Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

BRK.B
Financial Analysis · Updated May 12, 2026 · Coverage 2026-Q2
Latest Q Revenue
$11.3B
Q1 2026 · +18% YoY
TTM ROIC
7%
FY2025 · Operating Earnings / Total Equity (Operating ROE) · WACC ~6.5% · Moat spread +0.5pp

Financial Snapshot


ticker: BRK.B step: 04 generated: 2026-05-11 source: quick-research

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — Class B (BRK.B) — Financial Snapshot

(Note: Berkshire's GAAP net income is dominated by unrealized investment gains/losses, which Buffett/Abel both caution should be ignored. "Operating earnings" is the management-preferred metric.)

Income Statement Summary

Metric FY2023 FY2024 FY2025
Total Revenue ~$364B ~$371B $371.4B
Operating Earnings (ex-investments) $37.4B $47.4B $44.5B
Net Income (GAAP, incl. mark-to-market) $96.2B $89.0B $67.0B
Insurance Underwriting Profit $5.4B $3.4B $1.6B
Insurance Investment Income $9.6B $4.1B $3.1B
Cash Flow from Operations ~$49B ~$45B $46B

Balance Sheet (Q1 2026)

Metric Value
Cash $58B
US Treasury Bills (short-term) $339B
Total Liquid Assets $397B (record)
Insurance Float $176B (+$5B YoY)
Equity Investment Portfolio (market value) ~$280–300B
Total Assets ~$1.15T
Shareholders' Equity (book value) ~$650B

Q1 2026 Snapshot

Metric Q1 2026
Revenue $93.7B
Net Income (GAAP) $10.1B
Share Buybacks $234M (first since May 2024 — 21-month gap)

Key Ratios (approximate)

  • P/B (Price-to-Book): ~1.65x | P/E (on operating earnings): ~24x
  • Operating Earnings Yield: ~4%
  • Cash + Treasuries / Market Cap: ~35% (essentially a third of Berkshire's value is currently liquid)
  • Insurance Float / Equity: ~27%
  • No dividend; capital return is via opportunistic buybacks

Growth Profile

Berkshire's structural growth has slowed in the late-Buffett / early-Abel transition. Operating earnings fell ~6% in 2025 driven by 54% decline in insurance underwriting profits (catastrophe losses + GEICO competitive pressure) and lower investment income on the equity portfolio. However, the strategic posture is more important than near-term growth: Berkshire has been a net seller of equities for 13+ consecutive quarters (Buffett era), accumulating ~$300B+ of cash, and Abel resumed share buybacks in March 2026 — the first since May 2024. The market is implicitly underwriting Abel to deploy the cash pile at a major drawdown or large acquisition.

Forward Estimates

Sell-side coverage is limited (no consensus earnings model published widely; Berkshire is followed by relatively few analysts). Implicit framing: operating earnings of ~$45–50B per year is the steady-state, with the $397B cash position serving as embedded optionality worth ~$80–120B of NPV depending on assumed deployment IRR (10–15% over 5 years). Bull case: Abel executes a $50–100B acquisition at distressed cycle valuations; bear case: cash continues to drag returns vs. equities, and Berkshire's relative outperformance vs. S&P 500 ends with the Buffett era.

Deeper Financial Analysis

The fundamental tier adds 9 additional research dimensions for $BRK.B.

Revenue Breakdown
Segment revenue, geographic mix, product-line contribution margins, and cohort dynamics.
Financial Trends
Quarter-over-quarter momentum, leading indicators, and inflection point analysis.
Balance Sheet
Debt structure, liquidity runway, dilution risk, and working capital dynamics.
Capital Allocation
Buyback cadence, M&A appetite, dividend policy, and reinvestment priorities.
Returns on Capital (ROIC)
Multi-year ROIC vs. WACC, marginal returns on reinvestment, sales-to-invested-capital efficiency, and moat spread.
GET /api/v1/research/BRK.B/fundamental$1.00 · Bearer token required
Markdown: /stocks/brk.b/financials/md · → thesis · → memo