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Compare Stocks › BRK-B vs VLO

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Valero Energy Corporation (VLO)

BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$473.01
VS
VLO
Valero Energy Corporation
$246.87

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.
VLO
  • ★Share count has been reduced by 20% over the past 4 years through buybacks, increasing each share's claim on earnings.
  • ★Altman Z-Score of 4.64 indicates very low bankruptcy risk — the company is firmly in the safe zone.

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.
VLO
  • ⚠ROIC has declined by 24.7 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • ⚠Gross margin of 14.6% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 6.5% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BRK-B
VLO
Valuation
$61.23B
Free Cash Flow
$4.79B
6.00%
FCF Yield
6.48%
15.24
Trailing P/E
18.02
21.95
Forward P/E
13.08
Quality & Moat
4.96%
ROIC
14.66%
9.18%
ROE
8.72%
27.78%
Gross Margin
14.56%
0.13
PEG Ratio
4.08
Balance Sheet Safety
0.18
Debt / Equity
0.43
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
-2.28
Net Debt / EBITDA
0.63
N/A
Dividend Yield
1.94%
BRK-B: 7Ties: 1VLO: 3
BRK-BVLO

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.

VLO

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
+$417.89B
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
VLO
$0.15
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Destroyer
Σ Retained
$9.71B
Δ Market Cap
+$1.46B
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
31.0% 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
VLO
144.5% Overvalued
Price is 144.5% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $246.87
Fair Value: $100.95
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 $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.

VLO

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $247?

+14.9%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +5.2%

The market implies +14.9% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +5.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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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.
VLO
46/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with reinvestment efficiency as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability 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 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.
VLO
-2.93
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 33.6%
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.
VLO
Insiders 0.6%Institutions 88.6%Retail & Other 10.8%
No. of Institutional Holders2,202
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
VLO
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
VLO
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.73M
FRASER JASON W.
Chief Financial Officer
$1.73M
@ $174.02 · 2025-11-21
GREENE KIMBERLY S
Director
$113,850
@ $158.13 · 2024-05-09
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(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.
VLO
FearGreed
😏Greed(61/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

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 (52)
VLO
⚪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: Greed (61)
View BRK-B Full AnalysisView VLO Full Analysis
BRK-B vs VLO: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io