Do we like them?

Do we like Berkshire Hathaway?

Omaha-based holding company: insurance (Geico), BNSF railroad, utilities, manufacturing, retail and a big stock portfolio.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A well-run, cautious group with a good record on charity and transparency. We'd back it, with reservations about PacifiCorp's wildfire liability and a few subsidiary scandals.

Berkshire is the Omaha conglomerate Warren Buffett built from 1965. It runs insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing and retail. On January 1, 2026, Greg Abel took over as CEO, the first change at the top in about 60 years. Buffett stayed on as chairman and kept his roughly 30% control.

Abel has not been a caretaker. One report says he exited 16 holdings in his first quarter as CEO. Forbes reports a record cash pile near $400B. Berkshire also finished buying homebuilder Taylor Morrison in July. Abel is a utilities man, which matters given the wildfire mess.

The big drama is PacifiCorp. Reuters reports an Oregon jury found it at fault for four 2020 wildfires. Plaintiffs' lawyers said it skimped on safety. PacifiCorp denies negligence. An appeals court wiped out $1.25B of awards, and the Oregon Supreme Court heard the appeal on Nov 3. Berkshire has estimated total liability could run to tens of billions.

Other subsidiaries have been in trouble too. Berkshire paid $4.15M to settle US Treasury claims over a Turkish unit's Iran sales. HomeServices paid a redlining settlement, and its $250M commission settlement hasn't ended a further antitrust case. On the plus side, Buffett is giving away his Berkshire stake by 2034. That keeps us at a solid, not glowing, score.