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BRK.B (Berkshire Hathaway) WACC % :8.95% (As of Dec. 14, 2024)


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What is Berkshire Hathaway WACC %?

As of today (2024-12-14), Berkshire Hathaway's weighted average cost of capital is 8.95%%. Berkshire Hathaway's ROIC % is 10.87% (calculated using TTM income statement data). Berkshire Hathaway generates higher returns on investment than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment. It is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases.

For a comprehensive WACC calculation, please access the WACC Calculator.


Berkshire Hathaway WACC % Historical Data

The historical data trend for Berkshire Hathaway's WACC % can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Berkshire Hathaway WACC % Chart

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
WACC %
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 6.63 5.71 6.49 8.40 8.19

Berkshire Hathaway Quarterly Data
Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24
WACC % Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 9.27 8.19 8.58 8.67 8.28

Competitive Comparison of Berkshire Hathaway's WACC %

For the Insurance - Diversified subindustry, Berkshire Hathaway's WACC %, along with its competitors' market caps and WACC % 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 WACC % Distribution in the Insurance Industry

For the Insurance industry and Financial Services sector, Berkshire Hathaway's WACC % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Berkshire Hathaway's WACC % falls into.



Berkshire Hathaway WACC % Calculation

The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the firm's cost of capital. Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. WACC is the average of the costs of these sources of financing, each of which is weighted by its respective use in the given situation. By taking a weighted average, we can see how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances.

WACC=E/(E + D)*Cost of Equity+D/(E + D)*Cost of Debt*(1 - Tax Rate)

1. Weights:
Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. We need to calculate the weight of equity and the weight of debt.
The market value of equity (E) is also called "Market Cap". As of today, Berkshire Hathaway's market capitalization (E) is $986915.451 Mil.
The market value of debt is typically difficult to calculate, therefore, GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding the latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together. As of Sep. 2024, Berkshire Hathaway's latest one-year quarterly average Book Value of Debt (D) is $124788.2 Mil.
a) weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 986915.451 / (986915.451 + 124788.2) = 0.8878
b) weight of debt = D / (E + D) = 124788.2 / (986915.451 + 124788.2) = 0.1122

2. Cost of Equity:
GuruFocus uses Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the required rate of return. The formula is:
Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta of Asset * (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return)
a) GuruFocus uses 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate as the risk-free rate. It is updated daily. The current risk-free rate is 4.395%. Please go to Economic Indicators page for more information. Please note that we use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the country/region where the company is headquartered. If the data for that country/region is not available, then we will use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the United States as default.
b) Beta is the sensitivity of the expected excess asset returns to the expected excess market returns. Berkshire Hathaway's beta is 0.88.
c) (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
Cost of Equity = 4.395% + 0.88 * 6% = 9.675%

3. Cost of Debt:
GuruFocus uses latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
As of Sep. 2024, Berkshire Hathaway's interest expense (positive number) was $5036 Mil. Its total Book Value of Debt (D) is $124788.2 Mil.
Cost of Debt = 5036 / 124788.2 = 4.0356%.

4. Multiply by one minus TTM Tax Rate:
GuruFocus uses the most recent TTM Tax Expense divided by the most recent TTM Pre-Tax Income to calculate the tax rate. The calculated TTM tax rate is limited to between 0% and 100%. If the calculated tax rate is higher than 100%, it is set to 100%. If the calculated tax rate is less than 0%, it is set to 0%.
The latest calculated TTM Tax Rate = 25721 / 133289 = 19.3%.

Berkshire Hathaway's Weighted Average Cost Of Capital (WACC) for Today is calculated as:

WACC=E / (E + D)*Cost of Equity+D / (E + D)*Cost of Debt*(1 - Tax Rate)
=0.8878*9.675%+0.1122*4.0356%*(1 - 19.3%)
=8.95%

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Berkshire Hathaway  (NYSE:BRK.B) WACC % Explanation

Because it costs money to raise capital. A firm that generates higher ROIC % than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases, whereas a firm that earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital will destroy value as it grows.

As of today, Berkshire Hathaway's weighted average cost of capital is 8.95%%. Berkshire Hathaway's ROIC % is 10.87% (calculated using TTM income statement data). Berkshire Hathaway generates higher returns on investment than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment. It is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases.


Be Aware

1. GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together.
For companies that report quarterly, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's quarterly debt data from the beginning of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report semi-annually, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's semi-annual debt data from the start of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report annually, GuruFocus combines the beginning and ending annual debt data from the most recent year and then calculates the average.

2. The WACC formula discussed above does not include Preferred Stock. Please adjust if preferred stock is considered.

3. (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.

4. GuruFocus uses the latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.


Related Terms

Berkshire Hathaway Business Description

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