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Compare Stocks › AOS vs BRK-B

A. O. Smith Corporation (AOS) vs Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B)

AOS
A. O. Smith Corporation
$60.35
VS
BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$473.01

Rewards

AOS
  • ★A. O. Smith Corporation has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • ★A. O. Smith Corporation scores 95/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 19.4% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
BRK-B
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $3.95 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★PEG ratio of 0.13 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
  • ★Net debt/EBITDA of -2.3x means the company holds more cash than debt — a net cash position.

Risks

AOS
  • ⚠FCF yield of 5.9% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
BRK-B
  • ⚠FCF yield of 6.0% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 15.2x is 72% above the historical average of 8.9x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.

Key Valuation Metrics

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AOS
BRK-B
Valuation
$495.61M
Free Cash Flow
$61.23B
5.94%
FCF Yield
6.00%
16.09
Trailing P/E
15.24
14.31
Forward P/E
21.95
Quality & Moat
20.33%
ROIC
4.96%
29.09%
ROE
9.18%
38.76%
Gross Margin
27.78%
1.27
PEG Ratio
0.13
Balance Sheet Safety
0.35
Debt / Equity
0.18
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
0.57
Net Debt / EBITDA
-2.28
2.35%
Dividend Yield
N/A
AOS: 4Ties: 2BRK-B: 5
AOSBRK-B

Historical Fundamentals

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AOS

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

BRK-B

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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AOS
$0.57
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Mediocre Allocator
Σ Retained
$1.07B
Δ Market Cap
+$612.2M
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
BRK-B
$1.66
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$252.19B
Δ Market Cap
+$417.89B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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AOS
42.1% Margin of Safety
Price is 42.1% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $60.35
Fair Value: $104.17
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
BRK-B
31.0% Margin of Safety
Price is 31.0% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $473.01
Fair Value: $685.41
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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AOS

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $60?

+4.8%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +6.1%

The market implies +4.8% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +6.1%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

BRK-B

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $473?

-0.3%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +1.0%

The market implies -0.3% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +1.0%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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AOS
95/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. ROIC Consistency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
BRK-B
40/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with reinvestment efficiency as the key competitive advantage. Improving revenue predictability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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AOS
-2.50
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
BRK-B
-2.41
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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AOS
Insiders 0.5%Institutions 99.9%
No. of Institutional Holders893
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
BRK-B
Insiders 0.3%Institutions 66.2%Retail & Other 33.6%
No. of Institutional Holders5,818
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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AOS
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
BRK-B
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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AOS
2
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $3.11M
SCHUH DARRELL W
Officer
$82,126
@ $74.39 · 2026-03-04
SCHUH DARRELL W
Officer
$28,439
@ $79.88 · 2026-02-13
STERN JAMES F
General Counsel
$1.24M
@ $71.24 · 2025-08-07
WHEELER KEVIN J.
Officer and Director
$1.58M
@ $71.26 · 2025-07-30
SMITH MARK D
Director
$171,264
@ $71.36 · 2025-07-29
KARGE DOUGLAS SAMUEL
Officer
$27,507
@ $65.65 · 2025-02-07
HEIDEMAN ROBERT JAMES
Chief Technology Officer
$67,357
@ $65.65 · 2025-02-07
CARVER SAMUEL M
Officer
$1.19M
@ $81.00 · 2024-08-07
BROWN RONALD DALE
Director
$311,071
@ $85.67 · 2024-07-30
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
BRK-B
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
No open market insider sales found.
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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AOS
FearGreed
😨Fear(26/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
BRK-B
FearGreed
😐Neutral(52/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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AOS
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (26)
BRK-B
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (52)
View AOS Full AnalysisView BRK-B Full Analysis
AOS vs BRK-B: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io