Buffett Brain · Research note
Score updated 5 Oct 2026 · analysis from 2 Jun 2026
BRK-B· Financial Services
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway is a fortress balance sheet priced for comfort, with an owner-earnings yield of just 2.4 percent.
Buffett fit
Weak fit
Owner
24
Durability
16
Management
59
Price
47
Score updated 5 Oct 2026 · analysis from 2 Jun 2026
Buffett's checklist
Each number against Buffett's bar, and where it ranks among Financial Services stocks in our database.
How much profit the business makes on each dollar invested in it. Higher is better.
The cash the business earns for its owners, compared with the price of the whole company.
How fast sales grew each year over the last five years.
How many years of today's profit you pay for at today's price. Lower means cheaper.
How much the company owes compared with what it owns outright. Lower is safer.
The four pillars
How the business measures up on each of Buffett's four tests.
When I buy a share here I am buying a slice of dozens of real businesses run by people who think like owners.
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The durability score of 16 is the number that stops me. is only 4.25 percent over the trailing year and 8.7 percent over five years, and trailing earnings per share have actually shrunk at 5.9 percent a year.
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Here is the bright spot. Management carries almost no debt, with of 0.20 and interest coverage of 14 times, and it has quietly shrunk the share count by 1.2 percent a year through .
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There is little in the price. A price to earnings of 14.1 sounds reasonable on the surface, but the owner-earnings yield is only 2.4 percent and the enterprise trades at 18.9 times operating profit.
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For and against
The strongest points on each side, with the numbers behind them.
In its favor
6- 1Pristine balance sheet with of just 0.20 and interest coverage of 14.4 times.
- 2Strong liquidity, with a current ratio of 4.27 that lets the firm act when others cannot.
- 3Disciplined have reduced the share count at 1.2 percent a year.
- 4Steady top-line growth, with revenue at 7.7 percent.
Concerns
6- 1The price is full: an owner-earnings yield of only 2.4 percent and 18.9 times operating profit leave little .
- 2 is weak at 4.25 percent trailing and 8.7 percent over five years, well below what a wonderful business earns.
- 3Trailing earnings per share have declined at 5.9 percent a year.
- 4 is only 37 percent of net income, so reported profit converts poorly to cash.
Price history
$489+72.2%· 5-year return
Weekly closing prices. Touch or hover the line for a date.
The business
How the business works
Berkshire earns money three ways at once. It collects insurance premiums and invests the float, it owns whole businesses outright from railroads to utilities to consumer brands, and it holds a large stock portfolio. The blended of 16.1 percent and revenue near 7.7 percent show a steady, diversified earner rather than a high-return machine.
How this analysis has moved
The call has held across 2 reviews.
Sep 27, 2026 → Oct 4, 2026
What other investors would say
The same company, judged by three other documented playbooks.
Keep researching
Similar companies in Financial Services
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