What's Warren Buffett's biggest holding in Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A 0.16%) (BRK.B 0.79%) portfolio? That's easy: It's U.S. Treasury bills. As of the end of the first quarter, Berkshire had a whopping $305.5 billion in Treasuries.
However, Buffett has over $1 trillion of Berkshire's portfolio invested in other publicly traded companies. Roughly $187 billion of that total is spread across only five stocks.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Buffett's top five
Apple (AAPL 0.07%) has ranked as the largest holding in Berkshire's portfolio for years. That's still the case despite Buffett significantly paring the conglomerate's stake in Apple. The iPhone maker accounts for 21.8% of Berkshire's total portfolio, with a value of around $64.1 billion.
Buffett has been a longtime fan of American Express (AXP 1.15%). He still is, with the financial services giant comprising 15.9% of Berkshire's portfolio. This stake is currently worth roughly $46.7 billion.
Although the legendary investor used to love bank stocks, his enamor has faded in recent years. However, his affection hasn't completely dwindled. Bank of America (BAC 0.20%) remains Berkshire's third-largest holding. The conglomerate's $30.6 billion stake in the big bank makes up 10.4% of its portfolio.
What's Buffett's longest-held position? Coca-Cola (KO 0.11%). Berkshire has owned the stock for 37 years. Its 400 million shares of the huge food and beverage company are worth $27.6 billion today.
Chevron (CVX -0.64%) is the last member of Buffett's top five. The major oil and gas producer comprises 6.3% of Berkshire's portfolio and is valued at nearly $18.5 billion.
How these stocks compare
While there are many ways we could compare these five top Buffett stocks, we'll focus on three of the most important: growth, valuation, and income. These areas not-so-coincidentally reflect three key investing styles.
There's no contest in terms of share price growth over the last five years. American Express stock has more than tripled in value. Apple comes in a distant second, with a gain of around 130%. Interestingly, though, Chevron has delivered the highest revenue and earnings growth during the period, followed by AmEx.
Determining which of these stocks has the best growth prospects going forward is more difficult. My best guess is that Apple will be able to grow faster than the others, even though that hasn't been the case in recent years. I suspect that artificial intelligence (AI) will be a key growth driver for Apple throughout the rest of this decade and beyond. A rumored launch of a folding iPhone could spark sales. I also look for the company to be a big winner in the smart glasses market.
Bank of America is the hands-down winner when it comes to valuation. The stock's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 is well below the forward earnings multiples of Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Chevron.
Chevron will probably be the most appealing to investors seeking income. The oil and gas giant pays a lofty forward dividend yield of 4.39%. Chevron has also increased its dividend for 38 consecutive years. However, Coca-Cola is a solid runner-up, as a Dividend King with a yield of 2.95%.
The best of the bunch
Which of these stocks is the best? I think it depends on what kind of investor you are. Growth investors will probably like Apple the most. Value investors will likely gravitate toward Bank of America. Income investors will prefer Chevron or perhaps Coca-Cola.
If I had to pick the best of the bunch overall, though, I'd have to go with Apple. I'm pretty sure Buffett would select Apple, too. After all, he has stated that it's "probably the best business I know in the world." And as we've seen, Apple remains Berkshire's largest holding.
Granted, a cloud of uncertainty hovers over Apple. The company will eventually need to deliver a successor to the iPhone. The launches of its Apple Intelligence generative AI functionality and Vision Pro mixed-reality device left much to be desired. However, I'm cautiously optimistic that Apple will be able to justify Buffett's faith in its management and business over the next few years.
