Baby Berkshire

What is ‘Baby Berkshire’

Baby Berkshire refers to the 50:1 stock split after the market close on January 20th, 2010 by Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares. This split made the value of each share much smaller as far as price was concerned. At the market close, Berkshire Class B shares were trading at $3,476. The stock split came as a result of Berkshire’s acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

Explaining ‘Baby Berkshire’

Prior to the stock split, Berkshire Class B shares did not have enough trading volume to make them eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500 market index. However, lowering the market price through the stock split put the stock into a more conventional trading range, where it became much more frequently traded. Berkshire Class B shares were added to the S&P 500 on February 12th, 2010, taking the spot previously held by Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

The nickname of Baby Berkshire follows the tradition of Baby Bells and Baby Bills.

Further Reading

  • Career resumption for educated baby boomer mothers: An exploratory study – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
  • Berkshire Hathway's Uncommon Accounting – heinonline.org [PDF]
  • The effect of socio-economic factors on parental financial support from the perspectives of the givers and the receivers – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
  • Economic implications of multiple births: inpatient hospital costs in the first 5 years of life – fn.bmj.com [PDF]
  • Behavioral finance and investor governance – heinonline.org [PDF]
  • University students' financial literacy levels: Obstacles and aids – journals.sagepub.com [PDF]
  • Financial literacy among Australian university students – eprints.usq.edu.au [PDF]