Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Competitors

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment and dividends.

Does the media favor BRK.A or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 323 more articles in the media than Berkshire Hathaway. MarketBeat recorded 328 mentions for Apple and 5 mentions for Berkshire Hathaway. Apple's average media sentiment score of 0.86 beat Berkshire Hathaway's score of 0.80 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Berkshire Hathaway	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	192 Very Positive mention(s)	33 Positive mention(s)	72 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	5 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer BRK.A or AAPL?

Apple has a consensus price target of $240.80, indicating a potential upside of 2.88%. Given Apple's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Apple is more favorable than Berkshire Hathaway.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Berkshire Hathaway	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Apple	1 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56

Which has more volatility & risk, BRK.A or AAPL?

Berkshire Hathaway has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BRK.A or AAPL more profitable?

Apple has a net margin of 24.30% compared to Berkshire Hathaway's net margin of 17.00%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat Berkshire Hathaway's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Berkshire Hathaway	17.00%	6.96%	3.92%
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, BRK.A or AAPL?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Berkshire Hathaway	$371.43B	2.87	$89.00B	$43.77 thousand	16.93
Apple	$391.04B	8.88	$93.74B	$6.59	35.52

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BRK.A or AAPL?

23.0% of Berkshire Hathaway shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Berkshire Hathaway shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Apple beats Berkshire Hathaway on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.