Berkshire Hathaway, led for decades by Warren Buffett, has Class A shares among the world’s most expensive publicly traded shares.
Berkshire’s Class A stock became famous because the company never carried out a conventional stock split. As the share price rose over many years, one Class A share came to represent a very large dollar value. The company created lower-priced Class B shares in 1996, giving smaller investors access to Berkshire’s economic performance without splitting the original stock.
Berkshire is a diversified holding company rather than a single-industry business. Its operations and investments have included insurance, railroads, utilities, energy, manufacturing, retail, and large stakes in public companies. Its market capitalization reflects the value investors assign to that collection of assets and Buffett’s capital-allocation record.
A high share price does not automatically mean a company has the highest market capitalization. Share price must be multiplied by shares outstanding, which is why Berkshire’s valuation and its per-share price are related but different measures.