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Compare Stocks › BRK-B vs NTRS

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS)

BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$481.48
VS
NTRS
Northern Trust Corporation
$135.78

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.
NTRS
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 41.8% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 11% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $2.39 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.

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.
NTRS
  • ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Northern Trust Corporation scores only 22/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • ⚠PEG ratio of 2.04 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BRK-B
NTRS
Valuation
$36.80B
Free Cash Flow
N/A
3.54%
FCF Yield
N/A
15.50
Trailing P/E
15.54
22.11
Forward P/E
12.19
Quality & Moat
11.31%
ROIC
10.14%
9.30%
ROE
N/A
26.15%
Gross Margin
0.00%
N/A
PEG Ratio
2.04
Balance Sheet Safety
0.19
Debt / Equity
N/A
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
-2.15
Net Debt / EBITDA
N/A
N/A
Dividend Yield
2.32%
BRK-B: 2Ties: 2NTRS: 1
BRK-BNTRS

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.

NTRS

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
NTRS
$2.39
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$2.93B
Δ Market Cap
+$7.01B
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
NTRS
28.6% Margin of Safety
Price is 28.6% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $135.78
Fair Value: $190.07
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.

NTRS

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.
NTRS
22/100
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 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.
NTRS
-2.60
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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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.
NTRS
Insiders 0.9%Institutions 86.0%Retail & Other 13.1%
No. of Institutional Holders1,238
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
NTRS
2
Buys (3M)
6
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $763,181
PETRINO RICHARD
Director
$148,910
@ $148.91 · 2026-02-05
MORITZ ROBERT EDWARD JR.
Director
$37,203
@ $151.85 · 2026-02-02
MORITZ ROBERT EDWARD JR.
Director
$500,266
@ $128.57 · 2025-11-04
MORITZ ROBERT EDWARD JR.
Director
$34,198
@ $126.66 · 2025-10-27
MORITZ ROBERT EDWARD JR.
Director
$32,343
@ $126.34 · 2025-08-13
MORITZ ROBERT EDWARD JR.
Director
$10,261
@ $91.62 · 2025-04-24
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
NTRS
3
Sells (3M)
12
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $7.74M
FOX DAVID W JR
Chief Financial Officer
$468,362
@ $143.89 · 2026-03-04
FOX DAVID W JR
Chief Financial Officer
$208,872
@ $144.05 · 2026-02-25
BELLOWS CLIVE
Officer
$166,758
@ $145.26 · 2026-02-12
SOUTH THOMAS A
Officer
$695,150
@ $139.03 · 2025-12-11
LANDERS JOHN P.
Officer
$95,252
@ $124.35 · 2025-11-17
LEVY SUSAN COHEN
General Counsel
$3.54M
@ $128.13 · 2025-11-04
PARKER TERESA A
Officer
$997,458
@ $131.21 · 2025-07-31
HALLINAN AENGUS
Officer
$528.00
@ $105.60 · 2025-05-22
CONWAY KELLEY
Officer
$52,640
@ $105.28 · 2025-05-12
FOX DAVID W JR
Chief Financial Officer
$535,772
@ $105.55 · 2025-05-12
PARKER TERESA A
Officer
$650,710
@ $100.62 · 2025-05-09
BELLOWS CLIVE
Officer
$329,835
@ $99.95 · 2025-05-08
SOUTH THOMAS A
Officer
$429,852
@ $113.00 · 2025-02-19
LANDERS JOHN P.
Officer
$100,296
@ $111.44 · 2025-02-04
KARPINSKI JANE B.
Officer
$251,828
@ $111.33 · 2025-02-03
TYLER JASON J
Officer
$252,043
@ $112.67 · 2025-01-30
CHERECWICH PETER B
Chief Operating Officer
$2.94M
@ $112.36 · 2025-01-29
SOUTH THOMAS A
Officer
$529,000
@ $105.80 · 2024-11-07
PARKER TERESA A
Officer
$447,718
@ $100.86 · 2024-10-25
KARPINSKI JANE B.
Officer
$437,964
@ $100.96 · 2024-10-25
LEVY SUSAN COHEN
General Counsel
$2.00M
@ $102.26 · 2024-10-25
FRADKIN STEVEN L
Officer
$2.80M
@ $100.50 · 2024-10-25
GOSSETT MARK C
Officer
$533,400
@ $88.90 · 2024-08-27
PARKER TERESA A
Officer
$494,525
@ $84.06 · 2024-08-09
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.
NTRS
FearGreed
😐Neutral(53/100)

"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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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)
NTRS
⚪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 (53)
View BRK-B Full AnalysisView NTRS Full Analysis
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io