ALL vs BRK-B: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: ALL is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ALL and BRK-B share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ALL and BRK-B exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Allstate collects premiums from roughly 216 million policies in force and pays claims on them, keeping the difference plus whatever its large investment portfolio earns. Auto insurance is the biggest single line, followed by homeowners, with additional revenue from protection plans, roadside services and identity protection sold under the Allstate Protection Plans banner. Distribution runs through exclusive and independent agents, direct online and phone channels, and the National General and Direct Auto brands that reach non-standard and lower-premium drivers. Over 2022 and 2023 the auto book was badly underwater as used-car values, parts costs and repair labor all inflated faster than approved rates, which is why fiscal 2023 closed at a net loss of roughly $316 million on about $57.1 billion of revenue.

Full ALL guide

Berkshire Hathaway is a diversified holding company that owns a wide range of businesses outright and holds a large portfolio of public stocks. Its foundation is insurance: GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance, and other insurers generate underwriting profit and, more importantly, float (premiums held before claims are paid) that Berkshire invests. In Q1 2026 insurance underwriting income rose to about $1.72 billion from $1.34 billion a year earlier. Beyond insurance, Berkshire owns the BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and consumer and industrial businesses such as Duracell, Dairy Queen, See's Candies, and Precision Castparts, alongside a stock portfolio historically anchored by names like Apple and American Express.

Full BRK-B guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ALL drivers: Underwriting margin at the top of the cycle; Growth restarted after years of shrinking on purpose.
• BRK-B drivers: Leadership transition to Greg Abel; Insurance float and underwriting.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Catastrophe exposure is the structural risk: a single severe hurricane, wildfire or convective-storm season can move a quarter by billions, and homeowners growth increases that exposure. For BRK-B, the central 2026 risk is the leadership transition itself: Buffett's judgment and reputation were core to Berkshire's edge, and the market will test whether Greg Abel can allocate capital as effectively, especially with a record cash pile to deploy.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ALL if you believe its drivers more; BRK-B if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ALL and BRK-B guides.

ALL. The trailing multiple near 5.3x is misleading on its own. Trailing net income of roughly $13.2 billion includes one-time gains from the 2025 divestitures of the benefits and group health businesses plus an unusually favorable underwriting year, so the forward multiple near 9.7x is the more representative figure and implies the market expects earnings to normalize well below the trailing level. Second quarter 2026 adjusted net income, which strips out investment gains and non-recurring items, was about $2.3 billion or $8.99 per diluted share against roughly $1.6 billion a year earlier.

BRK-B. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Because accounting rules force Berkshire to mark its large stock portfolio to market each quarter, GAAP net income is noisy, so investors typically focus on operating earnings and book value per share rather than a simple P/E. The record cash balance means a meaningful part of the market cap is cash awaiting deployment, which affects how the business should be valued.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): ALL shows market cap ~$67.5B, revenue (ttm) ~$70.1B, net income (ttm) ~$13.2B, trailing p/e ~5.3x; BRK-B shows operating earnings (q1 2026) ~$11.35 billion, up ~18% year over year (approximate; verify live), net earnings (q1 2026) ~$10.1 billion, but volatile due to mark-to-market swings on equities (approximate; verify live), cash and treasurys ~$397 billion at end of Q1 2026, a record (approximate; verify live), market cap ~$1 trillion (BRK-B ~$497 per share in mid-July 2026; approximate; verify live).

ALL and BRK-B are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ALL and BRK-B exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.