
BRK a Buy or Sell Now? Intrinsic Value, Cash & Margin of Safety!
- The speaker (Sven) analyzes Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) after recent earnings, discussing Greg Abel's spending and Michael Burry's comment about lacking patience for the „fat pitch“ Warren Buffett waited for.
- Conclusion: Berkshire is not a buy – valuations are high and growth potential limited.
- Intrinsic value calculated with a template: net income $45B, market cap $1.124T. At 6% growth and P/E 17, returns are minimal.
- Historical P/E for Berkshire ranged 10–18; currently at 25 – above average.
- Scenario with 8% growth and P/E 25 gives present value below current market cap.
- Adjusted for insurance volatility and investment income, fair value is ~$800B – implying 30% downside.
- Greg Abel starts deploying cash – Berkshire now spends more than it takes in, during an expensive market (S&P 500 dividend yield lower than dot-com peak).
- Recent buys like Google or Occidental Petroleum ($9.7B) yield only 6–10% – below Buffett's historical target of 8–10%.
- Cash pile (~$350–400B) supports value, but treasury returns (3.8%) reduce operating earnings power.
- To achieve 8% annual return at a P/E of 15, Berkshire would need earnings of $160B in 10 years – that's 13.5% growth per year. Realistic is 6–7%.
- Thus intrinsic value lands at $498B currently – a potential 50% drop from the stock price.
- Buy?: No – too expensive, insufficient margin of safety.
- Hold?: Depends – the speaker would sell (like Michael Burry).
- Berkshire is better than the overall market (30% downside vs. 50–70% for S&P 500), but that's not value investing anymore.
- Comparing to the 10-year Treasury (4.7%) makes Berkshire less attractive.
Where do you stand? Let's discuss in the comments.






