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Compare Stocks › BRK-B vs LUV

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV)

BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$481.48
VS
LUV
Southwest Airlines Co.
$40.87

Rewards

BRK-B
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $1.66 of market value — management is creating shareholder value.
  • ★Net debt/EBITDA of -2.2x means the company holds more cash than debt — a net cash position.
LUV
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 13% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $11.48 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★5 insider purchases over the past 12 months with a buy/sell ratio above 3:1 — a sustained pattern of insider confidence.

Risks

BRK-B
  • ⚠Berkshire Hathaway Inc. scores only 16/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 15.5x is 75% above the historical average of 8.9x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
LUV
  • ⚠Gross margin of 22.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 51.7x is 26% above the historical average of 41.2x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
  • ⚠Beneish M-Score of -1.64 flags financial patterns consistent with potential earnings manipulation — warrants further investigation.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BRK-B
LUV
Valuation
$36.80B
Free Cash Flow
$-683.88M
3.54%
FCF Yield
-3.24%
15.50
Trailing P/E
51.73
22.11
Forward P/E
8.42
Quality & Moat
11.31%
ROIC
8.09%
9.30%
ROE
5.53%
26.15%
Gross Margin
22.04%
N/A
PEG Ratio
1.02
Balance Sheet Safety
0.19
Debt / Equity
0.75
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
-2.15
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.60
N/A
Dividend Yield
1.76%
BRK-B: 8Ties: 1LUV: 1
BRK-BLUV

Historical Fundamentals

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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.

LUV

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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BRK-B
$1.66
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$252.19B
Δ Market Cap
+$417.98B
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
LUV
$11.48
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$114.0M
Δ Market Cap
+$1.31B
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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BRK-B
31.1% Margin of Safety
Price is 31.1% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $481.48
Fair Value: $699.14
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
LUV
32.3% Overvalued
Price is 32.3% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $40.87
Fair Value: $30.89
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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BRK-B

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $481?

+0.7%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +8.8%

The market implies +0.7% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +8.8%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

LUV

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

Economic Moat Score

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BRK-B
16/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though reinvestment efficiency shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

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.
LUV
37/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though revenue predictability shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

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

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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.
LUV
-1.64
Likely 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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BRK-B
Insiders 0.3%Institutions 66.2%Retail & Other 33.5%
No. of Institutional Holders5,852
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.
LUV
Insiders 1.2%Institutions 97.7%Retail & Other 1.0%
No. of Institutional Holders1,090
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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BRK-B
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
LUV
0
Buys (3M)
5
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $713,401
SARETSKY GREGG A
Director
$100,447
@ $30.03 · 2025-08-06
FEINBERG SARAH
Director
$45,008
@ $30.01 · 2025-08-05
SARETSKY GREGG A
Director
$100,169
@ $27.29 · 2025-04-30
BREBER PIERRE R.
Director
$268,877
@ $26.89 · 2025-04-29
HESS DAVID P
Director
$198,900
@ $26.52 · 2025-04-28
FEINBERG SARAH
Director
$15,740
@ $31.48 · 2025-03-14
WATSON PATRICIA A
Director
$99,935
@ $30.58 · 2025-03-13
REYNOLDS CHRISTOPHER P.
Director
$99,955
@ $30.68 · 2025-03-13
CUSH C DAVID
Director
$150,150
@ $30.03 · 2025-03-12
ATHERTON LISA M
Director
$3,691
@ $31.28 · 2025-01-30
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$7.11M
@ $29.39 · 2024-10-01
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$4.83M
@ $29.15 · 2024-10-01
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$3.75M
@ $29.49 · 2024-10-01
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$15.87M
@ $29.89 · 2024-10-01
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$19.30M
@ $29.98 · 2024-10-01
KELLY GARY C
Officer and Director
$1.00M
@ $29.52 · 2024-09-30
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$34.92M
@ $29.47 · 2024-09-30
GANGWAL RAKESH
Director
$20.93M
@ $29.65 · 2024-09-30
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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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
LUV
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $302,056
JONES JUSTIN
Officer
$302,056
@ $37.36 · 2025-12-05
RUTHERFORD LINDA B
Officer
$132,386
@ $34.39 · 2024-12-06
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

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BRK-B
FearGreed
😐Neutral(48/100)

"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.
LUV
FearGreed
😨Fear(36/100)

"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.

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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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 (48)
LUV
⚪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 (36)
View BRK-B Full AnalysisView LUV Full Analysis
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io