No. of Recommendations: 16
We've raised our fair value estimate to $600,000 per Class A share from $555,000 after updating our forecasts for the company's operating businesses and insurance investment portfolio. The fair value estimate for Class B shares is $400.
Our new fair value estimate is equivalent to 1.43 times our estimate of Berkshire's book value per share at the end of 2024 (1.32 times for 2025). For some perspective, over the past five years, the shares have traded at an average of 1.4 times their book value per share at the trailing calendar year's end.
Berkshire had $147.4 billion in cash at the end of the second quarter, dangerously close to the $150 billion level Buffett laid out as untenable to shareholders. Absent share repurchases, additional investments, and/or acquisitions, it is highly likely that the firm passed that threshold, as quarterly free cash flow has averaged around $7 billion in the past three years. That said, other than the nearly $500 million in proceeds Berkshire made from sales of HP HPQ shares in September, we have little insight into its stock investments during the third quarter.
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/going-into-earn... 