Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-B) is a diversified holding company that owns and operates a large collection of insurance, railroad, energy, manufacturing, and retail businesses. It generates income through insurance underwriting and float investment, railroad freight operations, regulated utility and pipeline services, and the earnings of dozens of wholly owned operating subsidiaries. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Key operating units include GEICO (auto insurance), General Re, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, BNSF railroad (over 32,500 route miles across 28 states), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and pipelines), Clayton Homes, Fruit of the Loom, Duracell, Forest River, Pilot Travel Centers, McLane Company, and TTI. Insurance premiums written across the property-casualty segment were $20.2 billion in FY2025. BNSF generated pre-tax earnings of $7.2 billion in FY2025. Consumer products group revenues were $14.4 billion in FY2025. Building products revenues from non-Clayton businesses were approximately $13.8 billion in FY2025. Warren Buffett has served as chairman and CEO since 1965.
- Revenue model
- Revenue comes from multiple streams: insurance premiums earned (property-casualty and life/health), railroad freight revenue at BNSF, regulated electric and gas utility revenue at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, wholesale distribution fees at McLane and TTI, fuel sales at Pilot Travel Centers (approximately 10.9 billion gallons sold in FY2025), manufactured home sales and financial services at Clayton Homes, and product sales across consumer and industrial subsidiaries. Investment income from a large fixed-income and equity portfolio, funded in part by insurance float, is a material contributor to overall earnings.
- Products and services
- Insurance underwriting (auto, property-casualty, reinsurance, life and health); railroad freight transportation (consumer, industrial, agricultural, energy, and coal products); electric and gas utilities; natural gas pipelines (approximately 14,100 miles at Northern Natural, approximately 5,400 miles at BHE GT&S); manufactured homes and mortgage lending (Clayton Homes); wholesale fuel and travel centers (Pilot Flying J, 675 travel centers and 82 fuel-only locations as of FY2025 filing); wholesale grocery and foodservice distribution (McLane); electronic component distribution (TTI, Mouser); apparel and underwear (Fruit of the Loom, JERZEES, Vanity Fair Brands); batteries (Duracell); recreational vehicles (Forest River, approximately 36% RV market share as of December 2025); running footwear (Brooks Sports); toys (Jazwares); jewelry (Richline); railcar leasing (UTLX); intermodal tank container leasing (EXSIF, fleet of approximately 76,000 units); crane services; medical devices.
- Customers and end markets
- Insurance customers include individual auto policyholders (GEICO) and commercial and institutional reinsurance buyers. BNSF serves shippers of agricultural commodities, coal, industrial goods, and consumer products across 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. McLane serves retail and foodservice operators across all 50 U.S. states. TTI serves OEMs, electronic manufacturing services firms, original design manufacturers, and military and commercial customers across telecommunications, medical devices, automotive, and industrial electronics. Clayton Homes serves manufactured housing buyers and provides related mortgage financing; loan balances net of allowances were approximately $27.2 billion as of December 31, 2024. Pilot Travel Centers primarily serves commercial truck drivers and highway travelers. Forest River sells recreational vehicles into a U.S. market concentrated among a few large manufacturers. Building products businesses serve U.S. and international housing and construction markets, with sales volumes pressured by slowing U.S. housing markets in FY2025.
- Value-chain role
- Berkshire operates as owner-operator across multiple value chains. In insurance it is a direct underwriter and reinsurer. In freight it is a railroad operator. In energy it is a regulated utility operator and interstate pipeline operator. In distribution it is a wholesale intermediary (McLane for grocery and foodservice, TTI for electronic components). In manufacturing it produces finished consumer goods (apparel, batteries, RVs) and building products. In financial services it originates and holds manufactured housing loans. The holding company structure means Berkshire allocates capital across subsidiaries and manages a large investment portfolio of equity securities and fixed-income instruments rated primarily AA+ or higher.
- Geographic exposure
- Primarily United States. BNSF operates in 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Pilot operates in the U.S. and five Canadian provinces. TTI operates from more than 180 locations across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. BHE GT&S operates in the eastern U.S. Northern Natural Gas pipeline reaches from west Texas to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Berkshire Hathaway Energy has international utility operations. Building products businesses have international operations that faced negative impacts from international trade tensions in FY2025. Approximately 95% of foreign government bond holdings in the investment portfolio were rated AA or higher as of the filing date.
- Competitors
- Thor Industries (RV manufacturing, approximately 39% market share as of December 2025), Union Pacific (railroad), AIG (insurance and reinsurance), Munich Re (reinsurance), Sysco (wholesale food distribution), Arrow Electronics (electronic component distribution), Avnet (electronic component distribution), Sam's Club (retail competition for Pilot convenience operations), D.R. Horton (housing)
