What is the difference between BRK.A and BRK.B?

Berkshire Hathaway has two classes of shares. BRK.A (Class A) is the original share class trading at approximately $600,000+ per share — too expensive for most retail investors but never split. BRK.B (Class B) was created in 1996 at 1/30th of an A share's price and then split 50:1 in 2010, making it 1/1500th of an A share. BRK.B shares provide the same economic exposure to Berkshire's businesses at a retail-accessible price (~$400-500 per share). BRK.B has slightly less voting power per dollar invested vs BRK.A.

Is SPY the cheapest S&P 500 ETF?

No — SPY is the largest and oldest S&P 500 ETF but not the cheapest. SPY charges 0.0945% annually. Vanguard VOO charges 0.03% and iShares IVV charges 0.03% — both tracking the same S&P 500 index. For buy-and-hold investors, VOO or IVV save meaningfully on fees over decades. SPY's advantage is its liquidity — SPY has the highest trading volume of any ETF, with tight bid-ask spreads, making it preferred for institutional traders and options strategies where liquidity matters more than the expense ratio difference.

Should I buy BRK.B or SPY for my retirement account?

Both are legitimate long-term holdings. The passive indexing argument (favor SPY/VOO/IVV) has academic research and fee-efficiency supporting it — most actively managed funds underperform their benchmark after fees over 10+ year periods. Berkshire's case is that it's not a 'typical' active manager — it has operating businesses providing non-equity market earnings and has compounded exceptionally. Many investors hold both: SPY for broad passive market exposure and Berkshire as a quality 'active' holding that they believe can complement or outperform the index over the long term.

brimindinvest.com / compare / brkb-vs-spyLIVE

BRK.B

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Class B) · Diversified Financial / Conglomerate

N/A

N/A this month

VERSUS

⟷

COMPARE

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust · ETF / Passive Index

$746.74

+2.04% this month

Scoreboard verdict

Across expense ratio, momentum, yield, fund size, risk

BRK.B

1

SPY

0

BRK.B LEADS 1/5

Comparison scoreboard

BRK.B LEADS 1/5

Exp. Ratio

BRK.B N/A

SPY 0.09%

1Y Return

BRK.B N/A

SPY +26.75%

Div. Yield

BRK.B N/A

SPY 0.98%

AUM

BRK.B N/A

SPY $783.8B

Beta

BRK.B ✓0.14

SPY 1.02

Metrics last refreshed: 6/20/2026

Quick take

BRK.B vs SPY Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

BRK.B and SPY represent the fundamental debate: can the best value investor (Buffett) beat the market index over the long term? Historically, Berkshire outperformed the S&P 500 dramatically over 1965-2010. In more recent years (2010-2024), the S&P 500 has frequently outperformed Berkshire as tech-driven bull markets rewarded growth stocks over Buffett's value approach. Post-Buffett succession is the key risk factor for BRK.B; mega-cap concentration is SPY's key risk.

BRK.B vs SPY — Berkshire Hathaway (the active value investing conglomerate with insurance float, operating business cash flows, $150B+ reserve, and 50-year exceptional compounding track record under Buffett) versus SPY (the S&P 500 passive index ETF providing instant diversification across 500 companies at 0.0945% with the market's long-term 10% annual return and quarterly dividends).

Live analysis · updated 6/20/2026

BRK.B holds the edge across 1 of 5 key metrics in this comparison.

Normalized 1Y performance

BRK.B

SPY

Not enough data to chart yet.

Recent returns

BRK.B

SPY

Who should consider this stock?

BRK.B may suit investors who:

→want single-stock Buffett exposure rather than passive index — owning Berkshire is a bet on value investing culture and capital allocation excellence vs passive market-weight indexing
→value operating business earnings (insurance, railroad, energy) that provide cash flow independent of equity market levels — Berkshire's operating earnings are less volatile than pure equity market exposure
→see Berkshire's $150B+ cash reserve as valuable insurance in a potential market correction — Buffett deploying cash during a downturn creates an asymmetric upside moment for BRK.B shareholders
→are comfortable with no dividend, succession uncertainty, and the genuine risk that Berkshire may not outperform the S&P 500 in tech-driven bull markets where Buffett's value approach historically underperforms

SPY may suit investors who:

→prefer passive indexing to eliminate stock selection and manager risk — SPY's 0.0945% expense ratio ensures you keep 99.9% of your returns vs paying active managers
→value automatic diversification across 500 companies in 11 sectors without tracking 150 individual Berkshire holdings or understanding insurance float accounting
→want quarterly dividend income from SPY's 500 constituent dividend payers vs Berkshire's no-dividend policy
→are comfortable with mega-cap technology concentration risk (top 5 companies = 25%+ weight) and no downside protection in market corrections vs Berkshire's operating business cash flow floor

Performance & AI score

Metric	BRK.B	SPY
ETF score	30.0	87.0
Latest close	N/A	$746.74
1M return	N/A	+2.04%
6M return	N/A	+12.14%
1Y return	N/A	+26.75%

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

Period	BRK.B	SPY
1Y ago	N/A	$12.85K (+28.5%) started 2025-06-18
5Y ago	N/A	$20.73K (+107.3%) started 2021-06-18
10Y ago	N/A	$50.21K (+402.1%) started 2016-06-20

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Fund characteristics

Metric	BRK.B	SPY
Expense ratio	N/A	0.09%
Total assets (AUM)	N/A	$783.8B
Dividend yield	N/A	0.98%
Trailing P/E	N/A	26.74
Beta	0.14	1.02
52-week change	N/A	26.75%

Risk & fund metrics

Metric	BRK.B	SPY
1Y return	N/A	+26.75%
6M return	N/A	+12.14%
1M return	N/A	+2.04%
1Y Sharpe ratio	N/A	1.62
Beta	0.14	1.02
Dividend yield	N/A	0.98%
5Y CAGR	N/A	+14.00%

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

BRK.B max drawdownN/A

SPY max drawdown8.88%

BRK.B max wkly dropN/A

SPY max wkly drop3.82%

5Y risk snapshot

BRK.B max drawdownN/A

SPY max drawdown24.50%

BRK.B max wkly dropN/A

SPY max wkly drop11.50%

10Y risk snapshot

BRK.B max drawdownN/A

SPY max drawdown33.72%

BRK.B max wkly dropN/A

SPY max wkly drop17.97%

Performance metrics by period

Period	Metric	BRK.B	SPY
1Y	Growth	N/A	+26.75%
	CAGR	N/A	+26.77%
	Sharpe ratio	N/A	1.62
	Max drawdown	N/A	8.88%
	Max daily drop	N/A	2.70%
	Max wkly drop	N/A	3.82%
5Y	Growth	N/A	+92.56%
	CAGR	N/A	+14.00%
	Sharpe ratio	N/A	0.59
	Max drawdown	N/A	24.50%
	Max daily drop	N/A	5.85%
	Max wkly drop	N/A	11.50%
10Y	Growth	N/A	+321.77%
	CAGR	N/A	+15.49%
	Sharpe ratio	N/A	0.64
	Max drawdown	N/A	33.72%
	Max daily drop	N/A	10.94%
	Max wkly drop	N/A	17.97%

Fund overview

Category	BRK.B	SPY
Fund name	BRK.B	State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Type	ETF	ETF
Expense ratio	N/A	0.09%
Total assets (AUM)	N/A	$783.8B
Dividend yield	N/A	0.98%

BRK.B strengths

→Operating business cash flow diversification: Berkshire's operating businesses (insurance, railroad, energy, manufacturing) generate $25-30B+ in operating earnings annually without depending on equity market prices
→Insurance float for free leverage: Berkshire's insurance float provides low-cost capital to invest — a structural investing advantage unavailable to mutual fund or ETF competitors
→50+ year compounding track record: Berkshire has compounded book value at ~20% annually over 50+ years under Buffett — one of the most exceptional long-term records in investing history

SPY strengths

→Instant 500-company diversification at 0.0945%: SPY provides exposure to the 500 largest US companies for less than $1 per $1,000 invested annually — eliminating single stock concentration risk
→S&P 500's long-term 10% average annual return: over 30+ years, the S&P 500 has returned approximately 10% annually — a benchmark most active managers (including Berkshire in recent periods) struggle to beat consistently
→Dividend income included: SPY distributes dividends from its 500 constituent companies quarterly — providing income that Berkshire does not

Risks to watch — BRK.B

→No dividend for income investors: Berkshire does not pay dividends — all value creation is through book value and stock price appreciation, disadvantaging income-seeking investors vs dividend ETFs
→Warren Buffett succession uncertainty: Greg Abel succeeds Buffett, but transitioning from a 60-year unique capital allocator creates genuine uncertainty about maintaining exceptional compounding
→Scale disadvantage vs S&P 500: Berkshire's $900B+ market cap means it needs massive investments to outperform — finding opportunities large enough to move the needle becomes increasingly difficult

Risks to watch — SPY

→Technology concentration at index level: the top 5 S&P 500 companies (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta) represent 25%+ of SPY weight — SPY is not as diversified as 500 holdings implies given mega-cap concentration
→No active manager downside protection: SPY holds every S&P 500 stock regardless of valuation — in market corrections, SPY falls proportionally without any defensive repositioning possible
→Expense ratio disadvantage vs IVV: iShares IVV and Vanguard VOO offer similar S&P 500 exposure at lower expense ratios (0.03%) vs SPY's 0.0945%

Frequently asked questions

Over 1965-2010, Berkshire dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 — often by 10+ percentage points per year. Since 2010, the S&P 500 has frequently outperformed Berkshire as technology stocks (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia) not in Berkshire's traditional investing wheelhouse drove index returns. Berkshire itself owns Apple as its largest holding now. The honest answer is: historically yes, but recent performance has been more mixed. Many passive investing advocates cite this as evidence that even the world's best investor struggles to consistently beat the index over long periods.

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