“The milestone is a testament to the company’s financial strength and value,” said Cathy Seifert, Berkshire analyst at CFRA Research. “It’s particularly significant at a time when Berkshire is one of the last remaining conglomerates.”

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate’s shares rose more than 28% in 2024, significantly outperforming the 18% rise in the S&P 500 index. The $1 trillion mark came just two days before the 94th birthday of Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha”.

Shares rose 0.8% on Wednesday, reaching $696,502.02, taking the company’s market capitalization to more than $1 trillion, according to FactSet.
Unlike the other six members of the trillion-dollar club (Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta), Berkshire is focused on the traditional economy, owning BNSF Railway, Geico Insurance and Dairy Queen, among others. (However, the company’s significant Apple stake also contributed to recent gains.)

“This is a credit to Mr. Buffett and his team, as it was the ‘old economy’ businesses that made Berkshire successful,” said Andrew Kligerman, a Berkshire analyst at TD Cowen. “Yet these businesses are pivoting at much lower valuations than technology companies, which are not Berkshire’s core business profile. What’s more, Berkshire has achieved all this with a conglomerate structure that many consider outdated, as companies have tended to specialize over the years.”

Buffett, who took control of Berkshire in the 1960s, built it from a struggling textile company into a giant conglomerate encompassing insurance, railroads, retail, manufacturing and energy, with unparalleled financial strength and cash reserves.