Berkshire Hathaway vs Broadcom: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Berkshire Hathaway reported $371.4B of revenue in FY2025 and $67B of net income. Broadcom reported $63.9B of revenue in FY2025 and $23.1B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Berkshire Hathaway
- Latest revenue
- $371.4B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $67B
- Net margin
- 18.0%
- Revenue growth
- +6.3% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Broadcom
- Latest revenue
- $63.9B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $23.1B
- Net margin
- 36.2%
- Revenue growth
- +17.5% a year, FY2017–FY2025
Financial summary
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire reported 2025 revenue of $371.444 billion, operating earnings of $44.486 billion (down from $47.437 billion in 2024 and above the five-year average of about $37.5 billion), and net earnings attributable to shareholders of $66.968 billion. GAAP net earnings swing with the equity portfolio: 2025 included $30.737 billion of after-tax investment gains and $8.255 billion of after-tax impairments on Kraft Heinz and Occidental. The businesses produced $46 billion of net cash from operating activities. Insurance earned $9.460 billion of pre-tax underwriting profit, with GEICO contributing $6.824 billion, and insurance float grew to $176 billion from $171 billion a year earlier. Shareholders' equity ended 2025 at $717.4 billion, up $68.1 billion, and the insurance and other businesses held $369.0 billion of cash, cash equivalents and US Treasury Bills. Berkshire repurchased no stock in 2025 and has paid no dividend since 1967.
Broadcom
Fiscal 2025 revenue rose 24% to $63.9 billion and net income reached $23.1 billion, up from $5.9 billion in fiscal 2024, when a large income tax charge weighed on results. Operating income was $25.5 billion and free cash flow $26.9 billion, of which $11.1 billion went to dividends and $6.4 billion to buybacks. Fiscal 2026 then accelerated: quarterly revenue went from $19.3 billion in Q1 to $22.2 billion in Q2 and $29.6 billion in Q3, with Q4 guided at about $34.8 billion. Long-term debt taken on for VMware fell to $57.2 billion at 2 August 2026 from $62.0 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, and the quarterly dividend is $0.65 a share after a 10% increase.
Revenue and profit by year
Berkshire Hathaway
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $371.4B | $67B | 18.0% | +0.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | $371.4B | $89B | 24.0% | +1.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $364.5B | $96.2B | 26.4% | +20.7% | Source |
| FY2022 | $302B | -$22.8B | -7.5% | +9.4% | Source |
| FY2021 | $276.2B | $89.9B | 32.6% | +12.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $245.6B | $42.5B | 17.3% | -3.5% | Source |
| FY2019 | $254.6B | $81.4B | 32.0% | +2.7% | Source |
| FY2018 | $247.8B | $4B | 1.6% | +3.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $239.9B | $44.9B | 18.7% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2016 | $215.1B | $24.1B | 11.2% | — | Source |
Broadcom
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $63.9B | $23.1B | 36.2% | +23.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $51.6B | $5.9B | 11.4% | +44.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $35.8B | $14.1B | 39.3% | +7.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $33.2B | $11.5B | 34.6% | +21.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $27.4B | $6.7B | 24.5% | +14.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $23.9B | $3B | 12.4% | +5.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $22.6B | $2.7B | 12.1% | +8.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | $20.8B | $12.3B | 58.8% | +18.2% | Source |
| FY2017 | $17.6B | $1.7B | 9.6% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Berkshire Hathaway
- Insurance premiums earned23.9%
GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group earned $88.902B of premiums in 2025 and produced $9.460B of pre-tax underwriting earnings.
- Sales and service revenues53.7%
Manufacturing, service and retailing businesses, plus McLane and Pilot distribution, generated $199.524B of sales and service revenue in 2025, the largest revenue line and a thin-margin one.
- Interest, dividend and other investment income6.3%
Investment income of $23.261B in 2025 came mostly from US Treasury Bills and dividends on the equity portfolio.
- Freight rail transportation6.3%
BNSF produced $23.330B of freight revenue in 2025 hauling consumer products, industrial products, agricultural and energy products and coal.
- Utility and energy operating revenues5.9%
Berkshire Hathaway Energy's regulated utilities and pipelines produced $21.856B in 2025, serving about 5.4 million retail customers.
- Leasing revenues2.7%
Leasing businesses including XTRA trailer leasing and other equipment lessors produced $10.034B in 2025.
- Railroad, utilities and energy service revenues and other income1.2%
Service revenues and other income inside the railroad, utilities and energy group added $4.537B in 2025.
Broadcom
- Semiconductor Solutions
~58% (FY2025); 70% in Q3 FY2026
Custom AI accelerators, Ethernet switch chips, network adapters, optics, broadband, storage connectivity, wireless and RF filters generated $36.9B in fiscal 2025 and $20.8B in Q3 fiscal 2026 alone, up 127% year over year.
- Infrastructure Software
~42% (FY2025); 30% in Q3 FY2026
VMware Cloud Foundation plus CA mainframe and Symantec security software generated $27.0B in fiscal 2025 and $8.8B in Q3 fiscal 2026, up 29%.
- AI Semiconductor Revenue
56% of revenue in Q3 FY2026
AI semiconductor revenue, a subset of Semiconductor Solutions, was about $20B in fiscal 2025 and $16.7B in Q3 fiscal 2026, with $21.7B guided for Q4.
Business model and strategy
Berkshire Hathaway
How it makes money
Berkshire's business model is capital allocation on top of a decentralized group of operating companies. Subsidiary managers run their own businesses, with no corporate budget submissions and no committee structure at headquarters, and send surplus cash to Omaha.
Growth strategy
Berkshire's size limits what can move its results, so growth comes from large purchases, reinvestment inside existing businesses and buying back its own stock. Buffett described the 2009 BNSF agreement, a $34 billion investment in the railroad, as an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.
Competitive advantage
Berkshire's advantages are permanent capital, a balance sheet that stays liquid by design, and a reputation that brings sellers to it.
Broadcom
How it makes money
Broadcom reports two segments. Semiconductor Solutions sold $36.9 billion of chips in fiscal 2025: custom AI accelerators (XPUs) designed with hyperscale customers, Tomahawk and Jericho Ethernet switch chips, network adapters, optical components, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, RF filters for smartphones, broadband gateway chips and storage connectivity.
Growth strategy
Broadcom's growth plan has two engines. In chips, it co-designs custom accelerators with a short list of customers, including Google's TPU, Meta's MTIA, OpenAI and Anthropic, and sells the Ethernet switches, network adapters and optics that connect them. In software, it is moving VMware's installed base onto VMware Cloud Foundation subscriptions;
Competitive advantage
Broadcom's edge is engineering depth in a few hard problems where customers rarely switch once a design is chosen: high-speed SerDes, switch silicon, advanced packaging and custom ASIC design. Its Tomahawk 6 switch chip, announced in June 2025, handles 102.4 terabits per second. In software, VMware is built into enterprise data centers, which makes migrations slow and costly.
Questions about Berkshire Hathaway vs Broadcom
Which company has higher revenue — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or Broadcom Inc.?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported $371.4B (FY2025), while Broadcom Inc. reported $63.9B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the larger business, with Broadcom Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs Broadcom Inc.?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $1.07T, while Broadcom Inc.'s is $1.68T. Broadcom Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Berkshire Hathaway Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or Broadcom Inc.?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. generates $958k / employee in revenue per employee, while Broadcom Inc. generates $1.94M / employee. Broadcom Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Broadcom Inc. make money?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Broadcom Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: Berkshire's business model is capital allocation on top of a decentralized group of operating companies. Broadcom Inc.: Broadcom reports two segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or Broadcom Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. trades at 2.9x P/S and Broadcom Inc. at 26.3x P/S. Broadcom Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Berkshire Hathaway Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bigger than Broadcom Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ($371.4B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Broadcom Inc. ($63.9B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Berkshire Hathaway vs Broadcom overview