BRK.A vs. BRK.B: Berkshire Hathaway Class A vs. Class B Shares

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Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock (BRK.A) and Class B stock (BRK.B) are claims on the same company. They differ in size, voting power and conversion rights. One Class A share carries the economic value of 1,500 Class B shares, so BRK.B trades at a small fraction of the BRK.A price. Class B holders get far less voting power per dollar invested. Class A can be converted into Class B at any time, but Class B can never be converted into Class A. Most individual investors buy BRK.B for its lower price and flexibility. BRK.A appeals mainly to large holders who want full voting rights or the option to convert later.

How the 1,500-to-1 Ratio Works

Because a Class A share can be exchanged for 1,500 Class B shares, the two prices are tied together. A simple calculation shows the link.

Hypothetical example: suppose BRK.B trades at $500. Fifteen hundred Class B shares would be worth 1,500 × $500 = $750,000. That figure is the economic equivalent of one Class A share.

If BRK.A traded well below $750,000 in this example, a trader could buy a Class A share, convert it and sell the 1,500 Class B shares for a profit. That trade pushes the A price back up. The conversion right therefore puts a practical floor under BRK.A relative to BRK.B.

The opposite trade is not available. Class B cannot be turned into Class A, so nothing mechanically stops BRK.A from trading somewhat above 1,500 times the B price. Any premium of that kind reflects demand for the class itself, such as its voting power or conversion option. It does not reflect a larger claim on the business.

Voting Rights: Where the Classes Really Diverge

The economic ratio is 1,500 to 1, but the voting ratio is 10,000 to 1. That gap means Class B investors get less say per dollar invested.

Run the same comparison: 1,500 Class B shares have the same economic value as one Class A share. Yet those 1,500 B shares carry 1,500 × 1/10,000 = 0.15 of a Class A vote. An investor who puts equal money into BRK.B therefore has roughly 15% of the voting power of a BRK.A holder.

For most retail shareholders this rarely changes anything, because their votes are a tiny share of the total either way. It matters more for large holders who care about influence over board elections and shareholder proposals.

Why Berkshire Created Class B Shares

Berkshire had only one class of stock for decades after Warren Buffett took control of the company in 1965. Buffett never split the shares, and by the mid-1990s a single share traded at about $32,000. That price shut out many small investors.

Promoters planned unit trusts that would buy Berkshire stock and sell small slices to the public. In his 1996 letter to shareholders, Buffett warned that these products would use Berkshire’s non-repeatable past record to attract inexperienced investors and charge them high fees. He worried they would leave Berkshire with hundreds of thousands of unhappy indirect owners and a damaged reputation.

Berkshire’s answer was to sell a cheaper class of stock directly. In 1996 the company issued 517,500 Class B shares, each worth 1/30 of a Class A share. Buffett marketed the offering as a long-term investment. He made it open-ended so that a shortage of supply would not drive a speculative price spike.

The ratio changed in 2010. Shareholders approved a 50-for-1 split of the Class B stock, which moved the conversion ratio from 30 to 1 to 1,500 to 1. The split came alongside Berkshire’s acquisition of the railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe. It let the railroad’s smaller shareholders receive Berkshire stock in amounts that fit their holdings.

Why Class A Is So Expensive (and Never Splits)

BRK.A’s price is high for two connected reasons.

First, it has never split. Most companies split their stock as the price climbs. Berkshire has refused. Buffett’s stated reason is that a high share price attracts owners who think in years and decades, and discourages short-term traders. He has said the Class A shares will not be split.

Second, Berkshire keeps its earnings. The company does not pay a dividend. It reinvests profits in its operating businesses, acquisitions and stock holdings. Decades of compounding inside an unsplit share produce a very large per-share number.

The high price does not make BRK.A “more valuable” than BRK.B in any economic sense. Value is set by Berkshire’s businesses. To judge whether the company is worth its market price, work with total figures like earnings, book value and market value, as in fundamental analysis.

Which Berkshire Share Is Better for You?

For most investors, Class B is the practical choice. The business exposure is the same, and BRK.B has several advantages beyond the lower entry price.

Easier to size a position. You can buy a few shares and add more over time. With BRK.A, every purchase is a six-figure decision.

Easier to sell part of a holding. If you own one Class A share and need cash, your only choice is to sell the whole share, even if you need far less than it is worth. A Class B holder can sell exactly the number of shares needed.

Easier to give as a gift. Smaller units make it simpler to transfer stock to family members within the federal gift tax annual exclusion, which is $19,000 per recipient for 2025. A single Class A share is worth far more than that, so giving one would exceed the exclusion. That would require filing a gift tax return, though tax is owed only after the lifetime exemption is used up.

Fits ordinary portfolios. A BRK.B position can be kept to a sensible percentage of a diversified portfolio. For most people, one BRK.A share would dominate it.

When Class A Makes Sense

The answer changes for investors with large sums to commit.

You want full voting power. Per dollar invested, BRK.A carries several times the vote of BRK.B. A holder who cares about governance influence gets more of it through Class A.

You want to keep options open. A Class A share can always be converted into 1,500 Class B shares later, for example to sell part of a holding, give shares away or split an estate. Buying BRK.B gives up that option, because the conversion only works in one direction. Owning A first is the more flexible starting point for someone who can afford it.

You already own Class A. Long-time holders do not need to convert just because BRK.B exists. They can convert only as many shares as they need, when they need them.

Even for wealthy investors, BRK.A positions move in whole, very expensive units. Funds that hold Berkshire face the same lack of granularity.

The Risks Are the Same for Both Classes

Choosing a share class does not change the investment risk. Both BRK.A and BRK.B rise and fall with Berkshire’s insurance, railroad, energy and manufacturing businesses and its stock portfolio. Both are also exposed to broad market declines, discussed in bull vs. bear markets. A lower share price does not mean lower risk. A $10,000 position in BRK.B carries the same percentage exposure to Berkshire as $10,000 worth of a Class A share.

FAQs

The Bottom Line

For most individual investors, BRK.B is the practical choice, offering the same exposure to Berkshire's businesses in smaller units that are easier to buy, sell and give. BRK.A suits large holders who want full voting power or the option to convert into Class B later. Either way, the investment risk is identical, because both classes rise and fall with the same company.