No. of Recommendations: 5
Another quote from the 2018 letter and a few numbers:
Re: using different earnings multiples for the various wholly-owned businesses - not necessary:
Investors who evaluate Berkshire sometimes obsess on the details of our many and diverse businesses– our economic “trees,” so to speak. Analysis of that type can be mind-numbing, given that we own a vast array of specimens, ranging from twigs to redwoods. A few of our trees are diseased and unlikely to be around a decade from now. Many others, though, are destined to grow in size and beauty.
Fortunately, it’s not necessary to evaluate each tree individually to make a rough estimate of Berkshire’s intrinsic business value. That’s because our forest contains five “groves” of major importance, each of which can be appraised, with reasonable accuracy, in its entirety.
2026Q1 numbers per B share:
Grove 1 - Subs
15.7 PE ratio to get to the current share price
$171
Grove 2 equities less taxes
$114
Grove 3 partially owned
$9
Grove 4 cash & fixed
$181
Grove 5 Insurance businesses
Provide the float to partially pay for the other groves
Total $476
Notes:
1. The cash and fixed income grove is now the largest of the 5 groves.
2. The market is pricing the wholly owned subs at 15.7x earnings. That doesn't seem very cheap to me.
