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Compare Stocks › BRK-B vs SYF

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Synchrony Financial (SYF)

BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$481.48
VS
SYF
Synchrony Financial
$65.51

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.
SYF
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 13.7% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 21% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $1.86 of market value — management is creating shareholder value.

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.
SYF
  • ⚠Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠Synchrony Financial scores only 9/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.58 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BRK-B
SYF
Valuation
$36.80B
Free Cash Flow
N/A
3.54%
FCF Yield
N/A
15.50
Trailing P/E
7.06
22.11
Forward P/E
6.27
Quality & Moat
11.31%
ROIC
24.64%
9.30%
ROE
N/A
26.15%
Gross Margin
0.00%
N/A
PEG Ratio
0.91
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
1.83%
BRK-B: 1Ties: 1SYF: 3
BRK-BSYF

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.

SYF

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
SYF
$1.86
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$7.86B
Δ Market Cap
+$14.58B
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
SYF
77.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 77.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $65.51
Fair Value: $289.61
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.

SYF

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.
SYF
9/100
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.
SYF
-2.82
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.
SYF
Insiders 0.4%Institutions 107.3%
No. of Institutional Holders1,398
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
SYF
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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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
SYF
15
Sells (3M)
26
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $47.67M
WENZEL BRIAN J SR.
Chief Financial Officer
$4.49M
@ $67.32 · 2026-03-03
HOWSE CURTIS
Officer
$533,690
@ $67.71 · 2026-03-02
JUEL CAROL D
Chief Technology Officer
$1.14M
@ $67.71 · 2026-03-02
DOUBLES BRIAN D
Chief Executive Officer
$14.94M
@ $68.68 · 2026-03-02
CASELLAS ALBERTO B
Officer
$974,956
@ $67.71 · 2026-03-02
SCHALLER BARTON W
Officer
$878,876
@ $67.71 · 2026-03-02
OWENS DARRELL
Officer
$261,699
@ $67.71 · 2026-03-02
GENTLEMAN COURTNEY
Officer
$293,726
@ $67.71 · 2026-03-02
JUEL CAROL D
Chief Operating Officer
$3.14M
@ $70.60 · 2026-02-17
CASELLAS ALBERTO B
Officer
$2.93M
@ $70.60 · 2026-02-17
SCHALLER BARTON W
Officer
$2.49M
@ $70.60 · 2026-02-17
OWENS DARRELL
Officer
$727,462
@ $70.60 · 2026-02-17
GENTLEMAN COURTNEY
Officer
$850,377
@ $70.60 · 2026-02-17
HOWSE CURTIS
Officer
$3.80M
@ $72.32 · 2026-02-02
COVIELLO ARTHUR W JR
Director
$289,280
@ $72.32 · 2026-02-02
MOTHNER JONATHAN S
Officer
$2.33M
@ $72.80 · 2025-11-17
HOWSE CURTIS
Officer
$894,606
@ $74.02 · 2025-11-03
OWENS DARRELL
Officer
$221,246
@ $74.02 · 2025-11-03
COVIELLO ARTHUR W JR
Director
$591,440
@ $73.93 · 2025-11-03
WENZEL BRIAN J SR.
Chief Financial Officer
$595,980
@ $70.00 · 2025-08-05
NAYLOR JEFFREY G
Director
$1.38M
@ $68.75 · 2025-08-05
OWENS DARRELL
Officer
$40,770
@ $67.95 · 2025-08-04
GENTLEMAN COURTNEY
Officer
$48,177
@ $67.95 · 2025-08-04
HOWSE CURTIS
Officer
$739,700
@ $65.00 · 2025-06-24
NAYLOR JEFFREY G
Director
$650,000
@ $65.00 · 2025-06-24
MOTHNER JONATHAN S
Officer
$2.44M
@ $60.07 · 2025-05-19
WENZEL BRIAN J SR.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.76M
@ $60.01 · 2025-03-03
HOWSE CURTIS
Officer
$2.04M
@ $60.01 · 2025-03-03
JUEL CAROL D
Officer
$5.41M
@ $59.19 · 2025-03-03
CASELLAS ALBERTO B
Officer
$3.48M
@ $60.01 · 2025-03-03
SCHALLER BARTON W
Officer
$4.45M
@ $59.18 · 2025-03-03
OWENS DARRELL
Officer
$664,611
@ $60.01 · 2025-03-03
GENTLEMAN COURTNEY
Officer
$600,700
@ $60.01 · 2025-03-03
DOUBLES BRIAN D
Chief Executive Officer
$8.94M
@ $60.09 · 2025-02-28
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.
SYF
FearGreed
😨Fear(40/100)

"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)
SYF
⚪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 (40)
View BRK-B Full AnalysisView SYF Full Analysis