Berkshire Hathaway stock price Class B shares
Berkshire Hathaway’s Two Stock Prices Explained
Ever looked up Warren Buffett’s famous company and seen one stock price for over $600,000 and another for around $400? This isn’t a website glitch; it’s a story about making one of the world’s most successful companies accessible to almost anyone. That second, more affordable option is the Berkshire Hathaway Class B stock, and its price is one of the most talked-about numbers in finance.
But what is Berkshire Hathaway? The company doesn’t make a single product you can hold. Instead, it’s a holding company. The easiest way to picture this is as a giant shopping basket that Warren Buffett has been filling for decades with entire companies or large pieces of them. That basket includes dozens of businesses you’ll instantly recognize, such as:
- GEICO car insurance
- Duracell batteries
- Dairy Queen
- A massive stake in Apple
When you buy a share of Berkshire, you’re not betting on a single industry. You’re buying a small piece of everything in that basket, a diversification that is a key reason for its appeal. This guide explains why two stock classes exist and what it means for everyday people interested in the market.
Solving the Price Mystery: Why Class B Shares Were Created
For decades, owning even one share of Berkshire Hathaway was like trying to buy a house with pocket change. The original stock, now known as Class A (BRK.A), saw its price climb into the tens, and then hundreds, of thousands of dollars. This incredible cost created a barrier for the very long-term, everyday investors that Warren Buffett often championed, making it exclusive to the ultra-wealthy.
To solve this exact problem, Berkshire introduced its Class B stock (BRK.B) in 1996. Think of a single Class A share as a whole pizza. By creating Class B shares, the company essentially took that pizza and sliced it into many smaller, more affordable pieces. This move, a version of a stock split, suddenly allowed people who believed in the company to buy a “slice” without needing a fortune to do so.
Consequently, because a Class B share represents a much smaller piece of ownership, its price is also a much smaller fraction of the massive Class A price. Today, one Class B share holds exactly 1/1500th of the economic interest of a single Class A share. That’s why if a Class A share is priced at over $600,000, a Class B share will trade for around $400. They are simply two different-sized pieces of the exact same company.
Price vs. Power: The Real Difference Between BRK.A and BRK.B
Beyond the price tag, the most significant difference between Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A and Class B stock comes down to voting power. Think of it like a shareholder election: a Class A share gives its owner a very loud voice in company decisions, while a Class B share provides just a whisper. This structure ensures that long-term, large-scale investors (like Warren Buffett himself) maintain control over the company’s direction.
For the vast majority of individual investors, however, this difference in voting power is purely academic. Because your vote would be one among millions, its impact is negligible. The primary benefit of owning BRK.B shares is receiving the exact same economic exposure—your slice of the profits from the company’s holdings grows at the same rate as anyone holding the far more expensive Class A shares.
Finally, the shares operate on a one-way street. An owner can always convert a Class A share into 1,500 Class B shares, but you can never trade your B shares back up to an A share. Ultimately, the BRK.B ticker symbol represents an opportunity to buy into the same brilliant collection of businesses, just in a size that’s right for you.
Is BRK.B a Good Long-Term Investment?
Considering BRK.B as a long-term investment requires adopting the Warren Buffett philosophy: think like a business owner, not a stock trader. You aren’t just buying a ticker symbol; you’re buying a small piece of real businesses, with the goal of holding on for years and trusting that the value of those underlying companies will grow over time.
Investors often compare a stock’s growth to the S&P 500, a benchmark that acts like a report card for the 500 largest companies in the U.S. While past results are never a guarantee, Berkshire Hathaway’s performance has historically outpaced this market average, a key reason so many people trust its long-term strategy.
One crucial part of that strategy is its famous dividend policy. Berkshire doesn’t send shareholders regular cash payments (dividends). Instead, it reinvests every dollar of profit to buy or expand its businesses. The bet is simple: by using that cash to make the whole company pie bigger, the value of your slice will grow more than a small payout ever could.
How to Buy a Piece of Berkshire Hathaway: A Simple 3-Step Guide
If you’re interested in owning a piece of this unique company, the process is straightforward. You don’t buy stocks directly from the company itself. Instead, you use a brokerage account—think of it as a bank account specifically designed for buying and selling investments.
Once your account is set up, purchasing shares is a simple, three-step process:
- Open a brokerage account with a firm like Fidelity or Charles Schwab.
- Fund the account by transferring money into it.
- Place an order using the stock’s unique ticker symbol. For Berkshire Hathaway Class B, that’s BRK.B. This tells the brokerage exactly which “slice” of the company you want to buy at its current price.
The Key Takeaway
The difference between Berkshire Hathaway’s A and B shares isn’t about the quality of the investment, but about access—transforming an exclusive stock into something anyone can own a piece of. The next time you see the BRK.B stock price, you won’t just see a number. You’ll see a share of that giant shopping basket of businesses, a tangible piece of one of the world’s most respected companies.