Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend AAPL or BRK.A?

Apple currently has a consensus price target of $237.98, suggesting a potential upside of 4.33%. Given Apple's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Apple is more favorable than Berkshire Hathaway.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58
Berkshire Hathaway	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of AAPL or BRK.A?

67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.0% of Berkshire Hathaway shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Berkshire Hathaway shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor AAPL or BRK.A?

In the previous week, Apple had 281 more articles in the media than Berkshire Hathaway. MarketBeat recorded 294 mentions for Apple and 13 mentions for Berkshire Hathaway. Apple's average media sentiment score of 0.89 beat Berkshire Hathaway's score of 0.52 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	172 Very Positive mention(s)	36 Positive mention(s)	54 Neutral mention(s)	20 Negative mention(s)	11 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Berkshire Hathaway	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAPL or BRK.A 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
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%
Berkshire Hathaway	17.00%	6.96%	3.92%

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

Apple has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Berkshire Hathaway has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, AAPL or BRK.A?

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
Apple	$391.04B	8.66	$93.74B	$6.59	34.61
Berkshire Hathaway	$371.43B	2.84	$89.00B	$43.77 thousand	16.71

Summary

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