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BRK.B (Berkshire Hathaway) Probability of Financial Distress (%) : 0.01% (As of Dec. 15, 2024)


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What is Berkshire Hathaway Probability of Financial Distress (%)?

Probability of Financial Distress (%) measures the probability that a company will go bankrupt in the upcoming year given its current financial position. A higher ratio indicates a larger probability of bankruptcy for the company, while a lower ratio indicates a healthier fundamental. As of today, Berkshire Hathaway's Probability of Financial Distress (%) is 0.01%.

Like the Altman Z-Score, the PFD measures a company's bankruptcy risk. However, the main drawback of the Z-score is it does not apply to banks and insurance companies. According to Investopedia, the concept of "working capital" does not apply to banks and insurance companies, as financial institutions do not have typical current assets or current liabilities like inventories or accounts payable.


Competitive Comparison of Berkshire Hathaway's Probability of Financial Distress (%)

For the Insurance - Diversified subindustry, Berkshire Hathaway's Probability of Financial Distress (%), along with its competitors' market caps and Probability of Financial Distress (%) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Berkshire Hathaway's Probability of Financial Distress (%) Distribution in the Insurance Industry

For the Insurance industry and Financial Services sector, Berkshire Hathaway's Probability of Financial Distress (%) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Berkshire Hathaway's Probability of Financial Distress (%) falls into.



Berkshire Hathaway Probability of Financial Distress (%) Calculation

Probability of Financial Distress (%) (PFD) was developed by John Campbell, Jens Hilscher and Jan Szilagyi in their Search of Distress Risk. It measures the probability that a company will go bankrupt within the next 12 months given its current financial position.

The Probability of Financial Distress (%) was obtained by a logit probability model based on eight explanatory variables. The logit formula to compute the probability of financial distress (LPFD) is given below:

LPFD= -20.12 * NIMTAAVG + 1.60 * TLMTA - 7.88 * EXRETAVG + 1.55 * SIGMA - 0.005 * RSIZE - 2.27 * CASHMTA + 0.070 * MB - 0.09 * PRICE -8.87
=-9.04

The Probability of Financial Distress (%) (PFD) was then obtianed by:

PFD=1/(1 + e^(-LPFD))*100%
=0.01%

The eight explanatory variables are:

1. NIMTAAVG = Net Income to Market Total Assets

NIMTAAVG=Net Income / Market Total Assets
=Net Income / (Market Cap + Total Liabilities)

*Note that for companies reported quarterly, geometrically declining weighted quarterly Net Income data in latest four quarters are used.

2. TLMTA = Total liabilities to Market Total Assets

TLMTA=Total Liabilities / Market Total Assets

3. CASHMTA = Cash to Market Total Assets

For insurance companies, CASHMTA is measured as:


4. EXRETAVG = Excess Return compared to the S&P 500

EXRETAVG is the weighted excess return compared to the S&P 500 in past 12 month. Geometrically declining weights are imposed on the monthly excess return to reflect lagged information. The weight is halved each quarter.

5. SIGMA = Standard Deviation of Daily Returns

For sigma, we use the annualized standard deviation of a company's returns over the past 92 days (or 63 trading days).

6. RSIZE = Relative Size

RSIZE=log (Market Cap / Total Market Cap of S&P 500 companies)

7. MB = Market to Adjusted Book Equity Ratio


8. PRICE

PRICE is measured as the log of the stock price, capped at log(15).


Berkshire Hathaway  (NYSE:BRK.B) Probability of Financial Distress (%) Explanation

Like the Altman Z-Score, the PFD measures a company's bankruptcy risk in the upcoming year. However, the main drawback of the Z-score is it does not apply to banks and insurance companies. According to Investopedia, the concept of "working capital" does not apply to banks and insurance companies, as financial institutions do not have typical current assets or current liabilities like inventories or accounts payable.


Berkshire Hathaway Probability of Financial Distress (%) Related Terms

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Berkshire Hathaway Business Description

Industry
Address
3555 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE, USA, 68131
Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with a wide array of subsidiaries engaged in diverse activities. The firm's core business segment is insurance, run primarily through Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. Berkshire has used the excess cash thrown off from these and its other operations over the years to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe (railroad), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and energy distributors), and the companies that make up its manufacturing, service, and retailing operations (which include five of Berkshire's largest noninsurance pretax earnings generators: Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Clayton Homes, Marmon, and IMC/ISCAR). The conglomerate is unique in that it is run on a completely decentralized basis.
Executives
Ajit Jain director, officer: Vice Chairman 100 FIRST STAMFORD PLACE, BHRG, STAMFORD CT 06902
Murphy Thomas S Jr director C/O CRESTVIEW ADVISORS, 667 MADISON AVENUE, 10TH FLOOR, NEW YORK NY 10021
Warren E Buffett director, 10 percent owner, officer: Chairman and CEO 3555 FARNAM ST, STE 1440, OMAHA NE 68131
Charlotte Guyman director 3324 78TH PL. N.E., MEDINA WA 98004
Susan A. Buffett director 808 CONAGRA DRIVE, OMAHA NE 68102
Christopher C Davis director C/O GRAHAM HOLDINGS COMPANY, 1300 NORTH 17TH STREET, SUITE 1700, ARLINGTON VA 22209
Ronald L Olson director EDISON INTERNATIONAL, 2244 WALNUT GROVE AVENUE, ROSEMEAD CA 91770
Kenneth I Chenault director C/O GENERAL CATALYST, 20 UNIVERSITY ROAD, 4TH FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE MA 02138
Gregory Abel director, officer: Vice Chairman 666 GRAND AVE., STE.500, DES MOINES IA 50309
Meryl B Witmer director 655 THIRD AVENUE, 11TH FLOOR, NEW YORK NY 10017
Thomas S Murphy director C/O WALT DISNEY CO, 500 S BUENA VISTA STREET, BURBANK CA 91521-1010
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust 10 percent owner 2365 CARILLON POINT, KIRKLAND WA 98033
Stephen B Burke director 41 CENTRAL PARK WEST - APT 11A, NEW YORK NY 10023
Susan L Decker director C/O YAHOO INC, 701 FIRST AVE, SUNNYVALE CA 94089
Gates William H Iii director 2365 CARILLON POINT, KIRKLAND WA 98033