55/100Is BRK-B-Berkshire Hathaway a buy?
Monday 10 August 2026
Why now: The stock is near its prior high and the business is entering a new CEO era with visible capital-allocation moves, but the chart is not yet back above the recent resistance level. It is a timing window to evaluate the post-transition playbook while the business fundamentals remain steady.
Upside: Upside over a 1+ year horizon is most likely to come from sustained operating earnings growth plus continued buybacks rather than a single catalyst; the near-term Street target set implies limited upside from the current print. A re-acceleration in underwriting and investment income would be the clearest driver for multiple support.
Risks: The main risk is a weaker insurance cycle or a large catastrophe year that pressures underwriting and book-value growth. A second risk is that post-transition capital allocation becomes less disciplined, reducing the long-run compounding rate.
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Scorecard
| Scorecard | 55/100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Company Detail | BRK-B - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | |
| Price as at 7 August 2026 | $521.80 | |
| Market cap | $1.1T | |
| Quality and Fundamental Score (100) | ||
| Breakout / Early-Momentum /20 | 2/20 | |
| Rev/EPS Momentum /20 | 12/20 | |
| Business Quality /15 | 5/15 | |
| Balance Sheet /15 | 14/15 | |
| Valuation /10 | 7/10 | |
| Industry Relative Strength /10 | 5/10 | |
| Macro / Sector Tailwind /10 | 10/10 | |
| Growth | ||
| Cash runway | Cash generative | |
| Revenue YoY | +0.0% | |
| EPS YoY | -24.8% | |
| FCF YoY | +115.6% | |
| Gross margin | 23.6% | |
| Valuation & Trend | ||
| Trailing P/E | 15.5x | |
| Forward P/E | 25.0x | |
| RSI (14d) | 70 | |
| vs 50d SMA | +5.4% | |
| Support cushion | −5.0% | |
| Sentiment | ||
| Wall Street verdict | Mixed | |
| News tone | Quiet | |
| Dividend | — | |
How are these colored?
| Metric | Strong metrics | Solid metrics | Selective | Caution | Unfavourable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall score | ≥ 80 | 70-79 | 60-69 | 50-59 | < 50 |
| Business quality /15 | ≥ 12 | 10-11 | 8-9 | 6-7 | < 6 |
| Balance sheet /15 | ≥ 12 | 10-11 | 8-9 | 6-7 | < 6 |
| Market cap | ≥ $20B | $5B-$20B | $2B-$5B | $1B-$2B | < $1B |
| Cash runway | ≥ 3 yr or cash generative | 1.5-3 yr | 0.75-1.5 yr | 0.25-0.75 yr | < 0.25 yr |
| Revenue YoY | ≥ 15% | 5-15% | 0-5% | -5-0% | < -5% |
| EPS YoY | ≥ 20% | 5-20% | 0-5% | -5-0% | < -5% |
| FCF YoY | ≥ 10% | 1-10% | 0-1% | -5-0% | < -5% |
| Gross margin | ≥ 60% | 40-60% | 25-40% | 10-25% | < 10% |
| Trailing P/E | < 15 | 15-25 | 25-35 | 35-40 | > 40 or neg |
| Forward P/E | < 15 | 15-25 | 25-35 | 35-40 | > 40 or neg |
| RSI (14d) | 50-70 | 45-50 or 70-75 | 40-45 or 75-78 | 30-40 or 78-80 | < 30 or > 80 |
| vs 50d SMA | +2% to +15% | 0-2% or 15-25% | -2-0% or 25-35% | -3--2% or 35-40% | < -3% or > 40% |
| Support cushion | 2-10% above | 0-2% | 10-15% | 15-20% | price below support |
| Wall Street verdict | Aligned | — | Mixed | — | Disagrees |
| News tone | Positive | — | Neutral / Mixed | — | Negative |
| Dividend | Yield ≥ 2% & growing | Growing | Flat payer ≥ 1% | Low / flat | Cutting |
Detailed Analysis — Monday 10 August 2026
Gregory Edward Abel has been Chief Executive Officer and President since January 1, 2026.
Charles C.
Receiver of capital expenditure: No — Berkshire is primarily a capital allocator and operator, not a vendor that directly receives customers’ capital expenditure budgets.
Main customers
- Insurance policyholders (individuals and businesses) (Customers buy auto, property, reinsurance, and specialty insurance products across Berkshire’s insurance group.)
- Freight shippers (Rail customers across many end markets ship consumer goods, industrial inputs, and energy-related freight.)
- Berkshire remains one of the most durable compounding structures in U.S. markets because it combines insurance float, a wide set of operating businesses, and disciplined capital allocation.
- The long-term case is not about one growth engine; it is about steady, resilient cash generation that can be redeployed into buybacks, acquisitions, and public equities through cycles.
- The key question for the next several years is whether the CEO transition preserves the same patience and pricing discipline in capital allocation.
Scores 55 out of 100 — a mixed overall grade. Sector fit and balance sheet scored highest. Valuation and earnings trend were fair but not standout drivers. Business quality and chart setup weighed on the total. The technical setup is extended and not in a confirmed early-breakout state, industry relative strength is below 50, and the stock is trading above the current Wall Street consensus target, which caps the score despite strong business quality.
Component scores are on the scorecard above.
- As of the most recent print, BRK-B is around $520.96 in premarket, modestly below the prior close, and still just below the recent resistance level near $525.
- The stock is above both its 50-day and 200-day averages and the 200-day is rising, but the setup is labeled extended and not in a confirmed breakout state, with no recent hold above resistance and no meaningful volume expansion versus baseline.
- Berkshire’s latest annual revenue was $371.44B with net income of $66.97B and free cash flow of $25.04B, reflecting a very large and diversified earnings base rather than dependence on a single product cycle.
- The balance sheet shows substantial liquidity (cash of $58.12B), strong current ratio (about 4.27), and modest leverage for the scale of the business (net debt to EBITDA about 1.17).
- Profitability is steady but not “high-return software-like”: ROE is about 10.3% and ROIC about 4.3%, which means long-term results rely heavily on underwriting discipline, reinvestment yields, and smart capital allocation.
- A notable recent fundamental development is that Berkshire announced and completed a major acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison, signaling willingness to do meaningful deals early in the new CEO era.
Cash runway: Cash generative (latest annual free cash flow is positive).
Upcoming (1–6 months)
- Next quarterly results release and commentary on buybacks, insurance underwriting performance, and investment income.
Ongoing
- Capital allocation cadence post-transition: buyback pace and pricing discipline, plus any follow-on acquisitions after the Taylor Morrison deal.
Risks
- A sustained period of weak underwriting (or major catastrophe losses) that reduces float economics and slows compounding.
- Large acquisitions done at aggressive prices that dilute long-run returns, especially if the economy slows.
Breaks the thesis
- A decisive breakdown below the 50-day moving average followed by failure to reclaim it within several weeks, signaling the market is repricing the name rather than merely pausing.