This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
Key Points
- Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway manages a stock portfolio worth over $300 billion.
- Investors are always curious about what Buffett and his team are investing in.
- Berkshire's top five holdings are among the best-known companies in the world.
Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), has consistently generated returns that far exceed those of the broader market over the six-plus decades that Buffett has led the company.
Between 1964 and 2024, Berkshire's stock generated compound annual gains of 19.9% and a total return of 5,502,284%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index generated compound annual gains of 10.4%, including dividends, and a total return of 39,054%.
A major part of Berkshire's success can be attributed to its massive $300 billion-plus equities portfolio. Berkshire invests the float it generates from premiums in its large insurance business into stocks that the company often likes to hold for many years, if not decades.
Buffett and Berkshire's top five holdings
Needless to say, investors are always interested in what stocks the Oracle of Omaha and his team are investing in. Here then are Berkshire's largest holdings at the end of the third quarter of the year, and the amount of the portfolio they represent:
- Apple -- 21%
- American Express -- 17.8%
- Bank of America -- 9.8%
- Coca-Cola -- 9.3%
- Chevron -- 5.9%
All of Berkshire's top holdings are in world-renowned companies that have built sizable moats across various sectors. Berkshire first invested in Apple in 2016 and, at one point, had built the position to roughly 40% of Berkshire's portfolio. Since then, however, Berkshire has sold a majority of its position, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the large conglomerate exit Apple entirely over time.
Berkshire has owned American Express and Coca-Cola since the 1980s and 1990s, and these represent two of the company's longest-held investments, likely hand-picked by Buffett.
Buffett and Berkshire used to own many traditional banks, but Bank of America is now one of the few remaining in the portfolio. Chevron is one of several energy stocks and assets that Berkshire owns. Buffett and his team appear to have a high level of long-term conviction in U.S. oil and gas, despite the sector's recent struggles.
This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
