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

Same yardstick, side by side (as of November 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, and Q2 2026 underwriting income was about $1.73 billion. Insurance float stood at about $177.5 billion at June 30, 2026. 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. Under Abel the operating group has kept growing by acquisition: Berkshire completed its purchase of OxyChem on January 2, 2026 and closed the $8.5 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison on July 24, 2026.

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. A useful test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The central 2026 risk is the leadership transition itself, now complete at the top with Buffett as chairman emeritus: 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 mid-October 2026; 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: the trailing P/E of about 13 is flattered by investment gains, while the forward multiple of about 24 is based on operating earnings alone. The cash balance means a meaningful part of the market cap is cash awaiting deployment, and the resumption of buybacks in 2026 suggests management sees the shares as reasonably priced. Third-quarter results are expected around November 7, 2026.

CAE. CAE's fiscal year ends March 31, so the June 2026 quarter was the first of fiscal 2027. Trailing earnings are depressed by the fiscal 2026 Civil slowdown, which is why the trailing multiple near 37 times sits well above the forward figure near 23 times. Second-quarter fiscal 2027 results are expected around November 10, 2026, with consensus at about C$0.27 EPS on C$1.25 billion of revenue.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): BRK-B shows operating earnings (q2 2026) ~$12.98 billion, up ~16% from ~$11.16 billion; first half ~$24.3 billion, net earnings (q2 2026) ~$25.7 billion, including ~$12.7 billion of investment gains from equity marks, revenue (ttm) ~$385 billion; Q2 2026 revenue up ~10% year over year, insurance float ~$177.5 billion at June 30, 2026; CAE shows revenue (ttm to june 30, 2026) ~C$4.99 billion; Q1 FY2027 revenue ~C$1.17 billion, up ~6.8%, net income (ttm) ~C$287 million; Q1 FY2027 adjusted EPS C$0.26 vs C$0.23 expected, margins (ttm) ~29% gross, ~10% operating, ~5.75% net, adjusted backlog ~C$19 billion at FY2026 year-end (~C$10.8B Defence, ~C$8.4B Civil).

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.