The Year-end 2025 sum of the parts
This is not the current valuation. It is the estimate struck on the 2025 Form 10-K, kept as a record, and it has not been restated since. The current base case is $524 per share on the Q3 2026 Form 10-Q.
The current valuation, in full · Every estimate side by side
The first full sum of the parts, struck on the 2025 Form 10-K.
Published as an annual exercise anchored entirely to the 10-K: every line, the balance-sheet marks included, carried a 31 December 2025 date. From Q3 2026 the balance-sheet marks and the share count roll each quarter while the earnings multiples stay on the 10-K.
| Holding | Normalised profit | Multiple | Value | Per share | % of base |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating businesses | $405 B | $188 | 38% | ||
| Insurance Underwriting | $2.0 B | 10× | $20 B | $9 | 2% |
| BNSF Railway | $5.5 B | 20× | $110 B | $51 | 10% |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy | $4.0 B | 18× | $71 B | $33 | 7% |
| Manufacturing, Service & Retail | $13.6 B | 15× | $204 B | $94 | 19% |
| Investments | $295 B | $137 | 28% | ||
| Public Equities | $15.0 B | 20× | $298 B | $138 | 28% |
| Equity Method Investments | $1.8 B | — | $20 B | $9 | 2% |
| Fixed Income | $0.6 B | — | $18 B | $8 | 2% |
| Deferred Tax Liability | — | — | ($41 B) | ($19) | -4% |
| Cash & Treasuries | $369 B | $171 | 35% | ||
| Cash & T-bills — parent | $3.7 B | — | $127 B | $59 | 12% |
| Cash & T-bills — insurance | $7.0 B | — | $242 B | $112 | 23% |
| Base case intrinsic value | $1,069 B | $495 | 100% | ||
| Insurance liquidity reserve | — | — | ($30 B) | ($14) | — |
| Parent company debt | ($0.5 B) | — | ($23 B) | ($11) | — |
| Public equities haircut (10%) | — | — | ($30 B) | ($14) | — |
| Deferred tax relief on haircut | — | — | $4 B | $2 | — |
| Downside intrinsic value | $990 B | $458 | — | ||
| Improved operations | $1.0 B | 15× | $15 B | $7 | — |
| Value created by acquisitions | $10.0 B | 15× | $150 B | $69 | — |
| Cash used to acquire | ($3.0 B) | — | ($100 B) | ($46) | — |
| Upside intrinsic value | $1,134 B | $525 | — | ||
What changed after this
The next estimate, Q3 2026, put the base case at $524 — $29 per share higher. 11 lines moved and the share count fell 1.47%. The archive sets out every one of them line by line.
- Public Equities: $298.0 B → $335.5 B (+$37.5 B).
- Cash & T-bills — insurance: $242.0 B → $215.5 B (($26.5 B)), normalised profit $7.0 B → $6.5 B.
- Manufacturing, Service & Retail: $204.0 B → $222.0 B (+$18.0 B), normalised profit $13.6 B → $14.8 B.
- BNSF Railway: $110.0 B → $120.0 B (+$10.0 B), normalised profit $5.5 B → $6.0 B.
- Cash & T-bills — parent: $127.0 B → $136.7 B (+$9.7 B), normalised profit $3.7 B → $4.2 B.
- Public equities haircut (10%): ($30.0 B) → ($33.6 B) (($3.6 B)).
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