How Berkshire's Retail Arm Drives Its Service and Retailing Business

Berkshire Hathaway’s BRK.B Service and Retailing operations are a vital pillar of its long-term growth strategy, contributing significantly to revenues, earnings stability and diversification. Spanning service, retaining, Pilot and McLane, these businesses operate in cyclical yet essential sectors, providing dependable cash flows that help offset fluctuations in financial markets and insurance results.

Among these, the retail group includes Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, contributing about 69% to retail revenues. Others include furnishings businesses (Nebraska Furniture Mart, R.C. Willey, Star Furniture and Jordan’s), contributing about 17% to retail revenues, jewelry, confectionery, high-quality kitchen tools, party supplies, school supplies, toys and motorcycle accessories.

The retail sub-segment contributes approximately 13-21% to revenues and about 28-34% to earnings. Given a mixed bag, this sub-segment witnesses fluctuation in both earnings and revenues.

Scale and brand strength underpin strong retail performance. While furnishings businesses’ purchasing power enables competitive pricing, confectionery products deliver premium margins and pricing power. Supported by scale, operational autonomy and countercyclical demand, these businesses generate steady cash flows and long-term value. 

At Berkshire, such consistency funds reinvestment and disciplined acquisitions, strengthening competitive advantages and positioning the Service and Retailing segment as a resilient, long-term compounding engine.

What About BRK.B Peers?

Williams-Sonoma’s WSM prospects are aided by an effective operating model, diversified brand portfolios, a robust e-commerce channel and global expansion efforts. Also, the launch of a new AI culinary and shopping companion, Olive, with AI integration across all brands, bodes well for Williams-Sonoma.

RH (RH)  is redefining luxury retail by merging residential, retail and hospitality experiences. Its immersive design galleries, featuring courtyards, rooftop restaurants and interior design studios, create destinations that cannot be replicated online. RH’s international expansion is gaining traction. Also, RH’s strategy is to digitally reimagine the brand and business model both internally and externally. 

BRK.B’s Price Performance

Shares of BRK.B have gained 12% in a year, outperforming the industry.

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BRK.B’s Expensive Valuation

BRK.B trades at a price-to-book value ratio of 1.54, above the industry average of 1.47. It carries a Value Score of C.

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No Estimate Movement for BRK.B

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRK.B’s fourth-quarter 2025 and first-quarter 2026 EPS witnessed no movement in the past seven days. The same holds true for 2025 and 2026 EPS estimates.
 

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The consensus estimates for BRK.B’s 2025 and 2026 revenues indicate year-over-year increases, while the same for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicate a decline.  

BRK.B stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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