Top 5 Positions in Warren Buffett's Portfolio

Warren Buffett is undeniably the most famous and influential investor in modern history, based on his extraordinary performance record. Not surprisingly, the investment portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A), the holding company employing the Oracle of Omaha as chairman and CEO, receives wide media attention and scrutiny, even though Buffett is no longer making every investment decision.

Despite his unparalleled success, Buffett's investment model has long been transparent, straightforward, and consistent. He invests in large, blue-chip companies with strong balance sheets and attractive valuations. Buffett often invests for the long term, but he's never been afraid to make significant new investments or drop longtime holdings.

Here are the top five stocks in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, according to the 2022 year end report. (latest figures available).

1. Apple 

Apple, the maker of iPhones, is by far Berkshire Hathaway's largest stock holding at $119 billion as of year-end 2022, accounting for 39% of its stock portfolio and for 5.7% of Apple's outstanding shares.

Berkshire Hathaway acquired the bulk of its stake in Apple between 2016 and 2019 for just over $35 billion.

At the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Warren Buffett said "Our criteria for Apple was different than the other businesses we own—It just happens to be better business than any we own."

2. Bank of America

Berkshire Hathaway's second-largest holding is Bank of America, with a stake valued at $34.2 billion as of the end of 2022, accounting for 11% of the portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway held 12.9% of the bank's outstanding shares.

Buffett acquired 700 million of the 1 billion Bank of America shares Berkshire Hathaway now holds in 2022 for warrants Berkshire Hathaway received when it made a $5 billion investment in the bank's preferred stock in 2011.

3. Chevron

Buffett dramatically increased Berkshire Hathaway's stake in Chevron to $30 billion as of the end of 2022, making the integrated oil giant his company's third-largest holding. Chevron shares accounted for 9.7% of Berkshire Hathaway's equity securities portfolio, while Berkshire's stake amounted to 8.5% of Chevron's outstanding shares.

"Chevron is not an evil company in the least and I have no compunction about owning Chevron," Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway's 2021 shareholders meeting when asked about Chevron's role in climate change. 

4. Coca Cola

Buffett famously consumes five 12-ounce servings of Coke per day, and once said he is "a quarter Coca-Cola" based on the drink's share of his caloric intake.

Berkshire Hathaway makes do with a Coca-Cola stake of $25.4 billion, representing an allocation of 8.2% in its stock portfolio. That accounts for 9.2% of Coca-Cola's outstanding stock.

After Buffett began accumulating the position in 1988, he said he planned to hold it "for a long time" in the next letter to shareholders. "In fact, when we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever," Buffett wrote.

5. American Express

Berkshire Hathaway's $22.4 billion stake in financial services provider American Express accounted for 7.2% of its portfolio as of the end of 2022 and 19.97% of American Express shares as of March 2022.

The stake dates back to 1994 when Buffett acquired AmEx stock in exchange for warrants from a $300 million preferred stock investment that returned 64% over three years. Berkshire Hathaway has significantly increased its American Express stake over the past decade.

What Is In the Rest of the Top 10?

Warren Buffett runs the Berkshire Hathaway holding company, which, in turn, is a major shareholder in a number of large public companies. After the top five listed above, Berkshire's next largest public company investments include

• The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC)
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
• Moody's Corp. (MCO)
• Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI)
• HP Inc (HPQ)

In addition to its stakes in publicly listed companies, Berkshire Hathaway owns numerous subsidiaries, including GEICO Insurance, BNSF Railways, Duracell, and International Dairy Queen Inc., among many others.

The Bottom Line

As investors go, Warren Buffett is the cream of the crop. His investment model is simple: buy blue-chip stocks (dividends never hurt anyone) at reasonable valuations and hold them for the long term. He also looks favorably at companies with strong management teams and solid balance sheets.

He relies on a trusted team of advisors, most importantly Charlie Munger, his partner since the early days of Berkshire Hathaway as an investment vehicle, to help make his investment decisions.