Key takeaways:
- Warren Buffett has pioneered the concept of value investing. The main tenets of his philosophy are long-term investing and putting emphasis on the quality of the business and management. As of June 2026, his fortune was estimated at $150 billion.
- Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, and while he still serves as chairman, the company’s stock portfolio is now being managed by others. Buffett used to oversee Berkshire’s biggest holdings himself, but that is no longer the case. Greg Abel is now clearly in charge.
- As of the end of Q1 2026 Berkshire Hathaway has 29 names on its list of stock holdings. Apple Inc (AAPL), American Express Co (AXP), Bank of America Corp (BAC), and Coca-Cola Co (KO) are the four companies that make up more than half of the investment portfolio’s total value.
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s record cash position has been achieved under Buffett’s leadership. Greg Abel maintained that trend. By the end of Q1 2026, the company had surpassed $397.4 billion in cash on hand.
This article will focus on the composition and dynamics of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio. We will also discuss the main principles of long-term investing that the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ adheres to.
Table of Contents
Understanding Warren Buffett’s Investment Philosophy
The essence of value investing is to find a company whose intrinsic value is greater than the current market value of its stocks. B. added the long-term horizon concept to Graham’s margin of safety principle. One of his famous quotes is that investors should not consider owning a stock for 10 minutes unless they are willing to own it for 10 years.
The key point of W. Buffett’s investment philosophy is to buy a company, not just stocks. He is more inclined to the profit that the business can generate than to the increase in security prices.
The ‘Oracle of Omaha’ concentrates on metrics like return on equity, profitability margin dynamics, and other factors when selecting companies. Maintaining leadership positions over decades is largely determined by the presence of significant economic moats and competitive advantages.
Key Principles of Buffett’s Approach
A person interested in long-term investing can adopt the following W. Buffett’s principles:
- Stay within your circle of competence, i.e., choose only understandable businesses.
- Maintain a margin of safety, i.e., buy companies significantly below their intrinsic value.
- Examine economic moats. The Oracle of Omaha is only willing to invest in high-quality businesses that possess strong competitive advantages.
Buffett’s success is a result of his patience. He recommends waiting for market corrections before buying stocks, not rushing into it. He believes that it’s more important to avoid expecting immediate profits.
Warren Buffett’s Current Portfolio Composition
Warren Buffett stock portfolio (Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio) has a value of more than $263 billion. When examining the largest positions, a noticeable uneven sector allocation becomes evident.
In Berkshire Hathaway holdings, there is a high stock concentration in financial institutions, manufacturers of essential consumer goods, and the IT sector. The portfolio breakdown shows that the sectors mentioned above make up over 65% of the total value.
The list of public companies in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio is provided in the table below.
| Company (Ticker) | Shares held | Holding value | Percent of portfolio |
| Apple (AAPL) | 227,917,808 | $57,843,260,493 | 21.99% |
| American Express (AXP) | 151,610,700 | $45,859,204,536 | 17.43% |
| Coca-Cola (KO) | 400,000,000 | $30,420,000,000 | 11.56% |
| Bank of America (BAC) | 513,624,165 | $25,039,178,044 | 9.52% |
| Chevron (CVX) | 84,375,856 | $17,457,364,606 | 6.64% |
| Occidental Petroleum (OXY) | 264,941,431 | $17,221,193,015 | 6.55% |
| Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) | 54,249,798 | $15,600,071,913 | 5.93% |
| Chubb (CB) | 34,249,183 | $11,162,836,215 | 4.24% |
| Moodys (MCO) | 24,669,778 | $10,762,190,653 | 4.09% |
| Kraft Heinz (KHC) | 325,634,818 | $7,323,527,057 | 2.78% |
| Davita Inc (DVA) | 30,100,585 | $4,626,158 | 1.80% |
| Kroger (KR) | 50,000,000 | $3,618,000,000 | 1.38% |
| Sirius XM (SIRI) | 124,807,117 | $2,880,548,260 | 1.09% |
| Delta Air Lines (DAL) | 39,809,456 | $2,646,532,635 | 1.01% |
| VeriSign (VRSN) | 8,989,880 | $2,232,726,597 | 0.85% |
| Capital One Financial (COF) | 7,150,000 | $1,304,374,500 | 0.50% |
| The New York Times Co. (NYT) | 15,146,535 | $1,268,219,376 | 0.48% |
| Ally Financial (ALLY) | 29,000,000 | $1,137,670,000 | 0.43% |
| Alphabet Class C (GOOG) | 3,585,215 | $1,028,454,775 | 0.39% |
| Liberty Live (LLYVA) | 10,587,143 | $996,356,028 | 0.38% |
| Lennar Class A (LEN) | 10,099,642 | $877,052,911 | 0.33% |
| Nucor (NUE) | 3,907,075 | $660,686,383 | 0.25% |
| Liberty Live (LLYVA) | 4,986,588 | $456,970,925 | 0.17% |
| Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) | 5,664,793 | $412,113,691 | 0.16% |
| Constellation Brands (STZ) | 632,890 | $94,933,500 | 0.04% |
| NVR (NVR) | 11,112 | $73,226,191 | 0.03% |
| Macy’s (M) | 3,038,355 | $54,963,842 | 0.02% |
| Lennar Class B (LEN.B) | 237,703 | $19,995,576 | 0.01% |
| Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) | 433,558 | $17,892,939 | 0.01% |
Price, share totals and other data as of March 31, 2026. The number of shares is derived from the Berkshire Hathaway’s SEC Form 13F.
Top Holdings in Buffett’s Portfolio
The largest positions in Warren Buffett portfolio:
- Apple. For a long time, the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ avoided the technology sector. In 2016, he changed his mind. At its peak, AAPL concentration reached 40%. But by 2024, some shares had been sold.
- American Express. The first purchase occurred in 1964. The industry is still led by the company today.
- Coca-Cola. These are the most well-known dividend stocks in Warren Buffett stock portfolio. Their acquisition took place in 1984. The calculation indicates that the current annual dividend yield of the position exceeds 50% of the originally invested amount.
- Bank of America. In 2011, the portfolio included the stock. Berkshire is currently the biggest institutional investor in the bank.
- Chevron. The company ranks fifth among the core holdings. The first purchase was made in 2020.
Recent Portfolio Changes and New Positions
The portfolio adjustments of Berkshire are attracting investors’ attention. Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines is one of the recent buys that should be noted. This new position among stock holdings appeared in the first quarter of 2026. This indicates a change in the company’s strategy. Buffett usually avoided airline stocks. The last time Berkshire opened a position like this was shortly before COVID-19. But the shares bought then were soon sold at a loss.
Macy’s (M) and Lennar (LEN) are worth mentioning, as Berkshire Hathaway has been buying their shares over the past quarter. Also in the first quarter of 2026, the company acquired additional shares of The New York Times Co. and Google’s Alphabet.
As for recent sales, in the first quarter of 2026 Berkshire completely closed out or significantly reduced its position in 22 companies. For example, its stakes in Bank of America (BAC), Chevron (CVX), and DaVita (DVA) declined. Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA), along with several others, were sold entirely.
Sector Analysis of Buffett’s Investments
Berkshire Hathaway portfolio is made up mainly of financial sector holdings, which account for 35% as of Q1 2026. Key companies include American Express, Bank of America, Moody’s Corp, Chubb Limited, and Capital One Financial.
Technology companies make up nearly 22%. The main one is Apple. The remaining share is less than 1%, represented by the domain registration service Verisign Inc.
Main consumer staples account for 17% of W. Buffett’s assets, with the largest shares held in Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz.
Energy stocks make up more than 12% of the portfolio, with Chevron Corp. and Occidental Petroleum being the main players. The healthcare sector is represented by one company, DaVita Inc., and accounts for less than 2%.
Buffett’s disregard for popular portfolio diversification recommendations is evident by this individual company and sector concentration. However, it is important to remember that publicly traded stocks make up less than half of his holding company’s assets. Berkshire Hathaway Energy is one example of its ownership that produces, transmits, stores, distributes, and supplies energy to over 5 million consumers.
Buffett’s Investment Performance and Track Record
The ‘Omaha Oracle’ has achieved impressive long-term performance. Berkshire Hathaway stock experienced a compound annual growth rate of 19.9% from 1965 to 2025. For the S&P 500 index, there is a comparable figure of 10.4%.
The company’s history has seen unsuccessful years. However, 39 out of 58 years resulted in market outperformance. Investment returns reached their peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Experts have noticed a decrease in Warren Buffett’s investment returns over the past few years. This was partly due to setbacks in 2020.
How Buffett’s Portfolio Has Evolved Over Time
CEO Berkshire has never followed a single approach over the years. The first significant changing strategy was a move from Benjamin Graham’s ideas. This change was influenced by Charlie Munger.
The investment evolution can be clearly seen through portfolio shifts, which demonstrate the adaptation skills of the ‘Omaha Oracle’. The most notable example is the technology investments companies, which have been ignoring this sector for years. In 2020, he disposed of all airline stocks, stating that the world had changed.
Lessons Individual Investors Can Learn from Buffett’s Portfolio
Warren Buffett’s strategy offers several investor lessons:
- The efficiency of value investing principles.
- The effectiveness of a long-term approach and patience.
- The importance of sound risk management and diversification across sectors with long-term potential.
However, there are some aspects that make it difficult to replicate Buffett’s strategy with a small portfolio. An ordinary investor faces restricted access to borrowed funds, a narrower range of expertise, and other limitations.
Common Misconceptions About Buffett’s Investment Strategy
There are many misunderstandings associated with such a legendary figure. One of the most popular ones often leads investors into value traps. The ‘Omaha Oracle’ follows a strategy of proper market timing. He is in search of the right time to buy quality companies, not cheap ones.
The second most common investment myth is technology avoidance. Instead of blaming the investment for being bad, the CEO blamed their lack of understanding of the industry.
Conclusion: The Future of Buffett’s Portfolio
Todd Combs and Ted Weschler were two of the former potential successors to Warren Buffett’s position. However, the ‘Omaha Oracle’ has his own approach to succession planning. Greg Abel initiated the post-Buffett era in December 2025.
Abel shares the same philosophy as a long-time leader of Berkshire. Therefore, there are good reasons to believe that the company’s future performance and investment outlook will satisfy its shareholders.
FAQ
What is in the Warren Buffett portfolio?
This was how they called Berkshire Hathaway’s public portfolio when Buffett held the position of the company’s CEO.
What stocks does Warren Buffett currently hold?
His companies own 29 publicly traded stocks. The largest holdings are Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and American Express.
What is the 70/30 rule Buffett?
Under this investment rule, stocks receive 70% of the available finance, while bonds, money market funds, or cash receive 30%.
What is Warren Buffett most invested in?
The financial sector accounts for more than a third of the public securities portfolio. The technology sector accounts for roughly a quarter.
Article Sources
Calandro, J. (2021). “The Berkshire Hathaway Conglomerate Discount: An Analysis of Intrinsic Value.” Journal of Investing, 30(3), 81-99.
Hughes, J., Liu, J., & Zhang, M. (2010). “Valuation and Accounting for Inflation and Foreign Exchange.” Journal of Accounting Research, 42(4), 731-754.
