BRK.A vs. JEF: Berkshire Hathaway vs. Jefferies Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF) both fall under the Financial Services industry group, but BRK.A is classified in Financial Services while JEF is classified in Capital Markets.

Company profile comparison for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Profile Item	BRK.A	JEF
Name	Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class A	Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Financial Services	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Multi-Sector Holdings	Investment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization	1,222.51 billion USD	10.88 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	March 17, 1980
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BRK.A

JEF

GSPC

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
Total Return (1Y)	13.87%	-6.26%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.28%	17.02%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	14.57%	7.20%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BRK.A

JEF

GSPC

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Jefferies (JEF) has an aggressive beta of 1.49, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) is defensive at 0.56 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Jefferies (JEF) trades around 2.20M shares per day on average, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) sees only 206 — a volume gap that can matter for position sizing, exit liquidity, and order execution.

Risk profile metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	14.86%	41.25%
Beta (5Y)	0.56	1.49
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-25.98%	-54.39%
Avg. Volume (3M)	206	2.20M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

BRK.A and JEF are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.65	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.96	-0.33

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 12.12% and Jefferies (JEF) at 8.59% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

12.12%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
BRK.A: 12.12%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

JEF

Financial Services industry group

8.59%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
JEF: 8.59%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 22.30% and Jefferies (JEF) at 11.00% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

22.30%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
BRK.A: 22.30%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

JEF

Financial Services industry group

11.00%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
JEF: 11.00%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 32.56% and Jefferies (JEF) at 15.80% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

32.56%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
BRK.A: 32.56%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

JEF

Financial Services industry group

15.80%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
JEF: 15.80%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
ROE (TTM)	12.12%	8.59%
ROA (TTM)	6.01%	1.21%
Net Margin (TTM)	22.30%	11.00%
Operating Margin (TTM)	32.56%	15.80%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Jefferies (JEF) at 2.93% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at -3.23% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Jefferies (JEF) at -5.35% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at -24.78% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-3.23%	2.93%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	20.59%	14.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-24.78%	-5.35%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-2.57%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) in Financial Services and Jefferies (JEF) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) in Financial Services and Jefferies (JEF) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Jefferies (JEF) reports a yield of 3.29%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
BRK.A: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

JEF

Financial Services industry group

3.29%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
JEF: 3.29%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Jefferies (JEF) reports a payout of 42.67%, ranking against industry peers normally.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

0.00%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
BRK.A: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

JEF

Financial Services industry group

42.67%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
JEF: 42.67%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	3.29%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	42.67%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 14.36 and Jefferies (JEF) at 12.63 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

14.36

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
BRK.A: 14.36
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

JEF

Financial Services industry group

12.63

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
JEF: 12.63
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 3.18 and Jefferies (JEF) at 1.28 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

3.18

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
BRK.A: 3.18
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

JEF

Financial Services industry group

1.28

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
JEF: 1.28
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) at 1.72 and Jefferies (JEF) at 1.02 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

BRK.A

Financial Services industry group

1.72

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
BRK.A: 1.72
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

JEF

Financial Services industry group

1.02

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
JEF: 1.02
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) vs. Jefferies (JEF): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jefferies (JEF)
Metric	BRK.A	JEF
P/E Ratio (TTM)	14.36	12.63
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.18	1.28
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.72	1.02
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--