What Does Berkshire Hathaway Own?

What does Berkshire Hathaway own? Shares in a surprisingly small number of companies, as it turns out. Warren Buffett's Nebraska-based holding company has $347 billion invested in only 41 companies. Read on to find out more about the Oracle of Omaha’s holdings.

List of investments

What does Berkshire Hathaway own?

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B) is known for its outstanding return on investments. If you'd bought Berkshire Class A stock when Buffett took over the company in the mid-1960s, your return by March 1 would have been a whopping 4,961,342%.

The return is even more impressive when you consider that Berkshire has accomplished it with relatively few investments. Instead, Buffett focused on a long-term, buy-and-hold strategy, buying stocks in well-managed companies with a good chance of succeeding and holding them over the long term. As Buffett once put it in a letter to his shareholders, "Never count on making a good sale."

Still, Buffett hasn't totally sat on his hands over the last year. Berkshire trimmed its holdings, especially in the third quarter. Berkshire dropped a number of blue-chip stocks, including General Motors (GM 0.48%), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.46%), Procter & Gamble (PG -0.78%), and United Parcel Service (UPS 0.14%).

According to the company's Form 13F, Berkshire has been a net seller of stocks over the last five quarters. Meanwhile, its cash holdings have grown to more than $167 billion, with the vast majority stashed in Treasury holdings.

The increasing amount of cash held by Berkshire, however, doesn’t mean it's getting out of the stock-picking business. Almost 80% of the company's portfolio is invested in just six stocks.

Major Berkshire holdings

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1. Apple

Apple (AAPL -0.35%): Buffett has joked that Berkshire is a tech company simply because of the massive number of Apple shares it owns. At the end of 2023, Berkshire held more than 915,000 shares of the tech giant, with an estimated value of $168 billion -- more than five times the value of any other holding and almost 6% of the company.

Even so, the company trimmed its Apple holdings in the fourth quarter of 2023, selling about 1%. The tech giant had a bumpy 2023. It lost its position as the most valuable company in the United States, faced regulatory challenges, and reported declining sales in China.

2. Bank of America

Bank of America (BAC -0.21%): Berkshire reported owning more than 1 billion shares of Bank of America stock by the end of 2023, worth about $33 billion, and controlling 13.1% of the company. Buffett has been a believer in bank stocks for many years, and Bank of America's size and scale have made it an attractive stock for investors.

To be sure, Bank of America faced headwinds in 2023, with charge-offs rising and high interest rates putting a damper on loan demand. As inflation slows, however, the bank may see a rebound from consumer spending even as competition intensifies.

3. American Express

American Express (AXP -0.62%). At the end of 2023, American Express accounted for 9% of Berkshire's assets. It's another financial stock that Buffett has touted over the years, largely because it benefits from both facilitating transactions and loaning money.

The financial giant does especially well when the economy is growing, but its focus on well-off consumers -- who are less likely to change their spending when the economy isn't doing so well -- helps it to thrive in most economic climates.

Even as a number of stocks suffered through a so-so year, American Express finished on a high note, with revenue increasing 11% year over year. Buffett noted that some of the company's attempts to broaden its base haven't worked out, but its primary business has continued to prosper.

Buffett owned almost $34 billion in American Express stock at the end of 2023, or 20.9% of the company's outstanding shares.

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4. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola (KO 0.0%). The Atlanta-based beverage king is another one of Buffett's longest-held positions. Buffett has made it clear that he doesn't have any plans to sell Coca-Cola stock; the Dividend King's sales increased 6% year over year, even as inflation prompted many consumers to curb their grocery spending.

Buffett's affinity for Coca-Cola stock isn't just professional; he described himself as "one-quarter Coca-Cola" to Fortune in 2015, claiming the beverage accounts for 25% of his daily caloric intake. It's another example of one of his wise investment maxims: Buy stock in companies whose business you understand and appreciate.

At the end of 2023, Berkshire held $23.8 billion of Coca-Cola stock, or 9.3% of its outstanding shares.

5. Chevron

Chevron (CVX 0.37%). With a few exceptions, the oil and gas industry has fallen on hard times. In the 1980s, the sector made up almost 30% of the S&P 500; these days, it hovers around 3%. Despite the uncertainty prompted by a transition to low-carbon fuels, Buffett has increased his holdings in Chevron, betting that the energy industry will recover from a rough few years.

At the end of 2023, Berkshire owned about 132 million shares of Chevron, almost 6% of its entire portfolio and about 7% of Chevron's outstanding shares. Chevron is the second-largest oil company in the United States and boasts an excellent price-to-earnings ratio of 13.6.

6. Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum (OXY -0.15%). One of two energy stocks owned by Berkshire, Occidental is heavily focused on upstream production, which makes it highly susceptible to falling crude oil prices. It also reported $18.5 billion in net debt, a not-inconsiderable sum even for a major oil company. In addition, disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Middle East tensions have failed to make a substantial dent in the global supply.

Buffett's bet on Occidental, however, is looking smarter by the day. An increasing global appetite for oil and a lack of exploration make it possible that there will be a gap between supply and demand, possibly as early as 2025.

Buffett owns about $15.1 billion in Occidental stock, more than 28% of its outstanding shares.

Other holdings

Other Berkshire holdings

The six stocks above make up almost 80% of Berkshire's total holdings -- but there's more. At the end of 2023, Berkshire held billion-dollar stakes in another 21 companies, ranging from consumer staples to technology stocks. Here are some smaller holdings:

• Kraft Heinz (NYSE:KHC): Buffett admits that the purchase of Kraft Heinz stock initially didn't quite work out as hoped. The company's stock fell 9% in 2023, even as the S&P 500 rose 24%. The company reported only a 2% organic sales increase through the third quarter, and its growth came entirely from rising prices.

Still, Berkshire hasn't walked away from the company that provides staples ranging from Kraft Mac and Cheese to Maxwell House, and there's hope for the future. It's overhauling its logistics structure to save $2.5 billion by the end of 2027. Despite the disappointing 2023, its shares were trading at only 12.6 times last year's earnings in early 2024.

• Moody's (MCO 0.25%). Best known as a ratings agency, Moody's has been a part of Berkshire's portfolio for almost a quarter-century. The company has little major competition outside of S&P Global and Fitch Ratings, giving it a huge advantage and immense pricing power.

Moody's has everything that Buffett searches for in an investment: a competitive edge, strong management, a leading position, excellent profitability, strong recurring revenue, and a high free cash flow. Over the past five years, its stock rose 145%, more than doubling the S&P 500's 69% gain.

• Mitsubishi (MSBHF 0.55%). On the surface, a Japanese trading house might not be one of the first investments you think about when you consider options for Berkshire Hathaway. But it's a big component of Buffett's portfolio, which now holds about 8% of the conglomerate.

Why? Easy. Like other large Berkshire holdings, Mitsubishi has been in business for a long time (since 1870), indicating stability. It's a bargain, with shares trading at roughly 10 times trailing-12-month earnings. And finally, it's incredibly diversified, owning almost 1,700 companies in 10 industries, spreading risk better than most exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

• Mitsui & Co. (MITSF 0.25%). Buffett increased his holdings in Japan's five biggest trading houses in 2023, with Mitsui becoming his 10th-largest holding. The company stock gained more than 70% over the year, and investors who were bearish on Japan were proven quite wrong earlier this year when the Nikkei 225 reached a record high.

Like Mitsubishi, Mitsui is a diversified giant that owns companies involved in chemicals, steelmaking, life insurance, construction, banking, engineering, and even brewing. Berkshire has said it hopes to increase its stake to 9.9% of each of the five major trading houses, just shy of the country's 10% approval threshold for foreign investment.

Smaller investments

Smaller Berkshire investments

Using "small" to describe billion-dollar holdings would be laughable in almost any other context, but the sheer size of Buffett's largest holdings almost reduces these holdings to a rounding error.

Although Apple is one of the ultimate tech stocks, Buffett also has dedicated a significant amount of cash to a couple of other tech-focused companies. Berkshire has:

• $1.8 billion invested in Amazon (AMZN 3.43%), holding a miniscule 0.1% of the company’s outstanding shares.
• $2.5 billion in VeriSign (VRSN -3.94%), accounting for 12.7% of the company.

Besides Mitsui and Mitsubishi, Buffett also held major stakes in:

• Marubeni Corp. (MARUY 0.93%), with $2.5 billion in stock, about 8.4% of outstanding shares.
• Itochu Corp. (ITOCF 1.14%), with $5.3 billion, about 7.5% of shares.
• Sumitomo Corp. (SSUM.F 1.69%), with $2.5 billion in shares, about 8.3% of outstanding shares.

Other major investments in financial stocks include:

• $3.2 billion of Citigroup (C 1.41%) stock, about 2.9% of outstanding shares.
• $2.3 billion in Visa (V -0.23%), 0.4% of the company.
• $1.9 billion in Mastercard (MA 0.07%) stock, or 0.4% of outstanding shares.
• $1.7 billion of Capital One (COF 0.16%), 3.3% of the company.

Buffett has made several investments in media centered around:

• Liberty SiriusXM Series C (LSXMK -0.53%), with a $1.5 billion holding that accounts for 23.2% of outstanding shares.
• Liberty SiriusXM Series A (NASDAW:LSXMA), with a $754 million stake, or 25.7% of shares.
• Liberty Formula One Series C (NASDAQ:FWONK), $551 million or 3.7% of outstanding shares.
• Liberty Live Series C (NASDAQ:LLYVK), $445 million, about 17.5% of the company.
• Liberty Live Series A (NASDAQ (LLYVA), $195 million, or 19.8% of outstanding shares.
• Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI 0.0%), with $167.4 million in holdings, or 1% of the company’s outstanding shares.

It's also worth noting that Buffett has only one major healthcare holding, DaVita Inc. (DVA 0.56%), a dialysis provider that controls more than one-third of the U.S. market. The Denver-based company focuses on treating end-stage renal disease, an affliction that is becoming more common as the U.S. population ages. Buffett held more of DaVita's shares than any other stock, with $4.9 billion invested in 41.2% of the company's outstanding shares.

Potential future acquisitions

What companies could Buffett buy in the future?

It's hard to predict which stocks Berkshire Hathaway might add since Buffett favors very long-term buy-and-hold positions. The Oracle of Omaha tends to favor companies that have been around for a very long time -- like a century, in the cases of American Express and Coca-Cola.

Having said that, there may be a few options in areas where Buffett has focused, such as finance, energy, and consumer staples:

• U.S. Bancorp (USB 0.32%) is one-quarter the size of Bank of America. It has $63 billion in market capitalization, making it the fifth-largest U.S. bank. Unlike its larger siblings in the banking industry, it was relatively unscathed by the 2007-09 financial crisis. It has a decent dividend yield of just under 5% and trades at only 10 times this year's expected earnings.
• Buffett values stable companies with predictable revenue, which means Enbridge (ENB -1.21%) might be a good fit if he decides to add to Berkshire's energy holdings. The Canadian pipeline and utility company reports that 98% of its earnings come from cost-of-service arrangements and long-term contracts, which means it's not affected by oil and gas prices.
• If Buffett is searching for an established, well-run company with a lengthy history, he might consider adding IBM (IBM -1.05%) shares to the Berkshire portfolio. True, Big Blue struggled over much of the last decade, selling off low-margin units for cash that it then spent on buybacks rather than business improvements. The company appears to be stabilizing, though, with adjusted earnings per share expected to rise 5% in 2024, share prices that trade at only 18 times forward earnings, and a high forward yield of 3.6%.

Related investing topics

The bottom line on companies Berkshire Hathaway owns

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Even so, a 4,961,342% return over a lifetime of investment isn't something to dismiss. The vast majority of investors could do worse than following Buffett's example of investing in stable, well-run, established companies that focus on core businesses.

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