Stocks / BRK-B
What If You Had Invested in Berkshire Hathaway 10 Years Ago?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Class B) (BRK-B) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
BRK-B $572.33 ▼ -1.17% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in BRK-B in November 2016, today it would be worth
$3,635
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into BRK-B since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$128,699
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
BRK-B live price chart
BRK-B returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | +11.4% | +11.4% | $1,114 | +8.4% |
| 3 years | +59.0% | +16.7% | $1,590 | +18.5% |
| 5 years | +106.8% | +15.6% | $2,068 | +11.5% |
| 10 years | +263.5% | +13.8% | $3,635 | +14.6% |
| 20 years | +705.0% | +11.0% | $8,050 | +10.6% |
| Since 1996 | +2705.5% | +11.6% | $28,055 | — |
BRK-B year by year
Best full year: 1998 (+52.7%). Worst: 2008 (-32.1%).
| Year | BRK-B | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +13.9% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +10.9% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +27.1% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +15.5% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | +3.3% | -18.2% | Berkshire gained slightly in a year when the S&P 500 fell about 18%. |
| 2021 | +29.0% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +2.4% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +10.9% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +3.0% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +21.6% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +23.4% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | -12.1% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +26.6% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +32.2% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +17.6% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | -4.8% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +21.9% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +2.2% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -32.1% | -36.8% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. Berkshire fell, but less than most financial companies. |
| 2007 | +29.2% | +5.1% | |
| 2000 | +28.6% | -9.7% | While tech stocks crashed, Berkshire's old-economy businesses held up and its stock rose. |
BRK-B: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 1996 (355 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 250 (70%). The lump sum usually won, but roughly one start in 3 favored spreading it out. The best case for monthly investing was a start in September 2008, when it finished the year 39% ahead.
Worst drop
BRK-B's worst fall in this history was -45.9%, a deep bear-market fall, from December 2007 to February 2009. Getting back to the old high took until January 2013: 47 months from the bottom and 5.1 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $541 at the low.
Stock splits
- January 2010: 50-for-1
About Berkshire Hathaway
| Company | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Class B) |
| Listed | May 1996 (NYSE) |
| Sector | Financials (conglomerate) |
| Dividend | None |
Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett's company. It owns insurers such as GEICO, the BNSF railroad, utilities and dozens of other businesses outright, plus a large portfolio of stocks such as Apple and American Express.
The class B shares were created in 1996 so ordinary investors could buy in without paying for a very expensive class A share. A 50-for-1 split in 2010 made them cheaper still.
Berkshire does not pay a dividend; Buffett has argued he can reinvest the cash better. Its record since the 2000s has been close to the S&P 500's, with smaller losses in bad years. Buffett stepped down as CEO at the end of 2025.
Questions about BRK-B
How much would $10,000 invested in BRK-B 20 years ago be worth today?
About $80,496 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 705.0% in total, or 11.0% a year.
Does BRK-B pay a dividend?
No. BRK-B has never paid a dividend, so all of its return is the price.
Did BRK-B beat the S&P 500?
Almost exactly tied. Over the last 20 years the gap was 0.4 percentage points a year: +11.0% a year for BRK-B against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. Its worst fall was about the same as SPY's.