Berkshire Hathaway’s highest-priced publicly traded share class trades under the symbol BRK.A.
Berkshire Hathaway has two major publicly traded share classes: Class A shares, trading as BRK.A, and Class B shares, trading as BRK.B. Class A shares carry substantially greater voting rights and have never undergone a conventional stock split, which has contributed to their exceptionally high per-share price.
Warren Buffett became Berkshire’s controlling shareholder in the 1960s and transformed it from a declining textile manufacturer into a diversified holding company. Its businesses and investments have included insurance, railroads, utilities, energy, manufacturing, retail, and large stakes in public companies.
A high share price does not automatically mean a company has the highest market capitalization. Market capitalization depends on both price and the total number of shares outstanding. Berkshire created Class B shares in 1996, later splitting them 50-to-1 in 2010, making ownership more accessible to smaller investors.