BRK-B vs CAE: How Berkshire Hathaway and CAE Inc. Compare (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.

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. BRK-B and CAE 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 BRK-B and CAE 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.

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

CAE builds full-flight simulators and sells the training that runs on them. The Civil Aviation segment manufactures simulators for Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and business-jet platforms, then operates a network of training centres where airline and corporate pilots buy recurrent type-rating hours, alongside flight-operations software from the Flightscape and CAE Rise product lines. The Defence and Security segment trains military aircrew and supplies mission-rehearsal and support programs, including the Royal Canadian Air Force Future Aircrew Training contract held through SkyAlyne, CAE's joint venture with KF Aerospace. The Healthcare simulation business was divested in 2024, leaving two segments and one theme: someone has to be certified before they fly, and regulators require that certification to be repeated on a schedule.

Full CAE guide

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

• BRK-B drivers: Leadership transition to Greg Abel; Insurance float and underwriting.
• CAE drivers: A defence backlog that is now the larger half; Recurrent training is regulated, not discretionary.

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: 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. For CAE, civil order intake at a book-to-sales of about 0.96 for fiscal 2026 means CAE entered fiscal 2027 with less simulator work sold than it delivered, and management itself framed fiscal 2027 as a reset year.

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 BRK-B if you believe its drivers more; CAE 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 BRK-B and CAE guides.

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.

CAE. The reported year ends March 31, so the fiscal 2026 figures above cover the twelve months to March 31, 2026, and fourth-quarter revenue of about C$1,326.7 million was the last full quarter disclosed before the fiscal 2027 first-quarter release scheduled for August 12, 2026. Earnings fell in fiscal 2026 even as revenue rose about 4%, which is why the trailing multiple near 35 times sits well above the forward figure. All amounts are Canadian dollars, roughly 0.73 US dollars each at mid-2026 rates.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): 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); CAE shows revenue (fy2026, ended march 31, 2026) ~C$4.9 billion, diluted / adjusted eps (fy2026) ~C$0.97 / ~C$1.20, adjusted backlog ~C$19 billion (~C$10.8B Defence, ~C$8.4B Civil), market capitalization ~C$11.6 billion.

BRK-B and CAE 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 BRK-B and CAE exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.