Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) is a diversified holding company with operations spanning insurance, rail transportation, utilities and energy, manufacturing, services, and retailing. Its insurance businesses include GEICO, which provides private passenger automobile insurance, and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, which offers property, casualty, life, and health reinsurance. The company also owns businesses involved in insurance brokerage and related financial services.
Other major Berkshire Hathaway operations include BNSF Railway, a freight railroad serving much of the United States and parts of Canada, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which operates regulated electric and gas utilities, renewable energy assets, and energy infrastructure. Its manufacturing, service, and retail businesses include companies such as Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Marmon, International Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Duracell, NetJets, and Pilot, among others. These businesses serve customers in the United States and international markets.
Berkshire Hathaway traces its origins to the 19th-century textile companies that ultimately combined to form Berkshire Hathaway in 1955. Warren Buffett acquired control of the company in the 1960s and developed it into a diversified holding company that generally retains operating businesses for the long term. Greg Abel became Berkshire Hathaway’s chief executive officer in January 2026, while Warren Buffett continues to serve as chairman.
