If any investor has stood the test of time, it’s Warren Buffett, and with good reason. For 60 years, the “Oracle of Omaha” had a rock-star-like presence in the investing world, and his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting drew thousands of loyal investors. They were stunned at last year’s meeting when Buffett announced he would step down as CEO of the investment giant at year’s end. While he will remain the board chair and vows to come to the office every day, he will also continue to have a voice in the day-to-day operations. His pre-announced successor and long-time lieutenant, Greg Abel, has assumed the CEO position and will likely direct or have a say in most, if not all, new investments, public or private. Some big changes have come to the forefront as Abel announced that Berkshire Hathaway would resume purchasing its own shares and that he would use all of his $25 million per year salary to buy shares in the corporation.
Long-time investors and Buffett mavens are familiar with this quote, “His favorite holding for an S&P 500 stock is forever.” So it’s not surprising to report that for all of the success and stature Berkshire Hathaway has in the investment world, five top companies make up almost 60% of the fund’s total holdings. While much more concentrated than most portfolio managers would ever consider, the strategy has worked for Berkshire Hathaway investors for years and will likely continue to do so. In addition, Abel said in his first letter to shareholders that the course forward would remain the same, and he would directly oversee the equity portfolio, with Ted Weschler continuing to manage about 6% of it. He said the portfolio will remain concentrated in a small group of companies.
That small group of companies currently makes up just shy of 60% of the portfolio, and all are dividend-paying gems. In addition, all are Strong Buy-rated by some of the top firms we cover on Wall Street.
Why do we cover Berkshire Hathaway stocks?
There are few investors with the results and reputation that Mr. Buffett has garnered over the last 60 years. Though he has stepped away from the CEO chair, his impact and investment guidelines are likely to remain in place long after he is gone. While investing has evolved since Warren Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, buying good companies with products and services recognized worldwide and paying dividends will always remain a timeless approach and never go out of style.
American Express
American Express (NYSE: AXP) is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation specializing in payment cards. This stock has performed strongly in 2025, offering a dividend yield of 1.07%. American Express is a globally integrated payments company that deals with card-issuing, merchant-acquiring, and card network businesses.
The company offers products and services to customers worldwide, including consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations. Its segments include:
- U.S. Consumer Services (USCS), which offers travel and lifestyle services, as well as banking and non-card financing products.
- Commercial Services (CS) offers payment, expense management, banking, and non-card financing products.
- International Card Services (ICS) provides services to international customers, including travel and lifestyle services, and manages certain international joint ventures and its loyalty coalition business.
- Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS) operates a payments network that processes and settles card transactions, acquires merchants, and provides multichannel marketing programs, capabilities, services, and data analytics.
Berkshire Hathaway owns 151,610,700 shares, 22.1 % of American Express’s float, and 14.7% of the portfolio.
Truist Financial has a Buy rating with a $400 target price.
Apple
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services, offering a small dividend of 0.39%. It’s almost hard to comprehend that the legacy technology giant, even after a recent fourth-quarter sale of 10 million shares and a surge in sales over the last two years, still accounts for a stunning 18.9% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio, which holds 1.6% of Apple’s stock.
The company designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It offers:
- The iPhone, a line of smartphones
- Mac, a line of personal computers
- iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets
- Wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod
Apple also offers AppleCare support and cloud services, and operates various platforms, including the App Store, which enables customers to discover and download applications and digital content, such as books, music, videos, games, and podcasts.
In addition, the company offers various services, such as:
- Apple Arcade, a game subscription service
- Apple Fitness+, a personalized fitness service
- Apple Music, which gives users a curated listening experience with on-demand radio stations
- Apple News+, a subscription news and magazine service
- Apple TV+, which offers exclusive original content
- Apple Card, a co-branded credit card
- Apple Pay, a cashless payment service
Wedbush has an Outperform rating with a $325 target price.
Bank of America
While Buffett has trimmed his position over the past two years and sold a whopping 50 million shares in the fourth quarter, this quality financial giant remains an exceptional long-term holding with a solid 2.18% dividend yield. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is a bank holding company and financial holding company that reported impressive Q4 results. Berkshire Hathaway owns 517,295,934 shares, which is 8.1% of the portfolio and 7.2% of the float.
Its segments include:
- Consumer Banking, which offers a range of credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses.
- Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) comprises two businesses:
- Merrill Wealth Management offers tailored solutions to meet clients’ needs through a comprehensive suite of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products.
- Bank of America Private Bank provides comprehensive wealth management solutions.
- Global Banking offers a range of lending-related products and services, including integrated working capital management and treasury solutions, as well as underwriting and advisory services.
- Global Markets offers sales and trading services, as well as research services, to institutional clients across fixed income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity markets.
Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating with a $67 target price.
Chevron
Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company primarily focused on oil and gas. This integrated giant is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector and pays a substantial 3.61% dividend, which was raised by 5% earlier this year. Berkshire Hathaway bought a very well-timed 8 million additional shares in the fourth quarter, and now owns 130,156,362 shares, which equals 6.5% of the float and 8% of the portfolio.
Chevron operates integrated energy and chemicals businesses worldwide through two segments. The Upstream segment is involved in:
- Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas
- Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas
- Transportation of crude oil through pipelines, and transportation, storage
- Marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant
The Downstream segment engages in:
- Refining crude oil into petroleum products
- Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants
- Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels
- Transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car
- Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives
It also involves cash management, debt financing, insurance operations, real estate, and technology businesses.
Bank of America has a Buy rating with a $206 target price.
Coca-Cola
This American multinational corporation was founded in 1892. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) remains a top long-time Buffett holding. Berkshire Hathaway owns a massive 400 million shares, which is 9.3% of the float and 9.9% of the portfolio. The stock pays a dependable 2.50% dividend.
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, offering consumers more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, its portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including:
- Diet Coke
- Coca-Cola Light
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
- Caffeine-free Diet Coke
- Cherry Coke
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Zero Orange
- Fanta Zero Sugar
- Fanta Apple
- Sprite
- Sprite Zero Sugar
- Simply Orange
- Simply Apple
- Simply Grapefruit
- Fresca
- Schweppes
- Dasani
- Fuze Tea
- Glacéau Smartwater
- Glacéau Vitaminwater
- Gold Peak
- Ice Dew
- Powerade
- Topo Chico
- Minute Maid
Globally, it is the provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, juices, and juice drinks. Through the world’s most extensive beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of over 1.9 billion servings per day.
Note that Coca-Cola owns 19.5% of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST), which continues to deliver strong financial results.
Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating and a target price of $87.
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