Berkshire is legitimately one of the cheapest "safe" stock right now

u/TraditionalMango58 · Reddit — r/ValueInvesting · January 16, 2026 at 15:42 · ⬆ 427 pts · 💬 124 comments  | View on Reddit ↗
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Author argues Berkshire Hathaway is the cheapest safe stock because stripping out its cash and stock portfolio implies the operating businesses trade at ~10-12x earnings versus ~20x for comparable industrials.

BRK.B — LONG The author argues Berkshire's headline P/E is misleading because stripping out the $380B+ cash pile and stock portfolio means investors pay only ~10-12x for the operating businesses, versus ~20x for comparable industrials. The massive cash pile earning 4% acts as a free put option, giving Berkshire huge upside to buy distressed assets if the economy tanks while being paid to wait otherwise. The author sees the Buffett retirement concern as overblown since Greg Abel has run operations for years and the transition is already priced in.

If you strip out the $380B+ cash pile and the stock portfolio, you are effectively paying \~10-12x for the operating businesses. Comparable industrial companies trade at 20x.

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u/TraditionalMango58 Reddit r/ValueInvesting
Berkshire cheap on ex-cash operating earnings
The author argues Berkshire's headline P/E is misleading because stripping out the $380B+ cash pile and stock portfolio means investors pay only ~10-12x for the operating businesses, versus ~20x for comparable industrials. The massive cash pile earning 4% acts as a free put option, giving Berkshire huge upside to buy distressed assets if the economy tanks while being paid to wait otherwise. The author sees the Buffett retirement concern as overblown since Greg Abel has run operations for years and the transition is already priced in.
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This Reddit post, published January 16, 2026, features u/TraditionalMango58 discussing BRK.B. 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: u/TraditionalMango58  · Tickers: BRK.B