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Compare Stocks › BRK-B vs XYL

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) vs Xylem Inc. (XYL)

BRK-B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$473.01
VS
XYL
Xylem Inc.
$115.37

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.
XYL
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 32.9% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $4.72 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★Trailing P/E of 28.8x is 29% below the historical average of 40.8x — potentially undervalued relative to its own history.

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.
XYL
  • ⚠Share count has increased by 35% over the past 4 years, diluting existing shareholders.
  • ⚠Despite buyback spending, shares outstanding increased in 3 out of 4 years — stock-based compensation is offsetting repurchases.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BRK-B
XYL
Valuation
$61.23B
Free Cash Flow
$959.12M
6.00%
FCF Yield
3.50%
15.24
Trailing P/E
28.77
21.95
Forward P/E
18.96
Quality & Moat
4.96%
ROIC
6.97%
9.18%
ROE
8.52%
27.78%
Gross Margin
38.61%
0.13
PEG Ratio
1.98
Balance Sheet Safety
0.18
Debt / Equity
0.18
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
-2.28
Net Debt / EBITDA
0.66
N/A
Dividend Yield
1.49%
BRK-B: 6Ties: 2XYL: 3
BRK-BXYL

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.

XYL

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
XYL
$9.35
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$1.42B
Δ Market Cap
+$13.25B
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
XYL
22.7% Overvalued
Price is 22.7% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $115.37
Fair Value: $94.01
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.

XYL

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $115?

+13.2%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +13.2%

The market implies +13.2% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +13.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

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.
XYL
54/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with reinvestment efficiency as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency 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.
XYL
-2.49
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.
XYL
Insiders 0.3%Institutions 99.1%Retail & Other 0.6%
No. of Institutional Holders1,638
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
XYL
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
TRETIKOV LILA
Director
$528.00
@ $132.00 · 2024-10-22
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
XYL
0
Sells (3M)
4
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $1.34M
HARKER VICTORIA D
Director
$251,838
@ $148.14 · 2025-11-04
MCSHANE GERI-MICHELLE
Officer
$139,962
@ $139.96 · 2025-09-05
GLATCH LISA
Director
$689,231
@ $140.66 · 2025-08-18
HARKER VICTORIA D
Director
$258,542
@ $143.63 · 2025-08-04
MCSHANE GERI-MICHELLE
Officer
$527,978
@ $128.18 · 2025-03-07
CAPERS DOROTHY TREFON
General Counsel
$1.53M
@ $127.26 · 2025-03-04
TRETIKOV LILA
Director
$480.00
@ $120.00 · 2024-11-01
HARKER VICTORIA D
Director
$352,314
@ $127.65 · 2024-09-09
MCSHANE GERI-MICHELLE
Officer
$315,799
@ $138.63 · 2024-06-10
AULICK RODNEY O
Officer
$3.03M
@ $139.01 · 2024-06-05
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.
XYL
FearGreed
😨Fear(34/100)

"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 (52)
XYL
⚪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 (34)
View BRK-B Full AnalysisView XYL Full Analysis
BRK-B vs XYL: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io