Will BRK B ever split again

Have you ever looked at a stock price and thought it was a typo? Berkshire Hathaway’s prestigious ‘A’ shares trade for over $600,000 apiece. To make his company more accessible, Warren Buffett created the “affordable” B-shares, but with a price tag still in the hundreds, it leads many to a simple question: should I wait for a stock split before buying?

A stock split doesn’t create value out of thin air. Think of a company’s total value, its market capitalization, as a large pizza. A 2-for-1 stock split is simply the act of cutting your single, large slice in half. You now hold two smaller slices, but you own the exact same amount of pizza. The effect of a stock split on market cap is zero; the pizza’s size never changes.

This concept plays out constantly in the real world. For instance, when Apple executed a 4-for-1 split in 2020, investors who owned one share at roughly $400 suddenly had four shares worth about $100 each. Their total investment stayed at $400. This process reveals that how a stock split affects share price is straightforward: its primary goal isn’t to make investors richer, but to lower the cost of a single share to make it more accessible for more people.

Why Does Berkshire Hathaway Have Two Stocks? The Story of BRK.A and BRK.B

The company’s dual-class stock structure, with tickers BRK.A and BRK.B, can be confusing. The reason for this isn’t just about price; it’s a story about Warren Buffett wanting to protect everyday investors. For decades, there was only one class of stock: the A-shares. As Buffett’s success grew, the price of a single share soared into the tens, and then hundreds, of thousands of dollars, making it impossible for most people to buy.

This high price created a problem. In the 1990s, some investment firms saw an opportunity. They started buying up Berkshire A-shares and then created their own “clone” funds, which they sold in smaller, more affordable pieces to the public. The catch? These funds often came with high sales commissions and management fees, skimming profits away from the small investors who simply wanted to invest alongside Buffett.

To solve this, Buffett made a brilliant move in 1996. He created an official, low-cost way for people to buy a smaller piece of his company: the Class B shares, quickly nicknamed “Baby B’s.” Think of the original A-share as a whole, family-sized pizza. The B-share is like an official, affordable slice of that exact same pizza. You’re still getting a piece of the same delicious pie, just in a more manageable size and without paying a middleman.

Ultimately, both share classes represent ownership in the same collection of businesses, from GEICO to Dairy Queen. The B-shares simply made that ownership accessible to almost anyone. This move perfectly aligned with Buffett’s long-held philosophy, but it also set the stage for a surprising decision he would have to make years later.

The Surprising Story of the One Time Berkshire’s B-Shares Did Split

For years, Warren Buffett treated the idea of a stock split like a magic trick—a distraction that creates an illusion of value without adding any. So, it came as a shock to many when, in 2010, Berkshire did exactly that. It wasn’t because Buffett suddenly changed his mind about making the stock feel “cheaper.” Instead, the split was a necessary tool to pull off one of the biggest deals in the company’s history.

The reason was the acquisition, or purchase, of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad. To buy the massive company, Berkshire offered its shareholders a mix of cash and Berkshire stock. Here was the problem: at the time, a single B-share was trading for thousands of dollars. This made it difficult to give small BNSF shareholders a fair and precise amount of stock for their holdings. It was like trying to pay for a candy bar with a $100 bill—clumsy and impractical.

To solve this, Berkshire announced a huge 50-for-1 stock split for its B-shares. This meant that for every one B-share an investor owned, they were suddenly given 50 new shares. As a result, the price of each new share dropped to 1/50th of its previous value. This made the stock exchange with BNSF’s owners clean and simple, allowing Berkshire to finalize the deal and absorb the new shareholders seamlessly.

This one-time event was a masterclass in pragmatism. It proved that Berkshire’s management isn’t against stock splits on principle alone; they are against using them just to play with the stock price. When a split served a larger strategic purpose, like buying an entire railroad, it became a useful tool. This distinction is key to understanding Buffett’s core philosophy on the matter.

Why Warren Buffett Hates Stock Splits: Attracting ‘Partners,’ Not ‘Speculators’

The pragmatism of that one-time split for the railroad acquisition reveals the heart of Warren Buffett’s philosophy. He has famously said he wants shareholders who view their investment not as a flickering number on a screen, but as a piece of a business they intend to own for years. In his mind, a stock split often encourages the opposite behavior. By making the share price seem lower, it can attract traders who are looking to make a quick buck by jumping in and out of the stock, not investors who are in it for the long haul.

This philosophy creates a clear distinction between two types of market participants: “partners” and “speculators.” Partners are in it for the slow-and-steady growth of the business itself. Speculators are more interested in rapid price swings. For Buffett, an extremely high share price—like the six-figure price tag on a single A-share—acts as a natural filter. It creates a significant barrier to entry for those who just want to trade, ensuring that most of his fellow owners are serious, committed investors who share his long-term vision.

Ultimately, for Berkshire’s original A-shares, the sky-high price isn’t an oversight; it’s a feature. It’s a loud and clear signal that the company prioritizes stability and a committed ownership base over the short-term buzz that splits can generate. This principle was bent for the B-shares during the BNSF deal out of necessity, but it was never broken.

BRK.A vs. BRK.B: What’s the Real Difference Besides Price?

While both A and B shares represent a slice of the same Berkshire Hathaway pie, they come with a crucial difference in how much say you get in the company’s future. This power comes in the form of voting rights, which allow shareholders to vote on major corporate decisions, like electing the board of directors. For most companies, one share equals one vote. But at Berkshire, the two share classes have dramatically different levels of influence.

The difference in power is staggering and intentional. It’s designed to keep strategic control in the hands of the original, long-term “partners” who hold the A-shares. Here’s the simple breakdown of the BRK.A vs BRK.B voting rights:

• BRK.A: The original share. Carries 1 full vote.
• BRK.B: The “baby B” share. Carries just 1/10,000th of a vote.

This structure ensures that Warren Buffett and other long-term A-shareholders can steer the ship without being swayed by the noise of the broader market. It’s the ultimate expression of his desire for a stable, committed ownership base.

So, does this make B-shares a “worse” investment? For the average person, not at all. The B-share was created specifically to give people a way to invest in Berkshire’s success. While your vote is minuscule, your economic stake is very real. Each B-share represents a genuine fraction of ownership in the business, and its value is directly tied to the company’s performance. You’re essentially betting on Buffett’s team to make the right decisions, and your B-shares ensure you share in the financial rewards.

Can’t Afford a Full Share? Why a Split Doesn’t Matter Anymore

Even with the more affordable B-shares, you might look at a price tag over $400 and think it’s still too steep for a single purchase. For decades, this was a real barrier, forcing small investors to either save up or look elsewhere. If you only have $100 to invest, buying a full share was simply off the table. This practical problem is the number one reason people hope for a stock split.

However, a quiet revolution in investing has made this concern almost obsolete. Most modern brokerage platforms, from Fidelity to Robinhood, now offer something called fractional shares. The concept is simple: instead of having to buy one whole share, you can buy just a piece of it. If a share costs $400, you can invest $40 to own one-tenth of it, or even just $5 to own a smaller sliver. This innovation means how to invest in Berkshire Hathaway is now a question of how much you want to invest, not whether you can afford the price of entry.

This technology fundamentally changes the game. The main argument for a stock split has always been about making shares more accessible to the average person. But since buying fractional shares of Berkshire Hathaway is now an easy alternative, the pressure on the company to split its stock has dramatically decreased. The barrier of a high share price has effectively been removed by technology, not by a corporate action from the company itself.

So, Will BRK.B Split? And What Should You Do Now?

So, will BRK.B ever split again? After weighing the evidence, the answer is a confident “almost certainly not.” Warren Buffett’s core philosophy is designed to attract investors who think in decades, not days. History shows the only past split was a tactical necessity for an acquisition, which suggests only a massive, unforeseen event would trigger another, not a rising price.

The good news is, you no longer need to wait for a split. Modern brokerages offering fractional shares have made the high price tag irrelevant. Your first, simple step is to see if your investment platform offers this feature. This is how you can invest in Berkshire Hathaway, or any company you believe in, with an amount that works for you. You don’t need to buy a whole share to become a part-owner.

By focusing on the availability of fractional shares, you can shift your perspective from the daily price to the question that truly matters: is this a company you want to own for the long haul? That change in focus means you’re already thinking more like an investor and less like a spectator.