If any investor has stood the test of time, it’s Warren Buffett, and with good reason. For 60 years, the “Oracle of Omaha” has had a rock-star-like presence in the investing world, and his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting has drawn 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 remains 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, assumed the CEO position on January 1, 2026, and will likely direct or have a say in most, if not all, new investments, public or private. Some of these new investments have already been put into place.
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 the success and stature Berkshire Hathaway has in the investment world, just four top Dow Jones Industrial companies make up 50% 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.
Why Do We Cover Berkshire Hathaway Stocks?
Few investors have the results and reputation that Buffett has garnered over the past 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 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.
Here are the four Dow Jones Industrials that reside in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. All are Buy-rated at the top Wall Street firms we cover.
American Express
American Express (NYSE:AXP | AXP Price Prediction) is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation specializing in payment cards. The stock performed strongly for most of this year but has backed off some and offers a solid entry point with a dividend yield of 0.98%. 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, which offers travel and lifestyle services, as well as banking and non-card financing products.
- Commercial Services offers payment, expense management, banking, and non-card financing products.
- International Card Services 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 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, 22.2% of American Express’s float, and 14.8% of the portfolio.
J.P. Morgan has an Overweight rating with a $400 target price.
Apple
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services, offering a small dividend of 0.31%. It is remarkable that the legacy technology giant, even after a recent fourth-quarter sale of 10 million shares and a surge in sales over the past two years, still holds a 227,917,808-share position that accounts for a stunning 21% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio, which holds 1.6% of Apple’s stock.
The company 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
Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating with a $364 target price.
Chevron
This American multinational energy company primarily focuses on oil and gas. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector, and it pays a substantial 3.64% dividend, which was raised by 5% earlier this year. The company operates integrated energy and chemicals businesses worldwide. Berkshire Hathaway bought a very well-timed 8 million additional shares in the fourth quarter but sold a massive 46 million shares in Q1. Despite the sale, Berkshire still holds 84,375,856 shares, representing 4.2% of the float and 4.7% of the portfolio.
The company operates in 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.
Jefferies has a Buy rating with a $216 target price.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. This company remains a top long-time holding of Buffett. Berkshire owns a massive 400 million shares, which is 9.3% of the float and 9.3% of the portfolio. The stock pays a dependable 2.51% 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, the 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 top 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. And remember that the company owns 19.5% of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST), which continues to deliver strong financial results.
UBS has a Buy rating and a target price of $98.
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