full research page for BRK.B, with financial statements, ownership detail, peer comparison and alerts, is free inside the app.
Data from company filings, exchange quotes and SEC EDGAR 13F disclosures. Quotes are delayed. Metrics we do not have are left out rather than estimated. Educational information, not financial advice.