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How BRK.B's Consumer Products Arm Drives Its Manufacturing Business
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Key Takeaways
BRK.B's consumer-products group contributes up to 20% of manufacturing revenues and 14% of earnings.
Strong brands and pricing power help BRK.B's consumer segment offset cost inflation and cyclical shifts.
Consumer products align with Buffett's focus on durable earnings, low debt and smart capital deployment.
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B - Free Report) manufacturing operations are a vital pillar of its long-term growth strategy, contributing significantly to revenues, earnings stability and diversification. Spanning industrial, building and consumer products, these businesses operate in cyclical yet essential sectors, providing dependable cash flows that help offset fluctuations in financial markets and insurance results.
Among these, the consumer-products group includes brands such as Forest River (leisure vehicles), Duracell (high-performance alkaline batteries), Jazwares (toy company), Richline (jewelry), Larson-Juhl (custom picture framing) as well as several apparel and footwear operations (including Fruit of the Loom, Garan, H.H. Brown Shoe Group and Brooks Sports).
The Consumer-products sub-segment serves as an essential pillar of Berkshire’s manufacturing revenues and earnings, contributing approximately 19-20% to revenues and 14% to earnings. While this sub-segment witnesses fluctuation in revenues, earnings have been continually improving.
Consumer products provide strategic diversification and cyclical resilience to the Manufacturing division of Berkshire Hathaway. Many consumer brands hold strong or defensible market positions, enabling effective pass-through of input-cost inflation. This strengthens earnings quality across the segment and reinforces Berkshire’s disciplined approach to deploying capital.
Moreover, these businesses seem aligned with Warren Buffett’s philosophy of investing in businesses with durable earnings power, strong returns on equity with modest debt and skilled management—acquired only at sensible valuations. The segment thus provides stability to the Manufacturing segment of Berkshire.
What About Competitors?
Procter & Gamble (PG - Free Report) continues to harness its portfolio of daily-use products to sustain steady organic growth. Procter & Gamble drives this momentum through consistent innovation, brand investment and productivity initiatives. Procter & Gamble’s rigorous cost-saving programs support margin expansion while enabling ongoing reinvestment in advertising and product development.
Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) is transforming into a total beverage company through integrated marketing, innovation and revenue growth management. Coca-Cola is achieving margin expansion supported by strong underlying performance and bottler refranchising, despite currency pressure. Coca-Cola also uses data and advanced analytics to sharpen execution across global markets.
BRK.B’s Price Performance
Shares of BRK.B have gained 9.4% year to date, outperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BRK.B’s Expensive Valuation
BRK.B trades at a price-to-book value ratio of 1.53, above the industry average of 1.5. It carries a Value Score of D.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
No Estimate Movement for BRK.B
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRK.B’s fourth-quarter 2025 EPS and first-quarter 2026 EPS witnessed no movement in the past seven days. The same holds true for 2025 and 2026 EPS estimates.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimate for BRK.B’s 2025 and 2026 revenues indicates year-over-year increases, while the same for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year decline.
Image: Shutterstock
How BRK.B's Consumer Products Arm Drives Its Manufacturing Business
Key Takeaways
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B - Free Report) manufacturing operations are a vital pillar of its long-term growth strategy, contributing significantly to revenues, earnings stability and diversification. Spanning industrial, building and consumer products, these businesses operate in cyclical yet essential sectors, providing dependable cash flows that help offset fluctuations in financial markets and insurance results.
Among these, the consumer-products group includes brands such as Forest River (leisure vehicles), Duracell (high-performance alkaline batteries), Jazwares (toy company), Richline (jewelry), Larson-Juhl (custom picture framing) as well as several apparel and footwear operations (including Fruit of the Loom, Garan, H.H. Brown Shoe Group and Brooks Sports).
The Consumer-products sub-segment serves as an essential pillar of Berkshire’s manufacturing revenues and earnings, contributing approximately 19-20% to revenues and 14% to earnings. While this sub-segment witnesses fluctuation in revenues, earnings have been continually improving.
Consumer products provide strategic diversification and cyclical resilience to the Manufacturing division of Berkshire Hathaway. Many consumer brands hold strong or defensible market positions, enabling effective pass-through of input-cost inflation. This strengthens earnings quality across the segment and reinforces Berkshire’s disciplined approach to deploying capital.
Moreover, these businesses seem aligned with Warren Buffett’s philosophy of investing in businesses with durable earnings power, strong returns on equity with modest debt and skilled management—acquired only at sensible valuations. The segment thus provides stability to the Manufacturing segment of Berkshire.
What About Competitors?
Procter & Gamble (PG - Free Report) continues to harness its portfolio of daily-use products to sustain steady organic growth. Procter & Gamble drives this momentum through consistent innovation, brand investment and productivity initiatives. Procter & Gamble’s rigorous cost-saving programs support margin expansion while enabling ongoing reinvestment in advertising and product development.
Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) is transforming into a total beverage company through integrated marketing, innovation and revenue growth management. Coca-Cola is achieving margin expansion supported by strong underlying performance and bottler refranchising, despite currency pressure. Coca-Cola also uses data and advanced analytics to sharpen execution across global markets.
BRK.B’s Price Performance
Shares of BRK.B have gained 9.4% year to date, outperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BRK.B’s Expensive Valuation
BRK.B trades at a price-to-book value ratio of 1.53, above the industry average of 1.5. It carries a Value Score of D.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
No Estimate Movement for BRK.B
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRK.B’s fourth-quarter 2025 EPS and first-quarter 2026 EPS witnessed no movement in the past seven days. The same holds true for 2025 and 2026 EPS estimates.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimate for BRK.B’s 2025 and 2026 revenues indicates year-over-year increases, while the same for 2025 and 2026 EPS indicates a year-over-year decline.
BRK.B stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.