Is Berkshire Hathaway a good long term investment?
With its 3-star rating, we believe Berkshire stock is fairly valued compared with our long-term fair value estimate. We've increased our fair value estimate to $600,000 per Class A share from $555,000 after updating our forecasts for the company's operating businesses and insurance investment portfolio.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) stock has proven to be one of the best-performing investments of all time. Since 1980, shares have increased more than 2,000 times in value. A $500 investment would now be worth a cool $1 million.
Berkshire Hathaway doesn't pay dividends
In the comparison to the S&P 500 Index above, the performance figures include reinvested dividends. That is a benefit for the S&P 500, but has no impact on Berkshire Hathaway's performance because the company doesn't pay a dividend.
It owns a variety of well-known private businesses, such as GEICO, and also has minority interests in public companies, such as Apple. Risks of being a Berkshire investor include issues of regulatory challenges and being a conglomerate, as well as the performance of successors when Warren Buffett retires or dies.
According to the latest long-term forecast, Berkshire Hathaway price will hit $450 by the end of 2024 and then $500 by the middle of 2025. Berkshire Hathaway will rise to $600 within the year of 2027, $700 in 2028, $800 in 2030, $900 in 2032 and $1000 in 2034.
The company doesn't pay a dividend and has huge amounts of cash on its balance sheet. Berkshire Hathaway is a massive holding company that needs to make big investments to move the needle.
Berkshire created two share classes in 1996 to make investing more accessible. Both share classes offer essentially the same exposure to the company's success. Most investors are better off sticking with Class B shares for their flexibility and affordability.
Buffett has carefully built Berkshire Hathaway to last long after he's gone, always maintaining a long-term vision at the company that's helped the stock outperform the S&P 500 over the years. But this giant, worth nearly $900 billion, isn't a buy at any price.
Berkshire Hathaway can be a great lower-risk investment. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -0.34%) (BRK.B -0.01%) needs no introduction. The Warren Buffett-managed conglomerate has a stellar track record of growing value for its shareholders. It can make a great long-term investment.
Greggory Warren: Well, about a decade ago, we really started noting in our research that we felt that Berkshire would survive the eventual departure of both Buffett and Munger and that there was a groundwork there for a successful transition that they really started around the new millennium.
Is Berkshire Hathaway recession proof?
Berkshire Hathaway is a recession-proof investment
The company owns BNSF Railway, one of North America's largest rail networks with over 32,000 miles. Due to its pipeline assets, the company owns roughly one-fifth of U.S. interstate natural gas transports.
| Year | Prediction | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $ 684,510 | 11.61% |
| 2026 | $ 764,008 | 24.58% |
| 2027 | $ 852,740 | 39.05% |
| 2028 | $ 951,777 | 55.19% |
Just know that a $250 investment is no longer even possible. The company's B shares -- its cheapest share class -- now trade at around $400. If you can meet that minimum investment, putting the money into Berkshire still makes a ton of long-term sense.
Its Relative Strength Rating of 84 means it has outperformed 84% of stocks in terms of price performance over the past 12 months. Berkshire Hathaway stock held strong in 2022, making a slight gain compared to a loss of more than 19% for the S&P 500.
Going from Buffett's past history, it's unlikely that the company will pay investors a dividend while he remains in charge. There's every chance that Berkshire Hathaway's future CEO also decides against paying dividends, especially given Buffett's track record of creating shareholder value by other means.
Berkshire Hathaway doesn't pay a dividend itself, but the vast majority of stocks that it owns do. Buffett's such a big fan of dividend payers that a majority of Berkshire's holdings are concentrated in a handful of dividend-paying stocks.
Buffett has turned that failing textile business into a massive conglomerate. Berkshire no longer deals in textiles, with Buffett giving up that particular fight in 1985. Sticking with the textile business may have been one of Buffett's biggest mistakes as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Berkshire Hathaway said Saturday that it lost $12.8 billion, or $8,824 per Class A share, in the quarter. That's significantly bigger than the $2.8 billion loss, or $1,907 per Class A share, that it reported a year ago.
When he goes down a track that doesn't make sense, he does not pay attention to anything, which is a weakness for a big business leader like him. His biggest weakness is greed. He loves money too much that it interfered with his relationship with his family for a long time.
Over the past decade, Berkshire's beta is 0.63, showing it experiences significantly less volatility than the broader market. For these reasons, Berkshire Hathaway is an excellent stock to add to your portfolio today and hold for the long haul.
Can I convert brk b to brk a?
This conversion privilege does not extend in the opposite direction. That is, holders of Class B shares are not able to convert them into Class A shares. Both Class A & B shareholders are entitled to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting which is held the first Saturday in May.
Anyone can invest in Berkshire Hathaway if they have enough money to buy at least one Class B share (about $360 in late 2023). For comparison, hedge funds are open only to accredited investors, meaning those with a high income or net worth and who can meet the fund's minimum investment, which can be $1 million or more.
As of 2024-04-25, the Fair Value of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.B) is 1,113.71 USD. This value is based on the Peter Lynch's Fair Value formula. With the current market price of 405.95 USD, the upside of Berkshire Hathaway Inc is 174.3%.
Key Points. Warren Buffett made his fortune by investing in individual companies with great long-term advantages. But his top recommendation for anyone is to buy a simple index fund. Buffett's recommendation underscores the importance of diversification.
If you don't, then dollar-cost average into index funds.” Buffett has long advised most investors to use index funds to invest in the market, rather than trying to pick individual stocks. By picking individual stocks you're working against the pros who have extensive intelligence on companies.
