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

Last updated October 2026

Short answer

BRK-B is the larger of the two ($1.14T market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (23.95x forward earnings, beta 0.60). MURGY is the smaller challenger ($77.44B), cheaper on forward earnings (10.78x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.

BRK-B vs MURGY: the tie-breaker metrics

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 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.

Metric	BRK-B	MURGY	What it tells you
Market cap	$1.14T	$77.44B	Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E	23.95	10.78	Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up.
Trailing P/E	13.38	9.93	Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price.
Beta	0.60	0.32	Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through.
Price vs 52-week range	92% of range	62% of range	Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why.
Price / book	0.00	2.06	How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price.

Reading it: MURGY 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.

Before you buy: how BRK-B and MURGY affect your concentration

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 MURGY 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 MURGY 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.

What does Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) do?

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

What does Munich Re (MURGY) do?

Munchener Ruckversicherungs-Gesellschaft, known as Munich Re, is a Munich-based insurance group founded in 1880. Its core business is reinsurance: it insures other insurance companies against large losses from natural catastrophes, big commercial risks, liability claims and life and health exposures, so primary insurers can write more policies without carrying all the tail risk themselves. Reinsurance produces most of the group's profit. The second leg is ERGO, one of Germany's largest primary insurers, selling property, casualty, health and life cover to households and businesses in Germany and abroad. The group also runs specialty units such as the Hartford Steam Boiler engineering insurer in the US. In the US, the shares trade as MURGY, an unsponsored ADR on the OTC market, where each ADR represents a fraction of one Frankfurt-listed share, so per-ADR prices and dividends are much smaller than the home-share figures quoted in euros.

Full MURGY guide

BRK-B vs MURGY: how do they differ?

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.
MURGY drivers: Reinsurance pricing discipline in a softening market; Capital return under Ambition 2030.

Which fits which kind of investor

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, 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 MURGY, the largest single risk is natural catastrophe losses.

BRK-B or MURGY: which should you pick?

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; MURGY 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 MURGY guides.

BRK-B vs MURGY: the full fundamentals

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.

MURGY. Munich Re trades at roughly 9 to 10 times trailing earnings, a discount to the broad US market and broadly in line with or slightly below Swiss Re and Hannover Re. Trailing profit of ~€6.8bn is flattered by a light first half for major losses, which is why the full-year target is a lower ~€6.3bn. The valuation reflects a market that views reinsurance earnings as cyclical and catastrophe-exposed. For MURGY, per-ADR prices and dividends are a fraction of the home-share figures and move with the euro to dollar rate, so company-level metrics are the cleaner comparison.

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; MURGY shows insurance revenue (2026 guide) ~€62bn (~$72bn), net result (ttm) ~€6.8bn, 2026 net result target ~€6.3bn, market cap ~€60bn to €70bn (~$70bn to $80bn).

The bottom line: BRK-B vs MURGY

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

Wondering how BRK-B or MURGY fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.

Investing in Berkshire Hathaway with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how BRK-B fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.

Does BRK-B fit me?

FAQ

What is the difference between BRK-B and MURGY?

Berkshire Hathaway is a diversified holding company that owns a wide range of businesses outright and holds a large portfolio of public stocks. Munchener Ruckversicherungs-Gesellschaft, known as Munich Re, is a Munich-based insurance group founded in 1880. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.

Is BRK-B or MURGY the better stock?

Neither is universally better. BRK-B is the larger incumbent; MURGY is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.

Which is cheaper, BRK-B or MURGY?

On forward P/E (as of October 2026), BRK-B trades at 23.95x and MURGY at 10.78x, so MURGY is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.

Should you own both BRK-B and MURGY?

Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.

What are the risks of BRK-B vs MURGY?

BRK-B: 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. Size is another constraint: at roughly $1.13 trillion in market value, Berkshire needs very large deals to move the needle, which limits its universe of opportunities and can hold cash idle. The insurance business carries catastrophe risk, as large wildfire and disaster losses have shown in recent years, and results can swing on a single bad quarter. The reported net income is volatile because accounting rules force Berkshire to mark its huge equity portfolio to market each quarter, so headline profit can gyrate on stock-price moves even when the operating businesses are steady. Lower short-term interest rates reduce what the cash pile earns, as the decline in insurance investment income in the first half of 2026 showed, and the Taylor Morrison purchase adds exposure to the housing cycle. Berkshire also pays no dividend, so all returns must come from price appreciation and buybacks. MURGY: The largest single risk is natural catastrophe losses. A major US hurricane, a California earthquake or a run of severe convective storms can cost Munich Re several billion euros in a single quarter; the 2024 Los Angeles wildfires and recurring hurricane seasons show how quickly a light-loss year can turn. Climate change is widening the distribution of outcomes and making historical models less reliable. Second, the reinsurance cycle is turning: falling risk-adjusted prices and abundant alternative capital could compress margins faster than cost cuts or volume discipline can offset. Third, reserve risk in long-tail US casualty lines remains an industry-wide concern, as social inflation (larger jury awards and litigation funding) has forced several peers to strengthen reserves for older years. Fourth, MURGY holders carry currency exposure: results and dividends are in euros, so a stronger dollar lowers the dollar value of both, and German withholding tax on dividends applies. Fifth, MURGY is an unsponsored OTC ADR, so liquidity is thinner, spreads can be wider and depositary fees may be deducted from dividends. Finally, a sharp fall in bond yields or a credit event in the investment portfolio would hit earnings and capital.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell BRK-B or MURGY; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.