Berkshire Hathaway Inc. became the first U.S. company outside of the tech sector to surpass $1 trillion in market value.
Shares of Warren Buffett's conglomerate rose as much as 0.8% on Wednesday to push its market capitalization above the trillion-dollar mark for the first time.
The stock has rallied this year on strong insurance results and economic optimism. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company joins the ranks of a small group to crack the milestone, dominated by technology giants like Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Nvidia Corp.
"Berkshire has done it the slower, but more sure, way," said Steve Check, the founder and chief investment officer of Check Capital Management. His firm has about $2 billion in assets under management, with Berkshire as the largest holding. "It's harder to make money the old-fashioned way."
Berkshire's rally this year has outpaced the S&P 500's gains, with the company off to one of its best annual starts in a decade. It's gained 30% in 2024, while the market benchmark is up 18%. The company isn't that far behind the so-called Magnificent Seven: a gauge of the biggest tech stocks is up 35% this year.
Buffett has spent the bulk of his life turning Berkshire Hathaway from a struggling textile maker into a sprawling business empire. He shaped the company alongside longtime business partner Charlie Munger, who died in November at age 99.
