Insurance carriers · 13/36 against 21/36 checks · to 2026-09-08
BRK-B vs PGR.
Berkshire HathawayWarren Buffett's conglomerate: insurance, a railroad, utilities, manufacturers and a stock portfolio.
ProgressiveSells car and home insurance direct and through agents, and prices it on driving data.→Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) is 8.7 times the size of Progressive (PGR) at $1.08T against $124.9B, and on the filings Progressive passes more, 21 checks of 36 against 13.
Which passes more checks?
widest gap first→The two are furthest apart on Shareholder returns, where Progressive passes 3 more of the six.
| BRK-B | PGR | |
|---|---|---|
| Shareholder returns | 2/6 | 5/6 |
| Value | 1/6 | 3/6 |
| Growth | 2/6 | 4/6 |
| Trend analysis | 1/6 | 2/6 |
| Quality | 3/6 | 3/6 |
| Health | 4/6 | 4/6 |
| All checks | 13/36 | 21/36 |
→Berkshire Hathaway turns over $259.7B to Progressive's $91.1B, 2.9 times as much. Berkshire Hathaway keeps 33.0% of revenue as profit against 12.8% at Progressive.
Berkshire Hathaway files as an operating company and Progressive as an insurer, so the measures each is judged on differ - net interest margin means nothing for one, funds from operations nothing for the other. The six axes still compare, because every company is scored on the checks its own filings support.
Which hands more back to owners?
→Progressive pays 2.3% at today's price and Berkshire Hathaway effectively pays nothing, which is the clearest difference in what each hands back.
| BRK-B | PGR | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | - | 2.3% |
| Payout ratio | - | 24.5% |
| Years of unbroken dividend | - | - |
Which is cheaper?
→Progressive is the cheaper of the two on earnings, 10.8x against 12.6x.
| BRK-B | PGR | |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $505.83 | $214.90 |
| Market cap | $1.08T | $124.9B |
| P/E | 12.6x | 10.8x |
| P/E, own median own median / own 11-year median | - | 12.6x |
| P/S | 4.2x | 1.4x |
| Free cash flow yield | 2.2% | 12.8% |
Which is growing faster, BRK-B or PGR?
→Progressive grew revenue faster last year, +10.5% against +5.7% at Berkshire Hathaway - 5 points apart. Over three years the order is reversed: Progressive compounds at +20.9% against +6.0%.
| BRK-B | PGR | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $259.7B | $91.1B |
| Revenue growth, 1 year | +5.7% | +10.5% |
| Revenue CAGR, 3 years | +6.0% | +20.9% |
| Net income (TTM) | $85.8B | $11.7B |
| Free cash flow (TTM) | $24.2B | $16.0B |
Which keeps more of each sale?
| BRK-B | PGR | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | - | - |
| Operating margin | 8.3% | - |
| Return on equity | 11.5% | 34.1% |
Which balance sheet is stronger?
| BRK-B | PGR | |
|---|---|---|
| Debt / equity | - | - |
| Interest coverage | 4.2x | - |
| Cash and short-term investments | $41.4B | $2.2B |
Where they differ most
the checks behind the gapShareholder returns: Progressive 3 ahead
- Share count isn't climbing shares up 0.2% over 3 years
- Buybacks outpace the stock issued to staff $192M bought back vs $132M of stock compensation
- What it hands back fits inside its profits 71.3% vs 100.0%
- Meaningful yield to owners (dividends and buybacks) $2.9B returned, 0.3% of market value
- Buybacks are sustained, not one-off $2.9B bought back in the last twelve months, 0.00 the year before; no dividend
- Buybacks growing $2.9B vs 0.00 the year before; no dividend
Value: Progressive 2 ahead
- Earnings yield beats a long bond (4%) 9.3% vs 4.0%
- Hands back over 3% in dividends and buybacks 6.7% vs 3.0%
- Price isn't outrunning growth PEG 0.07
- Free cash flow yield above 3% 2.2% vs 3.0%
- Price isn't outrunning growth no positive three-year earnings growth behind the price