Stock · Conglomerate
Berkshire Hathaway real return vs inflation and money printing BRK.B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Class B). Warren Buffett’s holding company, owning insurance, railway and energy businesses plus a large stock portfolio.
Key numbers
- 1-month change
- +2.0%
- Volatility (30-day, annualised)
- 10.8%
Berkshire Hathaway real return after inflation and money printing
In dollars and pounds, before and after inflation, since May 1996.
+406%Berkshire Hathaway after US inflation since 201010.1% a year
Up 685% in dollars since 2010. After US inflation, up 406%. Against money printing, up 186%.
In pounds, up 858%, or up 487% after UK inflation.
- $ nominal
- +685%13.0% a year
- £ nominal
- +858%14.4% a year
- Real $ (US CPI)
- +406%10.1% a year
- Real £ (UK CPI)
- +487%11.1% a year
- vs US M2
- +186%6.4% a year
- Measured from
- Dec 2009to Oct 2026, 16 years 10 months
- Berkshire Hathaway, Real $ (US CPI)$515.60
- $ nominal$515.60
- Oct 2026, latest
Loading the chart. Every figure is also in the table below.
| Period | $ nominal | £ nominal | Real $ (US CPI) | Real £ (UK CPI) | vs US M2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past year from Oct 2025 | +8.0% | +7.2% | –a (see note a) | +4.4% | +2.9% |
| 5 years from Oct 2021 | +79.7% 12.4% a year | +85.8% 13.2% a year | +48.3% 8.2% a year | +47.0% 8.0% a year | +62.9% 10.2% a year |
| Since 2020 from Dec 2019 | +128% 12.8% a year | +128% 12.8% a year | +74.6% 8.5% a year | +72.5% 8.3% a year | +49.7% 6.1% a year |
| 10 years from Oct 2016 | +257% 13.6% a year | +230% 12.7% a year | +158% 9.9% a year | +132% 8.8% a year | +101% 7.2% a year |
| Since 2010 from Dec 2009 | +685% 13.0% a year | +858% 14.4% a year | +406% 10.1% a year | +487% 11.1% a year | +186% 6.4% a year |
| Since 2000 from Dec 1999 | +1,309% 10.4% a year | +1,619% 11.2% a year | +608% 7.6% a year | +769% 8.4% a year | +180% 3.9% a year |
| Since May 1996 first month in our data | +2,428% 11.2% a year | +2,859% 11.8% a year | +1,082% 8.5% a year | +1,320% 9.1% a year | +302% 4.7% a year |
- a US CPI was not published for Oct 2025.
How these figures are worked out
Sources, inflation measures and what is left out
- Month-end closes from Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, May 1996 to Oct 2026. Oct 2026 is still in progress, so its figure is the latest close rather than a month-end. Our history for Berkshire Hathaway starts in May 1996, so longer windows are left out.
- Real figures divide by US CPI (BLS, via FRED) or UK CPI (ONS, joined to the ONS long-run RPI before Jan 1988) and are stated in Oct 2026 money. The M2 lens divides by the US M2 money supply (Federal Reserve, via FRED). Pounds convert at each month's GBP/USD rate.
- US CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- UK CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- US M2 is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- Price returns only: dividends are not included, so the total return to a holder who reinvested them was higher.
- A return of 12 months or more also shows its yearly rate. Gaps in a source are left as gaps and never filled in.
Berkshire Hathaway price history, past year
Daily closes from Nasdaq. Last refreshed .
Where Berkshire Hathaway stands today
52-week range
- Below the high
- 1.7%
- Above the low
- 11.9%
At $520.59, Berkshire Hathaway is higher than 99% of its daily closes over the past year and only 1.7% short of the $529.42 high it set on 10 Aug 2026.
Moving averages
- 50-day$508.04 +2.5%
- 200-day$493.15 +5.6%
Price compared with each average. Bars to the right mean the price is above it.
Berkshire Hathaway is 2.5% above its 50-day average and 5.6% above its 200-day average, so on both the shorter and the longer view the trend we measure is still pointing up. The 50-day line last crossed above the 200-day on 29 Jul 2026, the pattern traders call a golden cross.
Trend score
- Trend100
- Momentum59
- RSI score82
- Drawdown97
- Uptrend
- 65 or more
- Sideways
- 36 to 64
- Downtrend
- 35 or less
Rules-based, from 277 daily prices. It describes the trend so far and does not predict the next move. How it works.
Berkshire Hathaway performance and biggest moves
Returns over time
| Period | BRK.B | SPY | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | +3.0% | -0.1% | +3.1 pts |
| 1 month | +2.0% | +1.9% | +0.1 pts |
| 3 months | +6.6% | +3.1% | +3.5 pts |
| Year to date | +3.6% | +14.2% | −10.6 pts |
| 1 year | +5.8% | +17.4% | −11.6 pts |
Berkshire Hathaway is up 5.8% over the past year on price alone, against +17.4% for the S&P 500 (through the SPY fund), so it has trailed that comparison by 11.6 percentage points. Dividends are not included, so the total return for holders would be a little higher.
Best and worst days in the past year
- Days that closed higher
- 50%
- Moves of 3% or more
- 2
The biggest one-day rise since 13 Oct 2025 came on 28 Jul 2026 (+3.1%) and the sharpest fall on 2 Mar 2026 (−4.9%). Of the 251 trading days in that period, 50% closed higher than the day before and 2 moved by 3% or more in one direction or the other.
Is Berkshire Hathaway overbought, and how volatile is it?
RSI (14-day)
Firm- Sessions at 70+ (past year)
- 4
- Sessions at 30 or lower
- 3
At 67.4, Berkshire Hathaway's RSI is in the upper half of the usual 30 to 70 band, so buyers have had the better of the past few weeks without the reading reaching the level we'd call stretched. Over the past year it has spent 4 sessions at 70 or above, most recently on 10 Aug 2026.
Volatility against other US shares
1st calmest of 27- Typical daily move
- 0.7%
- Calmest in group
- BRK.B 10.8%
Berkshire Hathaway's 30-day volatility is 10.8%, which works out at a move of roughly 0.7% on an ordinary day. That makes it the calmest of the 27 US shares we track, well below the group median of 23.3%. One very large day, such as an earnings release or a sudden sell-off, can lift a 30-day figure for weeks, so we would read the ranking as this month's picture.
Berkshire Hathaway compared with similar assets
| Asset | Price | Today | 1 month | 1 year | RSI | Trend score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway | $520.59 | -0.02% | +2.0% | +5.8% | 67 | 82 Uptrend |
| SPYS&P 500 ETF | $778.46 | +0.05% | +1.9% | +17.4% | 60 | 89 Uptrend |
| GLDGold ETF | $381.54 | -0.03% | -4.3% | +0.9% | 43 | 30 Downtrend |
| AAPLApple | $341.10 | -0.05% | +2.7% | +37.7% | 60 | 86 Uptrend |
Over the past year Apple has done best in this group (+37.7%) and Gold ETF has been the weakest (+0.9%). Berkshire Hathaway comes 3rd of 4, 31.9 percentage points behind Apple.
About Berkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway, then a textile maker, in 1965. It owns GEICO, BNSF Railway and Berkshire Hathaway Energy outright, and Greg Abel took over from Buffett as chief executive at the start of 2026.
- Ticker
- BRK.B
- Type
- Stock
- Sector
- Conglomerate
- Priced in
- USD
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Berkshire Hathaway: questions people ask
Answers are built from the same live figures shown above, so they change as the price does. Last checked 14 Oct 2026.
Has Berkshire Hathaway beaten inflation since 2010?
Yes. From the December 2009 close to October 2026, Berkshire Hathaway went up 685% in dollars. US consumer prices rose 55.1% over the same months, which leaves a real gain of 406%, or 10.1% a year after inflation. A UK holder counting in pounds saw up 858%, which comes to up 487% once UK CPI is taken out. These are price returns: dividends are not included, so a holder who reinvested them did better.
How has Berkshire Hathaway done against money printing?
The US M2 money supply grew 174% since 2010. M2 counts the cash, current accounts and savings deposits held in the US, so it measures how much new money was created rather than how much shop prices rose. Against it, Berkshire Hathaway is up 186%.
What is Berkshire Hathaway's real return over 10 years?
Over the 10 years to October 2026, Berkshire Hathaway returned 257% in dollars (13.6% a year). After US inflation that is up 158%, 9.9% a year. In pounds after UK inflation it is up 132%.
What is the Berkshire Hathaway share price today?
The last price we have for Berkshire Hathaway is $520.59, down 0.0% on the day, as of 23:55 BST on 13 Oct 2026. We get US prices from Nasdaq and during trading hours they can be up to 15 minutes behind, so if you are about to trade you'll want the live quote from your broker rather than ours. Over the last month the shares have moved +2.0% and over the last year +5.8%.
Is Berkshire Hathaway stock overbought right now?
No, or at least not on the 14-day RSI, which reads 67.4 at the moment. We'd only start calling Berkshire Hathaway overbought above 70 and it hasn't been there since 10 Aug 2026, while the last time it went the other way and dropped below 30 was 27 Mar 2026. RSI looks back over 14 sessions and asks how much of the movement was up and how much was down, so a reading in the 50s or 60s mostly tells us the past few weeks have been tilted towards buyers without getting extreme. Berkshire Hathaway spent 4 sessions at 70 or above in the past year, which is one reason we don't treat a high reading as a cue to sell: in a strong run it can stay there for weeks.
How far is Berkshire Hathaway from its 52-week high?
Not far, about 1.7%. The highest close in the past year was $529.42 on 10 Aug 2026 and the lowest was $465.40 on 22 Apr 2026, which puts today's price 86% of the way up that range. We work this out from daily closing prices rather than the intraday highs and lows an exchange reports, so our high can be a little lower than the one you'll see quoted elsewhere.
Is Berkshire Hathaway above its 200-day moving average?
It is. Berkshire Hathaway's last price of $520.59 is 5.6% above its 200-day average of $493.15, and the 50-day average of $508.04 is above the 200-day as well, which has been the case since 29 Jul 2026, when the two lines last crossed. We show the 200-day line because it averages about ten months of closing prices, so a single bad week hardly moves it, and when we look at a chart it's the quickest way to see whether a share has been rising or falling over the longer run, even if it can't tell us where the price goes from here.
How volatile is Berkshire Hathaway stock?
Over the past 30 days Berkshire Hathaway's annualised volatility has been 10.8%. If that number feels abstract, it works out at roughly a 0.7% move on an ordinary day. It is the calmest of the 27 US shares we track and the median for the group is 23.3%, so at the moment it is calmer than most of them. The biggest single-day swings of the past year were +3.1% on 28 Jul 2026 and −4.9% on 2 Mar 2026.
Important information
Capital at risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Educational information only, not financial advice. Read our disclaimer.
Berkshire Hathaway: what the numbers say
Claude Haiku ·Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares closed at $521.54 today, up 0.76 per cent, according to the latest Nasdaq quote. The price sits 1.5 per cent below its 52-week closing high of $529.42, reached on 10 August, and 12.1 per cent above its 52-week closing low of $465.40, recorded on 22 April. It also trades above both its 50-day average of $508.06 and its 200-day average of $493.16.
Read the full summary Show less
The trend score stands at 83, labelled Uptrend, with momentum at 60 and RSI at 68.1. Over the past 30 days the shares have gained 2.19 per cent, and annualised 30-day volatility is 10.9 per cent. Elsewhere today, the S&P 500 ETF slipped 0.04 per cent and the Gold ETF fell 0.13 per cent, while Apple rose 0.34 per cent.
Written by AI from this site's live data and checked figure by figure before publishing. Educational only, not financial advice.