Berkshire Hathaway’s Concentrated Bets: Eight Stocks Now Account for Three-Quarters of Its $365 Billion Equity Book

Less than a year after Greg Abel succeeded Warren Buffett as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate’s public equity portfolio has been reshaped around a tightly focused group of holdings. Eight positions now represent roughly 75% of Berkshire’s $365.2 billion equity portfolio, according to a recent analysis, reflecting a continuation of the firm’s long-standing preference for concentrated ownership of large, durable businesses.

Abel’s Portfolio Restructuring

Since taking the top role, Abel has moved quickly to streamline the book. The company has trimmed or exited a number of smaller positions while elevating Alphabet into a top-five holding. Management has also singled out Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s as businesses Berkshire intends to hold through the coming decades.

The eight-stock core consists of Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Alphabet, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, and Mitsubishi. The approach echoes the philosophy Buffett built his reputation on: identifying exceptional enterprises and building sizable stakes rather than spreading capital across lower-conviction names.

Performance Against the Broader Market

Seven of the eight core holdings outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, with credit-card company American Express the sole laggard among the group. That divergence has drawn attention from analysts tracking whether Abel’s early portfolio decisions will sustain Berkshire’s historical record of matching or beating broad market benchmarks.

Among the technology names in the core group, Apple remains the largest position by market value. The iPhone maker is currently trading at $332.41, down 0.31% on the day, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.60 trillion. Alphabet, which operates across Google Services, Google Cloud, and its Other Bets segment, trades at $338.46, down 1.3% today, valuing the company at roughly $4.14 trillion. Both companies have been beneficiaries of investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and cloud computing, factors that likely informed Berkshire’s decision to increase its Alphabet stake.

What to watch

• Berkshire Hathaway’s next quarterly 13F filing, which will show whether Abel continues trimming smaller positions or adds to the core eight.
• Apple’s upcoming earnings report and any commentary on iPhone demand and services growth.
• Alphabet’s quarterly results, including Google Cloud performance and AI-related capital expenditure guidance.
• American Express earnings, given its status as the only core holding trailing the S&P 500 over the past year.
• Any further statements from Abel identifying additional long-term compounders for the portfolio.

Source: original release