SafetyMargin.ioSafetyMargin.io
BlogWatchlistCompare
Compare Stocks › BRK-B vs ITW

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW)

BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$473.01
VS
ITW
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
$255.47

Rewards

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.
ITW
  • ★Illinois Tool Works Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • ★Illinois Tool Works Inc. 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 11.8% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.

Risks

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.
ITW
  • ⚠Each dollar of retained earnings has produced only $0.08 of earning power — shareholders may have been better served by dividends.
  • ⚠PEG ratio of 2.01 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
  • ⚠High leverage (2.83x debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
BRK-B
ITW
Valuation
$61.23B
Free Cash Flow
N/A
6.00%
FCF Yield
N/A
15.24
Trailing P/E
23.70
21.95
Forward P/E
21.01
Quality & Moat
4.96%
ROIC
26.29%
9.18%
ROE
94.92%
27.78%
Gross Margin
44.12%
0.13
PEG Ratio
2.01
Balance Sheet Safety
0.18
Debt / Equity
2.83
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
-2.28
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.76
N/A
Dividend Yield
2.52%
BRK-B: 4Ties: 2ITW: 3
BRK-BITW

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
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.

ITW

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

Learn more →
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
ITW
$0.88
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Mediocre Allocator
Σ Retained
$4.42B
Δ Market Cap
+$3.89B
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

Learn more →
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
ITW
30.1% Overvalued
Price is 30.1% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $255.47
Fair Value: $196.43
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
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.

ITW

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
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.
ITW
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.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
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.
ITW
-2.44
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

Learn more →
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.
ITW
Insiders 0.4%Institutions 85.5%Retail & Other 14.1%
No. of Institutional Holders2,408
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

Learn more →
BRK-B
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
ITW
0
Buys (3M)
3
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $3.57M
SMITH DAVID BYRON JR.
Director
$1.68M
@ $250.13 · 2025-12-10
SMITH DAVID BYRON JR.
Director
$1.68M
@ $250.13 · 2025-12-10
SMITH DAVID BYRON JR.
Director
$210,292
@ $241.16 · 2025-06-02
SMITH DAVID BYRON JR.
Director
$174,752
@ $275.20 · 2024-12-09
SMITH DAVID BYRON JR.
Director
$185,086
@ $238.82 · 2024-06-13
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

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

Insider Selling Activity

Learn more →
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
ITW
3
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $57.13M
LAWLER MARY KATHERINE
Officer
$5.04M
@ $291.90 · 2026-02-06
BECK AXEL
Officer
$1.23M
@ $290.22 · 2026-02-05
SANTI ERNEST SCOTT
Director
$48.69M
@ $290.93 · 2026-02-04
STROBEL PAMELA B
Director
$373,025
@ $245.25 · 2025-11-05
SCHEUNEMAN RANDALL J
Officer
$1.80M
@ $265.08 · 2025-09-11
LARSEN MICHAEL M
Chief Financial Officer
$11.25M
@ $271.25 · 2025-03-07
O HERLIHY CHRISTOPHER A
Chief Executive Officer
$13.29M
@ $274.36 · 2025-03-07
SANTI ERNEST SCOTT
Director
$19.44M
@ $264.67 · 2025-02-20
SANTI ERNEST SCOTT
Director
$18.43M
@ $263.30 · 2025-02-19
LAWLER MARY KATHERINE
Officer
$3.18M
@ $272.95 · 2024-11-06
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

Learn more →
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.
ITW
FearGreed
😐Neutral(43/100)

"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

Learn more →
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)
ITW
⚪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 (43)
View BRK-B Full AnalysisView ITW Full Analysis