Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares carry the ticker BRK.A, and the company is one of the world’s largest businesses by market capitalization. The conglomerate is led by Warren Buffett and owns a broad collection of operating companies and investment assets.
Berkshire’s businesses include insurance operations such as GEICO and reinsurance units, the BNSF railway, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, manufacturing companies, and consumer brands. Its insurance float supplies money that can be invested before claims are paid, making insurance central to the group’s financial model.
BRK.A shares are famous for their unusually high per-share price because Berkshire has never carried out a conventional stock split for that class. The company created Class B shares in 1996, giving investors a lower-priced alternative. Market capitalization depends on total shares and price, so a high individual share price alone does not determine whether a company is among the world’s richest by market value.