Which company is commonly known by the stock ticker BRK.A?

Berkshire Hathaway is commonly known by the stock ticker BRK.A. The Class A shares trade under BRK.A, while the company’s more accessible Class B shares trade under BRK.B.

Berkshire Hathaway is a diversified holding company led for decades by Warren Buffett. Its businesses include insurance, freight rail, utilities, energy, manufacturing, and retail. The company also owns substantial investments in publicly traded corporations, although those holdings change over time.

The unusually high price of a Berkshire Class A share is intentional: the company has never split that class of stock. Class B shares were created in 1996 to make Berkshire ownership more accessible and represent a smaller economic and voting interest. Berkshire’s market capitalization places it among the largest public companies, even though it is structured very differently from a technology company.