As of early December 2025, the title of most expensive stock in the world by share price belongs, once again, to Berkshire Hathaway Class A (BRK.A). One share of the Warren Buffett–built conglomerate now trades at roughly $755,000+, far ahead of any other publicly listed company on the planet. [1]
But price alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Berkshire is also a trillion‑dollar company, a cash‑rich giant sitting on a record war chest and preparing for life after Buffett as longtime lieutenant Greg Abel takes the CEO role at the end of 2025. [2]
Below is a deep dive into why Berkshire is the most expensive stock in the world, what’s been happening in 2025, and what recent forecasts and analysts’ views suggest about its future.
What Is the Most Expensive Stock in the World Right Now?
Multiple recent analyses agree on the answer:
- Berkshire Hathaway Class A (NYSE: BRK.A) is currently the most expensive stock globally in absolute price per share, trading above $755,000 per share. [3]
- Financial education sites and market commentators consistently list BRK.A at the top of “most expensive stocks” rankings, well ahead of other high‑priced names. [4]
By comparison, other “expensive” U.S. stocks like NVR, Booking Holdings, Seaboard and AutoZone trade in the low thousands of dollars per share — impressive, but a fraction of Berkshire’s six‑figure price tag. [5]
Important: “Most expensive stock” here refers to price per share, not overall company value. In market‑cap terms, Berkshire is large but competes with other trillion‑dollar giants like Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft. [6]
Berkshire Hathaway by the Numbers in 2025
Recent data and reporting paint the picture of a massive, diversified machine:
- Share price (Class A): Around $755k–$770k per share in late 2025, with an all‑time high above $800k earlier in the year before a pullback. [7]
- Share price (Class B, BRK.B): Roughly $500+ per share; each B share represents 1/1,500 of the economic interest of an A share and 1/10,000 of the voting power. [8]
- Market capitalization: Over $1 trillion, making Berkshire the first financial company to join the trillion‑dollar club. [9]
- Expected 2025 revenue: Around $375 billion, spanning insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing, retail and a huge stock portfolio. [10]
- Cash pile: A record cash hoard of roughly $382 billion as of the third quarter of 2025, giving Berkshire enormous dry powder for buybacks and acquisitions. [11]
In short: Berkshire isn’t just a pricey piece of paper. It’s a diversified conglomerate that resembles a blend of an insurance powerhouse, an infrastructure fund and a global equity portfolio.
Why Is Berkshire Hathaway’s Stock So Expensive?
1. No Stock Splits for Class A
The biggest reason BRK.A trades so high is simple: Warren Buffett never split the Class A shares.
- Berkshire has never split its Class A stock, even as the price climbed from a few hundred dollars in the 1960s to hundreds of thousands today. [12]
- Instead, Buffett introduced Class B shares (BRK.B) in 1996, then split them 50‑for‑1 in 2010, specifically to keep A shares exclusive while making the company more accessible and facilitating the Burlington Northern acquisition. [13]
- Official company disclosures confirm that each Class B share equals 1/1,500 of a Class A share economically, but gets only 1/10,000 of the votes. [14]
Buffett has argued repeatedly that stock splits attract short‑term traders and weaken shareholder culture. He views the high sticker price as a feature, not a bug: it discourages speculation and encourages long‑term, business‑minded owners. [15]
2. Decades of Compounding and an Iconic Track Record
The eye‑watering price is backed by one of the greatest long‑term records in investing history:
- Since Buffett took control in 1965, Berkshire has delivered a cumulative return of more than 5,500,000% to shareholders. [16]
- Berkshire has logged a losing year only a handful of times since 1990, according to long‑running analyses. [17]
These results, combined with Buffett’s reputation, have justified a persistent “Buffett premium” in Berkshire’s valuation for decades.
3. A Trillion‑Dollar, Cash‑Heavy Fortress
Analysts often highlight three structural advantages:
- Diversification: Berkshire owns or controls businesses in insurance, energy (Berkshire Hathaway Energy), rail (BNSF), industry, retail and more, plus a massive stock portfolio. [18]
- Cash generation: Operating businesses and investment income produce huge free cash flow, a reason Berkshire can sit on hundreds of billions of dollars in cash and short‑term Treasuries. [19]
- Scale and credit strength: Its balance sheet allows it to strike deals few other companies can — from insurance float–funded investments to multi‑billion‑dollar acquisitions like OxyChem. [20]
Put together, these factors help explain why the share price is high and has stayed high.
2025: Record Highs, OxyChem, Alphabet – and a Leadership Hand‑Off
Stock Performance and Volatility
2025 has been a busy, transitional year:
- BRK.A hit record highs above $800,000 per share around May 2025 before sliding back by roughly low‑teens percentages after the formal CEO succession announcement and broader market volatility. [21]
- By November, Class A shares were below their peak but still among the most valuable quoted securities in history, while BRK.B had gained around 5% year‑to‑date, lagging the S&P 500’s mid‑teens advance. [22]
Record Cash Pile
Quarterly results in late 2025 showed:
- Profit growth supported by stronger insurance underwriting and investment income. [23]
- A record cash balance near $382 billion, as Berkshire sold more stocks than it bought and allowed cash to accumulate rather than chasing deals at what Buffett has often called “full prices.” [24]
This cash mountain is central to almost every analyst’s thesis, bullish or bearish: it’s either “dry powder” or “idle capital”, depending on your perspective.
$9.7 Billion OxyChem Deal
The biggest headline deal of 2025:
- On October 2, 2025, Berkshire agreed to buy OxyChem, the chemical business of Occidental Petroleum, for $9.7 billion in cash. [25]
- OxyChem produces essential chemicals (such as PVC and chlor‑alkali products) used in water infrastructure, medical supplies, and parts of the energy transition. [26]
- The acquisition is Berkshire’s largest deal since acquiring insurer Alleghany in 2022 and broadens its exposure to stable, cash‑generative industrial businesses. [27]
Analysts note that the deal fits Berkshire’s classic pattern: buying established, cash‑rich businesses outright and folding them into the conglomerate for the long haul. [28]
New Bet on Alphabet and the Evolving Stock Portfolio
In its latest 13F filings, Berkshire revealed:
- A new multi‑billion‑dollar stake in Alphabet (Google), estimated around $4.9 billion at cost, taken during the third quarter of 2025. [29]
- A trimmed but still gigantic position in Apple, plus large holdings in American Express, Bank of America, Coca‑Cola and Chevron, which together make up the bulk of its public‑equity portfolio. [30]
The Alphabet move is especially noteworthy because Berkshire historically avoided mega‑cap tech — another sign that Buffett and his team are willing to adapt when the risk‑reward looks attractive. [31]
Leadership Transition: Life After Warren Buffett
2025 also marks the end of an era:
- Warren Buffett, 94, will step down as Berkshire’s CEO at the end of 2025, remaining as chairman. [32]
- Long‑time executive Greg Abel, currently vice‑chairman and head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, will become CEO. [33]
Recent coverage highlights:
- Abel has worked inside Berkshire for decades and is widely praised for his operational discipline and understanding of the company’s culture. [34]
- Nonetheless, analysts warn that the “Buffett premium” may fade as the legendary investor steps back, and indeed Berkshire’s share price fell about 5% in the week after the official succession announcement. [35]
For investors in the world’s most expensive stock, this transition is the single biggest long‑term question: can Abel and his team continue Berkshire’s culture of disciplined capital allocation without the Buffett halo effect?
Berkshire Hathaway Stock Forecast: What Analysts and Models Say
Because BRK.A is so illiquid and rarely traded by retail investors, most formal coverage focuses on BRK.B, whose economic value is tied directly to Class A at the 1:1,500 ratio. [36]
Price Targets for BRK.A (Class A)
Data aggregators that track BRK.A specifically show:
- Average 12‑month price target: about $769,000 per share.
- Range: approximately $695,000 (low) to $892,000 (high). [37]
That implies only modest upside compared with current prices — essentially a low‑single‑digit expected move, reflecting both Berkshire’s stability and its already‑hefty valuation.
Price Targets and Ratings for BRK.B (Class B)
Recent forecasts for BRK.B are mixed and show genuine disagreement among analysts:
- Benzinga / CoinCodex composite:
- Average target around $567.61, based on 38 analysts, with a consensus “Sell” rating.
- Projections suggest a 2025 trading range around the high‑$490s to low‑$500s, and longer‑term models see potential average prices near $880 by 2030, implying roughly low‑double‑digit annualized returns if they prove accurate. [38]
- MarketBeat:
- Based on one recent Wall Street rating, BRK.B carries a “Buy” recommendation with a 12‑month price target of $585, implying around 16% upside from current levels. [39]
- Other analyst aggregators:
Key takeaway:
- Forecasts cluster in the $500–$600 range for BRK.B over the next year, with no strong consensus.
- Longer‑term models still see room for moderate growth, but often assume that Abel successfully maintains Berkshire’s earnings power and capital discipline. [42]
As always, price targets are estimates, not guarantees, and can change quickly as markets or macro conditions shift.
Is the World’s Most Expensive Stock Overvalued – or Fairly Priced?
Analysts and commentators tend to frame Berkshire’s valuation around several themes:
The Bull Case
Supporters argue that:
- Berkshire’s diversified cash‑generating businesses and huge cash pile provide resilience through economic cycles. [43]
- Its insurance operations and investment portfolio give it multiple levers of growth. [44]
- The OxyChem deal and Alphabet stake show that Berkshire is still willing to act opportunistically, not just hoard cash. [45]
- Greg Abel and the existing management team have, in reality, been running much of the operation and portfolio for years already. [46]
From this perspective, even after a huge multi‑decade run, Berkshire could still deliver steady, mid‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit returns over time, especially if Abel deploys the cash stockpile wisely. [47]
The Bear Case
Skeptics, including some of the analysts with “Sell” ratings, highlight:
- Law of large numbers: At over $1 trillion in market cap, it may be hard for Berkshire to grow faster than the broader market. [48]
- Leadership uncertainty: Even if Abel is highly competent, the loss of Buffett’s aura could compress the “Buffett premium” embedded in the stock price. [49]
- Underperformance vs. index: In recent years, Berkshire has periodically lagged high‑flying tech‑heavy indices, raising questions about future relative returns. [50]
- Capital deployment risk: Sitting on nearly $400 billion in cash is a double‑edged sword — if it’s not invested at attractive rates, it becomes a drag; if it is, large deals like OxyChem must be executed successfully. [51]
Put simply, the bulls see a durable compounding machine, while the bears see a gigantic value stock entering an uncertain new chapter.
How to Get Exposure Without Spending $755,000
You don’t need to buy a six‑figure Class A share to invest alongside Berkshire:
- Buy Class B shares (BRK.B)
- Represent 1/1,500 of the economics of an A share.
- Trade near $500 per share, making them far more accessible. [52]
- Use index funds and ETFs
- Berkshire is a major component of broad S&P 500 index funds and many large‑cap ETFs.
- Owning these funds gives you indirect exposure to Berkshire plus hundreds of other companies, with built‑in diversification. [53]
- Consider fractional shares (where available)
- Some brokers offer fractional shares of high‑priced stocks, allowing you to invest, for example, $100 or $1,000 rather than buying a full share. [54]
Key Risks to Keep in Mind
Even for a company as storied as Berkshire, investors should stay aware of major risks:
- Succession execution: Abel’s ability to maintain culture and allocate capital will be closely watched. Any missteps could hit the share price disproportionately. [55]
- Insurance and catastrophe exposure: Major disasters or underwriting mistakes can affect earnings, especially in property‑casualty lines. [56]
- Interest‑rate and economic cycles: Many Berkshire businesses — railroads, industrials, housing‑linked holdings — are sensitive to economic growth, inflation and rates. [57]
- Regulatory and antitrust scrutiny: As a trillion‑dollar financial conglomerate, Berkshire is on regulators’ radar, especially around systemic risk and large acquisitions. [58]
As always, past performance does not guarantee future results, and the towering share price does not make Berkshire automatically safe or risky on its own.
FAQ: Most Expensive Stock and Berkshire Hathaway
Is the most expensive stock always the best investment?
No. A high share price doesn’t necessarily mean a stock is “better” or more valuable than cheaper stocks. What matters more is market capitalization, earnings power, cash flows and valuation metrics like price‑to‑earnings or price‑to‑book. [59]
Could Berkshire ever split its Class A shares?
Buffett has repeatedly said no, and as of late 2025 there is no indication that Abel plans to change that policy. Official guidance and recent commentary both stress that the company wants to preserve its long‑term shareholder culture by keeping A shares unsplit. [60]
Will Berkshire still be the most expensive stock after Buffett retires?
There’s no certainty, but:
- Its unsplit share structure and enormous starting price make it hard for any other company to catch up purely in nominal terms. [61]
- Unless another firm adopts a similar “no‑split” philosophy and compounds at extraordinary rates, Berkshire is likely to retain the crown for the foreseeable future. [62]
Final Word (and a Quick Disclaimer)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A stock is the most expensive share on earth, but that fact alone doesn’t make it a buy or a sell. What matters is whether you believe that Greg Abel and the next generation of Berkshire managers can keep turning a massive cash pile and a diversified business empire into attractive long‑term returns.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Always consider your own financial situation and, where appropriate, consult a licensed professional before making investment decisions.
References
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