hovering

Have you ever seen a puzzle that asks you to identify what doesn’t seem to belong in the picture? That comes to mind when I look at the list of stocks with market caps of $1 trillion or more.

Only 10 companies (and 12 stocks, because two have multiple share classes) are members of the trillion-dollar club. All of them have artificial intelligence (AI) pedigrees except one: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.55%) (BRK.B 1.06%).

While Berkshire is an outlier in this elite club, I think the huge conglomerate deserves its spot. Most investors can’t afford the Class A shares, which trade at close to $745,000. But should you buy Berkshire Hathaway Class B stock while it’s hovering around $500?

Image source: Getty Images.

Playing devil’s advocate

I’ll start off answering the question by playing devil’s advocate. There are several arguments against buying Berkshire Hathaway right now.

Perhaps the top reason for hesitation in many investors’ minds is the impending departure of Warren Buffett as the company’s CEO. Buffett and Berkshire have become synonymous through the years. However, he is handing over the reins as top executive to Greg Abel as of Jan. 1, 2026. Some may worry that Berkshire Hathaway’s allure will be diminished without Buffett at the helm.

Another argument against buying Berkshire stock is its valuation. Shares currently trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22.8. The stock is only around 8% below its all-time high. Even Buffett seems to think the valuation isn’t compelling, considering that he hasn’t authorized any stock buybacks since last year.

Economic uncertainty is another factor that could prevent some investors from buying Berkshire. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell recently stated that rising inflation and unemployment present a “challenging situation” for the Fed. Some of Berkshire’s businesses could be negatively impacted by these macroeconomic concerns.

Arguments in favor of buying Berkshire Hathaway

While those might be compelling arguments against buying Berkshire Hathaway stock, there are also some reasonable counterpoints. For example, Buffett isn’t leaving Berkshire altogether; he will stay on as chairman. Importantly, he doesn’t think the company will miss a beat without him as CEO. Buffett even said at the annual shareholder meeting in May 2025 that he expects Berkshire will be in better shape with Abel running the business.

What about the valuation concerns? They shouldn’t be dismissed. However, Berkshire has had higher earnings multiples in the past but delivered enough growth to drive its share price higher. I think history will repeat itself over the long run. If you’re a long-term buy-and-hold investor, Berkshire’s current valuation (which is much lower than the S&P 500‘s, by the way) shouldn’t keep you from buying the stock.

As for economic uncertainty, it’s a legitimate issue as well. The Fed’s rate cuts could prop up the economy, though. Even if not, Berkshire Hathaway could be widely viewed as a safe haven if the economy stumbles. I suspect its stock would hold up better than most in the event of an economic pullback.

Importantly, Berkshire offers diversification that’s almost at an exchange-traded fund (ETF) level. The company owns over 60 subsidiaries representing a wide range of industries. It also has equity holdings in around 40 other publicly traded companies across multiple sectors.

Final verdict

So should you buy Berkshire Hathaway Cass B shares while they’re trading around $500? I think answer is yes — if you have a long-term investing time horizon.

The case against buying Berkshire is mainly focused on near-term concerns. It’s entirely possible that the stock could decline over the next year because of the issues discussed earlier. However, the long-term case for Berkshire is persuasive, in my view.

Since President Donald Trump stared enacting tariffs earlier this year, everyone from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the average retail investor has been trying to figure out how they will affect the economy and whether they will reignite inflation.

So far, the economy and inflation seem to be OK. However, it’s still early, and the tariffs are constantly changing, which makes understanding the longer-term impact even more difficult.

The Trump administration and many in support of tariffs have said that they will not lead to higher inflation and have been lobbying Powell to lower interest rates. But make no mistake: President Trump has a tariff problem that could be a roadblock for a stock market hovering around all-time highs.

Somebody is going to have to bear the cost

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, intended to make foreign goods more expensive, therefore aiding the competitive position of domestically made goods. So far, Trump’s tariffs have brought in significant revenue, including more than $29 billion in customs and excise taxes in July. In prior years, the monthly customs and excise taxes have amounted to less than $10 billion.

Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour.

However, most economists and other experts point out that someone has to foot the bill, which is why they are concerned about an eventual rebound in inflation. Up until now, inflation has remained subdued, or at least not risen like some expected, although core inflation rose in both June and July.

But the biggest indicator that higher inflation could be cooking came after a recent Producer Price Index (PPI) report. Although the PPI is not as widely followed as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the July PPI certainly moved markets this month.

That index looks at the change in producer prices across industries and essentially serves as a gauge of wholesale inflation. What investors should think about is that if manufacturers are seeing price increases, how long until those funnel down and eventually hit consumers?

The July PPI increased 0.9% from the prior month, significantly higher than the consensus estimate of 0.2%. It was the biggest monthly increase since June of 2022, a period of extremely high inflation in the U.S.

CalBay Investments Chief Market Strategist Clark Geranen recently told CNBC: “The fact that PPI was stronger than expected and CPI has been relatively soft suggests that businesses are eating much of the tariff costs instead of passing them on to the consumer. Businesses may soon start to reverse course and start passing these costs to consumers.”

Prior to the PPI report, traders betting on changes in the federal funds rate had placed a nearly 99% chance that the Fed would cut interest rates at its September meeting. As of this writing on Aug. 19, that percentage had dropped to about 85%, according to CME Group‘s FedWatch tool.

The stock market is pricing in significant rate cuts

President Trump’s problem, in my view, is that the market is pricing in significant interest rate cuts. Between now and the end of 2026, the forward curve indicates there will be five cuts. While the market doesn’t necessarily want the Fed to have to make cuts due to some kind of severe recession or economic downturn, incremental cuts to support the economy and keep it on sound footing are expected to bolster the market, which seems to be a contributor in driving it to new all-time highs on numerous occasions this year.

Powell won’t cut rates five times if the Fed sees inflation moving higher, because that could put the economy in a stagflation scenario, where unemployment and inflation are both moving higher, making it more difficult for the Fed to achieve its dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment.

I think the tariffs at the very least will keep the market and the Fed in a period of uncertainty, making it potentially difficult for the Fed to cut rates as much as the market hopes. With the stock market hovering near all-time highs and with a stretched valuation, I believe this dynamic could create a roadblock for the market.