The Revenue LinesWide moat

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) — moat facet

The biggest engine by revenue earns eight cents on the dollar; the float, the railroad and the utilities earn most of the profit.

Berkshire reports four lines of business, and revenue is a poor guide to which of them matters. In 2025 manufacturing, service and retailing brought in about $214 billion, insurance $104.2 billion, Berkshire Hathaway Energy $26.3 billion and BNSF $23.5 billion.12 After tax, the order changes: insurance earned $19.8 billion counting underwriting and the investment income on its float, manufacturing, service and retailing $13.6 billion, BNSF $5.5 billion and BHE $4.0 billion.34

Pre-tax margin by engine, 2025 (%)BNSF30.5%Insurance23.7%BHE8.9%Mfg, service & retailing8.2%Segment pre-tax earnings / segment revenue; Berkshire Form 10-K FY2025
The largest engine by revenue earns the thinnest margin.

The gap comes from margins. The operating businesses earned about 8.2% pre-tax on their revenue in 2025, because more than two-fifths of it came from McLane's grocery distribution and Pilot's truck stops, which earn about a cent on the dollar or less.56 Insurance earned $24.7 billion pre-tax on $104.2 billion, the railroad $7.2 billion on $23.5 billion.7

The growth record separates them further. Insurance revenue more than doubled between 2014 and 2025, from $45.6 billion to $104.2 billion, partly by acquisition and partly because higher interest rates lifted what the float earns.89 BNSF's revenue was $23.2 billion in 2014 and $23.5 billion in 2025, essentially flat across eleven years.1011 BHE grew from $17.6 billion to $26.3 billion, and the operating businesses jumped in 2023 when Pilot was consolidated.1213

How each is paid also differs. Insurance collects premiums before it pays claims and invests the difference. The railroad is paid per car moved. The utilities are paid at rates their regulators approve. The operating businesses sell goods and services at whatever their markets allow.

The first half of 2026 showed the lines moving in different directions. The operating businesses' after-tax earnings rose 15%, BHE's 11% and BNSF's 9.5%, while insurance investment income fell 8.3% on lower interest rates.14

The pages that follow take the four lines in the order of the chart. The float's economics are argued under Insurance Float, the rail merger under The $85 Billion Merger BNSF Is Fighting in Public, and the utility's data-centre demand under BHE & the AI-Power Dividend. These pages describe each line as a business.

The question the four raise together is how dependent Berkshire's earnings have become on interest rates. In 2025 insurance investment income was $12.5 billion of about $42.9 billion earned by the four lines after tax, 29%.1516 That share falling while the other lines grow would mean the business is standing on its operations; falling because the others shrink would not.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

The operating businesses, BNSF and BHE all grew earnings in the first half of 2026 while the float's investment income fell 8.3% on lower rates.

The number that tests this moat
Moat Explorer calc
Investment income's share of the operating lines' after-tax earnings
26.3% in H1 2026 ($5.7B of $21.8B), against 30.2% a year earlier

How much of Berkshire's earnings rests on interest rates. Falling while the other lines grow is the healthy version.

How it's calculated: 5,738 / 21,795 for H1 2026; 6,260 / 20,728 for H1 2025.
Source: Berkshire Form 10-Q, June 2026 (Moat Explorer calc) ↗
Dig deeper
DIG DEEPER 01
Insurance
Paid twice — once by underwriting, once by investing the float — and in 2026 both halves are softening at the same time.
DIG DEEPER 02
Railroad (BNSF)
Eleven years without revenue growth, and a margin that rose from 26.5% to 30.5%: a railroad nobody can duplicate.
DIG DEEPER 03
Utilities & Energy
A regulated utility that earns more after tax than before it, because wind tax credits turn its tax bill into a benefit.
DIG DEEPER 04
Manufacturing, Service & Retailing
$214 billion of revenue at 8%: manufacturing earns 16 cents on the dollar, and two giant distributors earn about one.
References
  1. ReportedIn 2025 manufacturing, service and retailing brought in about $214 billion, insurance $104.2 billion, Berkshire Hathaway Energy $26.3 billion and BNSF $23.5 billion.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcIn 2025 manufacturing, service and retailing brought in about $214 billion, insurance $104.2 billion, Berkshire Hathaway Energy $26.3 billion and BNSF $23.5 billion.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Berkshire's Forms 10-K FY2016-FY2025 and 10-Qs for Q1 and Q2 2026: operating earnings = net earnings less after-tax investment gains and the 2025 impairments (FY2023 $37,350M, FY2024 $47,437M, FY2025 $44,486M; Q2 2026 $12,983M vs $11,160M; H1 2026 $24,329M vs $20,801M); consolidated cash and Treasury Bills $397.4B (31 March 2026) and $365.5B (30 June 2026); underwriting as a share of float; OxyChem at 2.6% of the cash pile; five-line after-tax earnings sums — 2016 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  3. ReportedAfter tax, the order changes: insurance earned $19.8 billion counting underwriting and the investment income on its float, manufacturing, service and retailing $13.6 billion, BNSF $5.5 billion and BHE $4.0 billion.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  4. Moat Explorer calcAfter tax, the order changes: insurance earned $19.8 billion counting underwriting and the investment income on its float, manufacturing, service and retailing $13.6 billion, BNSF $5.5 billion and BHE $4.0 billion.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Berkshire's Forms 10-K FY2016-FY2025 and 10-Qs for Q1 and Q2 2026: operating earnings = net earnings less after-tax investment gains and the 2025 impairments (FY2023 $37,350M, FY2024 $47,437M, FY2025 $44,486M; Q2 2026 $12,983M vs $11,160M; H1 2026 $24,329M vs $20,801M); consolidated cash and Treasury Bills $397.4B (31 March 2026) and $365.5B (30 June 2026); underwriting as a share of float; OxyChem at 2.6% of the cash pile; five-line after-tax earnings sums — 2016 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe operating businesses earned about 8.2% pre-tax on their revenue in 2025, because more than two-fifths of it came from McLane's grocery distribution and Pilot's truck stops, which earn about a cent on the dollar or less.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  6. Moat Explorer calcThe operating businesses earned about 8.2% pre-tax on their revenue in 2025, because more than two-fifths of it came from McLane's grocery distribution and Pilot's truck stops, which earn about a cent on the dollar or less.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Berkshire's Forms 10-K FY2016-FY2025 and 10-Qs for Q1 and Q2 2026: operating earnings = net earnings less after-tax investment gains and the 2025 impairments (FY2023 $37,350M, FY2024 $47,437M, FY2025 $44,486M; Q2 2026 $12,983M vs $11,160M; H1 2026 $24,329M vs $20,801M); consolidated cash and Treasury Bills $397.4B (31 March 2026) and $365.5B (30 June 2026); underwriting as a share of float; OxyChem at 2.6% of the cash pile; five-line after-tax earnings sums — 2016 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  7. ReportedInsurance earned $24.7 billion pre-tax on $104.2 billion, the railroad $7.2 billion on $23.5 billion.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedInsurance revenue more than doubled between 2014 and 2025, from $45.6 billion to $104.2 billion, partly by acquisition and partly because higher interest rates lifted what the float earns.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2016 - float approximately $91 billion at 31 December 2016, $88 billion in 2015 and $84 billion in 2014; cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury Bills of the insurance and other businesses $70.9 billion — FY2014-FY2016 · publ. February 2017 · source ↗
  9. ReportedInsurance revenue more than doubled between 2014 and 2025, from $45.6 billion to $104.2 billion, partly by acquisition and partly because higher interest rates lifted what the float earns.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedBNSF's revenue was $23.2 billion in 2014 and $23.5 billion in 2025, essentially flat across eleven years.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2016 - float approximately $91 billion at 31 December 2016, $88 billion in 2015 and $84 billion in 2014; cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury Bills of the insurance and other businesses $70.9 billion — FY2014-FY2016 · publ. February 2017 · source ↗
  11. ReportedBNSF's revenue was $23.2 billion in 2014 and $23.5 billion in 2025, essentially flat across eleven years.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedBHE grew from $17.6 billion to $26.3 billion, and the operating businesses jumped in 2023 when Pilot was consolidated.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2016 - float approximately $91 billion at 31 December 2016, $88 billion in 2015 and $84 billion in 2014; cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury Bills of the insurance and other businesses $70.9 billion — FY2014-FY2016 · publ. February 2017 · source ↗
  13. ReportedBHE grew from $17.6 billion to $26.3 billion, and the operating businesses jumped in 2023 when Pilot was consolidated.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedThe operating businesses' after-tax earnings rose 15%, BHE's 11% and BNSF's 9.5%, while insurance investment income fell 8.3% on lower interest rates.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 June 2026 - after-tax earnings (underwriting $1,731M vs $1,992M, insurance investment income $3,059M vs $3,367M, BNSF $1,558M vs $1,466M, BHE $891M vs $702M, manufacturing, service and retailing $4,470M vs $3,601M, investment gains $12,684M, net earnings $25,667M); GEICO pre-tax underwriting $994M vs $1,821M, combined ratio 91.2% vs 83.5%; Reinsurance $913M vs $650M; float $177.5B; insurance and other cash and Treasury Bills net $359.2B; consolidated cash $35,096M + $324,905M + $5,513M; equity securities $323.8B; H1 purchases of equities $39.4B and sales $27.8B; acquisitions of businesses net of cash $9.7B; $4.8B of treasury stock acquired in H1, most in Q2; OxyChem about $9.4B on 2 January; Taylor Morrison agreed 31 May at $72.50 a share, about $6.8B, closed 24 July; notes payable of insurance and other $43.3B; shareholders' equity $747.9B; BNSF revenue $6,601M vs $5,769M, fuel $1,173M vs $698M; BHE revenue $6,735M vs $6,418M; investment income down 9.1% on lower interest rates — Q2 2026 · publ. August 2026 · source ↗
  15. ReportedIn 2025 insurance investment income was $12.5 billion of about $42.9 billion earned by the four lines after tax, 29%.
    Berkshire Hathaway Form 10-K, FY2025 - float $176 billion; after-tax earnings 2023-2025 (underwriting $7,258M, insurance investment income $12,513M, BNSF $5,476M, BHE $3,979M, manufacturing, service and retailing $13,647M in 2025; net earnings $66,968M incl. $30,737M investment gains and an $8,255M Kraft Heinz/Occidental impairment); revenues $371,444M; segment revenues (insurance $104,212M incl. premiums earned $88,902M and investment income $15,310M, BNSF $23,533M, BHE $26,297M, manufacturing $78,487M, service and retailing $42,647M, McLane $50,998M, Pilot $42,198M); pre-tax underwriting GEICO $6,824M, Primary $785M, Reinsurance $1,851M; GEICO combined ratio 84.7% (81.5%, 90.7%) and loss ratio 72.3%; capex $20,927M and D&A by segment; identifiable assets and goodwill by segment; 65% of equity fair value in five companies; equity securities $297.8B ($271.6B); BNSF volumes by business group; no share repurchases in 2025; no cash dividend since 1967; about 387,800 employees — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. March 2026 · source ↗
  16. Moat Explorer calcIn 2025 insurance investment income was $12.5 billion of about $42.9 billion earned by the four lines after tax, 29%.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Berkshire's Forms 10-K FY2016-FY2025 and 10-Qs for Q1 and Q2 2026: operating earnings = net earnings less after-tax investment gains and the 2025 impairments (FY2023 $37,350M, FY2024 $47,437M, FY2025 $44,486M; Q2 2026 $12,983M vs $11,160M; H1 2026 $24,329M vs $20,801M); consolidated cash and Treasury Bills $397.4B (31 March 2026) and $365.5B (30 June 2026); underwriting as a share of float; OxyChem at 2.6% of the cash pile; five-line after-tax earnings sums — 2016 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026