Finance · Profile from Finance Research Companion
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
A failing New England textile mill that Warren Buffett took over in 1965 and turned into the largest insurance-and-capital-allocation machine in American history. Insurance float, which cost less than nothing because its insurers mostly made underwriting profits, grew from ~$20m in 1967 to ~$176bn at the end of 2025. That float paid for stakes in Coca-Cola, American Express and Apple, and for whole companies: GEICO (1996), General Re (1998), BNSF Railway (2010), Precision Castparts (2016), Alleghany (2022) and OxyChem (2026). In the panics of 2008 and 2011 Berkshire acted as Wall Street's lender of confidence, buying expensive preferred stock in Goldman Sachs, General Electric and Bank of America. On 1 January 2026 Greg Abel succeeded Buffett as chief executive. He inherited ~$373bn of cash and Treasury bills and a conglomerate whose central question is whether Buffett's method can outlive Buffett.
At a glance
- Founded
- Textile roots in 1839 (Valley Falls Company, Rhode Island); Berkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing merged in 1955; Buffett Partnership began buying shares in 1962 and took control in May 1965
- Headquarters
- Kiewit Plaza and later 3555 Farnam Street, Omaha, Nebraska; a head office of a few dozen people
- Ownership / structure
- NYSE-listed (BRK.A, and from 1996 BRK.B, split 50-for-1 in 2010 to 1/1,500th of an A share). Buffett held ~14% of the economic interest and ~30% of the votes in 2025 (proxy, reported, verify) and has pledged to give it away. It is a holding company with ~60+ directly owned operating businesses, each run with almost total autonomy
- Leadership (2026)
- Greg Abel, CEO since 1 January 2026 (previously vice chairman, non-insurance operations); Warren Buffett, chairman; Ajit Jain, vice chairman, insurance; Charles Chang, incoming CFO, succeeding Marc Hamburg (reported, verify timing); Todd Combs left for JPMorgan in December 2025 and Nancy Pierce succeeded him as GEICO CEO; Ted Weschler, investment manager
- Segment
- Insurer (P&C primary, reinsurance, life and annuity reinsurance) plus a railroad, a utility group, manufacturing, services and retailing, and a ~$300bn equity portfolio
- Scale
- Shareholders' equity ~$700bn+ (end-2025, reported, verify). Revenue ~$370bn (verify). ~390,000 employees (reported, verify). Market value passed $1tn on 28 August 2024, the first US non-technology company to do so
- Profit
- 2025 operating earnings $44.5bn (2024: $47.4bn). Net earnings attributable to shareholders $67.0bn (2024: $89.0bn), including $8.3bn of impairments on Kraft Heinz and Occidental (company release, 28 Feb 2026)
- Float
- ~$176bn at end-2025, up $5bn in the year (company). 2025 P&C combined ratio ~87.1% (reported)
- Cash
- Cash and Treasury bills were a record $381.6bn (30 Sep 2025), ~$373bn (end-2025), a new record of $397.4bn (31 Mar 2026) and $365.5bn (30 Jun 2026) after Abel began spending (company, reported)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- National Indemnity and the float model (1967); Salomon crisis (1991); buying all of GEICO (1996); General Re (1998); crisis capital for Goldman, GE and Wrigley (2008); BNSF (2010); Bank of America (2011); Apple (2016–24); AIG retroactive reinsurance (2017); Abel succession and redeploying the cash pile (2025–26). Misses include Dexter Shoe, Gen Re's early years, Kraft Heinz and Precision Castparts
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1967
National Indemnity and the Float Model
Acquisition (and the founding of the business model)
1991
Salomon Crisis and Interim Chairmanship
Investment (1987) and rescue / governance intervention (1991–92)
1996
GEICO Full Acquisition
Acquisition (buy-out of minority shareholders)
1998
General Re Acquisition
Acquisition (all-stock), later a partial failure and turnaround
2008
Crisis Capital Goldman GE and Wrigley
Preferred-stock and debt investments (private placements)
2010
BNSF Acquisition
Acquisition (cash and stock)
2011
Bank of America Preferred and Warrants
Preferred-stock investment with warrants; later conversion into a major common-stock holding
2016
Apple Stake
Equity investment (build-up 2016–18; major sale 2023–25)
2017
AIG Retroactive Reinsurance Deal
Reinsurance transaction (retroactive adverse-development cover)
2026
Abel Succession and Cash Deployment
Leadership succession; acquisitions; share buybacks; equity investment