Every stock market investor is sure to have come across a common saying, which goes, ‘buy low, sell high’. But, has anyone thought about how this applies to the world’s most expensive stocks? Expensive is a relative term in the stock markets, as investors often weigh the price of a stock relative to the company’s earnings or sales. Some investors, however, invest in shares because of the attraction of their quoted price.
For investors who are curious to know about the most expensive stocks in the world, here, we have put together a list of top 10 costliest stocks. The prices listed here are as of 31 Jan 2022.
1. Berkshire Hathaway – $313,100.00
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. tops the list of the world’s most expensive shares.
Berkshire Hathaway is:
- a multinational conglomerate wholly owning companies, including GEICO, Dairy Queen, NetJets, FlightSafety International, Fruit of the Loom, Lubrizol, Helzberg Diamonds, and BNSF.
- a substantial minority owner of blue chip companies like Coca-Cola, Apple, American Express, and Wells Fargo.
- known for its CEO Warren Buffett’s shrewd investing acumen.
2. Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG – $106,700
Lindt & Sprüngli AG, also known as Lindt:
- was founded in 1845
- is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionary company
- known for its chocolate bars and truffles,
- was started by David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son, Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann
Today, Lindt has six factories across Europe and the UK. It’s Caffarel factory is located in Italy, while the Ghirardelli factory is in San Leandro, California. The company also has eight chocolate cafés in Australia.
3. Next Plc – $7,498
Next Plc is an originally British and now multinational footwear, clothing, and home products retailer that has around 700 stores. 500 of these are in the UK and Ireland, while the remaining 200 are located in continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
- The largest clothing retailer in the UK as per sales.
- Operates through channels like:
- Next Retail
- Next International
- Next Directory
- Next Sourcing
- Lipsy
4. NVR Inc. – $5,327
Originally founded as Ryan Homes back in 1940, the company’s name was changed to present day NVR Incorporated in 1980. It is run by CEO Paul C. Saville.
NVR Inc. is mainly into:
- home building
- mortgage
- construction and selling of buildings, homes
Its main operations are carried out under the brand names:
- Ryan Homes,
- Heartland Homes,
- NV Homes,
- Rymarc
So far, the company has built close to 365,000 homes in the US. The company reported revenue of $8.97 billion and net income of $1.24 billion in 2021.
5. Seaboard Corporation – $3,820
Seaboard Corporation is a global giant that boasts of revenues that touched $7.1 billion in 2021.
The company is into:
- pork production
- pork processing
- ocean transportation
- commodity merchandising
- grain processing
- sugar production
- electrical power generation
The company owns 30 container vessels while employing close to 13,000 people across 7 global locations with its headquarters in Merriam, Kansas.
6. Amazon Inc. – $2,991
Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com is an originally American and now global e-commerce company based in Seattle, WA.
Amazon sales come from:
- selling a wide range of products, including electronics, jewelry, furniture, video games, toys, software, food, apparel, and a lot more.
- making and selling consumer electronics such as Kindle e-book readers, Fire tablets, etc.
- cloud infrastructure services
Amazon’s stock price has steadily risen in the past few years and resulted in a significant rise in Bezos’ net worth, making him the richest individual in the globe. The company’s revenues as of 2021 stand at $469 billion.
7. Alphabet Inc. – $2,706
Alphabet Inc. is the new name given to Google corporation post the company’s restructuring in August 2015.
Founded in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google started off as a search engine. Today, the company has expanded its business wings into:
- biotechnology,
- venture capital,
- telecommunications equipment,
- health care, and also
- computer software.
Alphabet Inc.’s revenues stood at $257 billion as of 2021. Today, the company is led by India-born Sundar Pichai, who is the CEO.
8. Booking Holdings Inc. – $2,456
Booking Holdings Inc., formerly known as the Priceline Group, runs the website Booking.com.
The company changed its NASDAQ ticket from PCLN to BKNG to emphasize on its biggest brand, Booking.com. With nearly 1.5 million listed properties, Booking.com ranks second as the world’s largest travel agency brand share. It offers travel services across 220 countries via its six different online brands.
Booking Holdings has increased its listing of vacation rentals to give tough competition to other platforms such as Airbnb. In 2021, the company reported revenue of $9.21 billion.
9. Markel Corporation – $1,232
Markel Corporation is a financial holding company founded by Samuel Markel in 1930 in Virginia. Today, this Fortune 500 company specializes in offering cover for hard-to-place risks across markets like:
- inland marine coverage for fine art collections,
- ATVs,
- yachts,
- environmental pollution,
- event cancellation,
- reinsurance for high-risk enterprises like oil rigs
- agricultural risks
- equine risks, etc.
The company reported revenues of $10.86 billion, with a workforce of about 18,000 employees in 2021.
10. Madras Rubber Factory Limited – $964
Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) Limited is an Indian tire manufacturer that enjoys 24% market share in the country’s tire industry. The company’s stock price has been on a rise in recent times due to rising revenues. It has eight tire manufacturing centers across India and it exports to nearly 65 countries across the globe.
MRF also boasts of businesses in:
- sports goods,
- paints,
- toys, and
- rally sports
One of the reasons why the company has a high share price is that it has a relatively low market capitalization with fewer shares available to trade. Also, MRF hasn’t split its stock, thereby maintaining a high stock price.
Conclusion
Stock prices keep fluctuating on a daily basis. Hence, the above-mentioned may not necessarily remain in the top-10 list at all times. Investors must carefully assess their investment goals, risk taking potential, and investment horizon while choosing stocks for investment.
FAQs
The cheapest stocks or stocks available at really low prices are called penny stocks.
Investing in the most expensive stocks depends on your investment capability, risk profile, investment horizon, and also personal financial goals.
The primary reason why Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock is highly priced is that the company hasn’t split the stock. Thus, the price of each of the company’s shares has risen due to the immense growth achieved by the company.
While investing in stocks, most investors look for the company fundamentals and growth potential. Some day traders also look at stock price technicals to gain profits through day trading.
To begin investing in stocks, you can download the Fisdom app on your smartphone and complete the easy KYC process. The has a seamless Demat and trading account opening process.
