Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs TotalEnergies SE: Strategic Comparison
Key Differences at a Glance
| Field | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | TotalEnergies SE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $371.4B | $182.3B |
| Founded | 1839 | 1924 |
| Employees | 387,800 | 101,513 |
| Market Cap | $1.05T | $165.0B |
| Headquarters | United States | France |
Quick Stats Comparison
| Metric | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | TotalEnergies SE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $371.4B | $182.3B |
| Founded | 1839 | 1924 |
| Headquarters | Omaha, Nebraska | Paris, France |
| Market Cap | $1.05T | $165.0B |
| Employees | 387,800 | 101,513 |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Revenue vs TotalEnergies SE Revenue — Year by Year
| Year | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | TotalEnergies SE | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $371.4B | $182.3B | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
| 2024 | $371.4B | $195.6B | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
| 2023 | $364.5B | $218.9B | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |
Business Model Breakdown
Overview: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs TotalEnergies SE
This in-depth comparison examines Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on its own, evaluating TotalEnergies SE, or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE is widest.
On the headline numbers, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reports annual revenue of $371.4B against $182.3B for TotalEnergies SE, while their respective market capitalizations stand at $1.05T and $165.0B. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is headquartered in United States and TotalEnergies SE operates from France, and those different home markets shape how each company competes.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: Berkshire began as a textile company and became a holding company after Warren Buffett gained control in 1965. The modern company is a collection of operating businesses and investments bound by decentralized management, conservative financing, and a long-term shareholder culture.
TotalEnergies SE: TotalEnergies reported $182.344 billion in 2025 revenues from sales and $13.127 billion in net income attributable to TotalEnergies. The company remains a multi-energy major: oil and gas production, LNG, refining, marketing, electricity, and renewables all sit inside one capital-allocation system led by CEO Patrick Pouyanne.
Business Models: How Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE Make Money
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. business model: Berkshire makes money through insurance underwriting and float investment, freight rail, regulated utilities and energy infrastructure, industrial manufacturing, wholesale distribution, retail, services, and a large portfolio of equity and fixed-income investments.
TotalEnergies SE business model: TotalEnergies makes money from an integrated energy chain: exploration and production, LNG, refining and chemicals, marketing and services, electricity generation, power trading, renewable assets, and customer energy services.
Competitive Advantage: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs TotalEnergies SE
The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stack up against those of TotalEnergies SE.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. competitive advantage: Berkshire's advantage is permanent capital, insurance float, a conservative balance sheet, reputation with sellers, and a decentralized culture that attracts owner-minded managers.
TotalEnergies SE competitive advantage: TotalEnergies has an integrated LNG platform, upstream assets across multiple basins, downstream and marketing positions, and a growing power portfolio. Its advantage is breadth across molecules, refined products, and electrons.
Growth Strategy: Where Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE Are Headed
Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE each plan to expand from here.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. growth strategy: Berkshire's growth strategy is not a top-down operating plan; it is disciplined capital allocation. The company reinvests in subsidiaries, buys public equities, acquires private businesses when prices fit, and keeps a fortress balance sheet for downturns.
TotalEnergies SE growth strategy: TotalEnergies' strategy centers on low-cost oil and gas production, LNG integration, disciplined downstream operations, renewable power capacity, electricity customers, and cash returns to shareholders.
Financial Picture: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs TotalEnergies SE
A closer look at the financial trajectory of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE rounds out the comparison.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: For FY2025, Berkshire reported $371.444B in revenue and $66.968B in net income attributable to shareholders. Its filing reported about 387,800 employees worldwide at year-end. The updated net income replaces the prior-year comparison figure previously used in this profile.
TotalEnergies SE: TotalEnergies reported $182.344 billion in 2025 revenues from sales, down from $195.610 billion in 2024 as hydrocarbon prices declined. Net income attributable to TotalEnergies was $13.127 billion, while adjusted net income was $15.587 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $40.555 billion.
Company-Specific SWOT Notes
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Berkshire's advantage is permanent capital, insurance float, a conservative balance sheet, reputation with sellers, and a decentralized culture that attracts owner-minded managers.
Berkshire's size makes high-return capital deployment harder, and results can swing with insurance losses and investment-market changes.
Large cash and Treasury holdings give Berkshire optionality if markets dislocate or attractive private businesses become available.
Berkshire Hathaway's biggest risk is the challenge of deploying very large amounts of capital at attractive returns while managing insurance catastrophe exposure, equity-market volatility, and succession execution.
TotalEnergies SE
TotalEnergies controls over 4,000 service stations and the majority of the premium lubricants market across 40 African countries, providing a stable, high-margin, recession-proof baseline of free cash flow that is completely decoupled from European refining ma
The company is the second-largest global player in liquefied natural gas, controlling a portfolio of long-term upstream production contracts in Qatar, Australia, and the US, combined with a massive midstream shipping fleet and downstream terminals.
The company faces intense regulatory hostility in its home markets of France and Belgium, where the aggressive expansion of the EU Emissions Trading System and the implementation of windfall profit taxes directly confiscate the cash flows generated by its inte
While the African downstream network is highly profitable, it exposes the company to significant geopolitical, security, and foreign exchange risks, as operations in the Sahel region and sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly threatened by political instability a
TotalEnergies is deploying over $5 billion annually to develop utility-scale solar and offshore wind projects, with a target to reach 100 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030.
ExxonMobil and Chevron have executed a strategic retreat from the European retail and renewable power markets to focus exclusively on high-return, low-cost unconventional oil production in the Permian Basin and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Head-to-Head Scorecard
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue Scale | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reports the larger revenue base ($371.4B), which serves as a core operational scale signal. |
| Profitability Potential | Comparable | Both organizations prioritize market penetration or are at equivalent reporting tiers. |
| Company Age | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Founded in 1839 vs 1924. The earlier pioneer typically commands longer historical institutional legacy. |
| Innovation Moat | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Higher aggregate count of major acquisitions and key R&D releases indicates a more active technology absorption velocity. |
| Scale (Employees) | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | A significantly larger reported workforce supports enhanced global distribution capability. |
| Market Cap | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Higher public valuation denotes greater forward-looking investor conviction in earnings potential. |
| Future Outlook | Tied | Strategic auditing assesses that both maintain defensive leadership vectors within their core market clusters. |
Who Wins Each Category?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reports the larger revenue base ($371.4B), which serves as a core operational scale signal.
Both organizations prioritize market penetration or are at equivalent reporting tiers.
Founded in 1839 vs 1924. The earlier pioneer typically commands longer historical institutional legacy.
Higher aggregate count of major acquisitions and key R&D releases indicates a more active technology absorption velocity.
A significantly larger reported workforce supports enhanced global distribution capability.
Who Wins: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or TotalEnergies SE?
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya, May 2026 - Author Profile
Our analysts compile business strategy profiles from public financial filings, press releases, and analyst reports. Each profile is reviewed for accuracy before publication by our editorial desk and updated on a rolling basis.
Frequently Asked Questions: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs TotalEnergies SE
Is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. better than TotalEnergies SE?
Verdict: Between Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and TotalEnergies SE, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the stronger overall option based on higher annual revenue. The decision still depends on which factors matter most for your needs, but on the weight of the evidence above, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. comes out ahead in this Berkshire Hathaway Inc. vs TotalEnergies SE comparison.
Who earns more — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or TotalEnergies SE?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. earns more with $371.4B in annual revenue versus TotalEnergies SE's $182.3B. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. leads on total revenue based on latest verified figures.
Which company has higher revenue — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. or TotalEnergies SE?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported $371.4B, while TotalEnergies SE reported $182.3B. The revenue leader is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. based on latest verified figures.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. revenue vs TotalEnergies SE revenue — which is higher?
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. revenue: $371.4B. TotalEnergies SE revenue: $182.3B. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has the larger revenue base of the two companies.
Sources & References
- SEC EDGAR: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Annual Filings (10-K, 8-K)
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Corporate Website
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Annual Report 2025 - Revenue and Financial Data
- berkshirehathaway.com
- sec.gov
- data.sec.gov
- berkshirehathaway.com
- TotalEnergies SE Corporate Website
- TotalEnergies SE Annual Report 2025 - Revenue and Financial Data
- totalenergies.com
- sec.gov
- totalenergies.com