The world's most expensive stock in 2023

Berkshire Hathaway is the world's most expensive stock:

At the time of writing, in February 2023, the most expensive stock in the world is none other than Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Indeed, to buy this stock, you will have to pay $459,375 for a single share (price on 24/02/2023).

Remember that this American company is also one of the companies with the highest market value in the world with a value of $668 billion.

But what are the activities of Berkshire Hathaway? The company's main activities are in the field of insurance and finance. But what has allowed it to grow in recent years is its strategy of diversifying its business into railroads, utilities, food and non-food products.

Why is this stock so expensive?

The fact that Berkshire Hathaway is currently the world's most expensive stock is no accident. Indeed, to reach such sums, this stock is particularly popular with investors and this is not without reason.  It should be remembered that it is a world-famous investor who owns the majority of Berkshire Hathaway's capital, namely Warren Buffet. This American investor and entrepreneur is known for his successful investments, which have enabled him to build a real fortune.

In order to succeed in its growth strategy and generate ever more turnover and profits, Berkshire Hathaway has implemented a strategy of developing its activities by creating or buying out various subsidiaries:

• The GEICO subsidiary specialises in motor insurance
• General Re is specialised in the reinsurance sector
• The Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group specialises in insurance
• The BNSF subsidiary is a company specialising in rail transport.
• Berkshire Hathaway Energy specialises, as its name suggests, in electricity and gas.
• Finally, the McLane Company subsidiary specialises in wholesale trade.

What are the other most expensive stocks in the world?

In February 2023, after Berkshire Hathaway stock, here are some of the other most expensive stocks in the world, in descending order of price:

• NVR Inc (NVR) - US$5,129 per share: NVR Inc is a US-based homebuilding company.
• Seaboard Corporation (SEB) - US$4,000 per share: Seaboard Corporation is a diversified US food production, energy, transportation and logistics company.
• Booking Holdings Inc (BKNG) - US$2,426 per share: Booking Holdings is a US-based online travel booking company, which owns several websites such as Booking.com, Kayak, Agoda and Priceline.
• Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) - US$2,670 per share: Alphabet Inc is an American technology company, which owns Google, YouTube, Waymo and several other subsidiaries.
• Markel Corporation (MKL) - US$1,337 per share: Markel Corporation is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance and investment operations worldwide.

Shares of companies with the highest market capitalisation

The price of a share is not the only element taken into account when assessing the value of a listed company. It is the market capitalisation of that company that will allow the value to be assessed. It is obtained by multiplying the price of a share by the total number of shares.

In February 2023, the five highest market capitalisation stocks worldwide were, in descending order of market capitalisation, Apple Inc:

• Apple Inc (AAPL) - Market capitalisation of approximately $2.7 trillion: Apple is an American company that specialises in the design and sale of consumer electronics products such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) - Market capitalisation of approximately $1.9 trillion: Microsoft is an American company specialising in software, computer services and consumer electronics products such as the Xbox game console.
• Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) - Market capitalisation of approximately $1.16 trillion: Alphabet is an American technology company that owns Google, YouTube, Waymo and several other subsidiaries.
• Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) - Market capitalisation of approximately $981.89 billion: Amazon.com is an American e-commerce, cloud computing and content streaming company.
• Tesla (TSLA) - Market capitalisation of approximately $633.18 billion: Tesla is an electric vehicle and technology company listed on Nasdaq.

The companies with the highest turnover :

Finally, and beyond the share price and capitalisation of a company, the amount of turnover achieved also gives an indication of the strongest listed companies.

In 2023 and for the financial year 2022, several listed companies recorded significant turnover figures, placing them at the top of the global ranking. Despite a slight drop in turnover due to the situation in China, Apple is in first place with a turnover of 394.33 billion dollars and a net profit of 99.78 billion dollars.

Microsoft came second with sales of $203.08 billion and net income of $69.79 billion over the last 12 months. Google's parent company, Alphabet, came in third place with $282.11 billion in revenue and net income of $66.99 billion.

In fourth place is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which provides banking and financial services, including loans to individuals and companies. Fifth place goes to the world's largest refiner of petroleum products, ExxonMobil.

What these companies have in common is their leadership position in their respective markets and their ability to generate significant revenues. However, it is important to note that these figures are subject to fluctuation depending on economic conditions and competition in each sector.