Warren Buffett, who served as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway from 1965 to 2025, once said his favorite holding period was “forever.”
Now, that doesn’t mean the legendary investor held on to every stock he ever bought. Just like investors of all stripes, he was apt to cash out of investments that were either overvalued or where the bull case was shifting in the wrong direction.
However, among the core Berkshire Hathaway portfolio, there are a few stocks Buffett bought but never sold. Interestingly enough, they are also currently the three largest positions in the portfolio.
With each one representing ownership in businesses with strong balance sheets, deep economic moats, and long track records of earnings and/or dividend growth, these are the Warren Buffett investments to buy and hold forever: Apple (AAPL +1.02%), American Express (AXP +0.19%), and Coca-Cola (KO 0.45%).
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Apple remains the tech stock best meeting Buffett’s criteria
Berkshire Hathaway first invested in tech giant Apple in 2016. Berkshire has periodically sold some of its position, but by and large it has held on to this holding.
Today’s Change
(1.02%) $3.05
Current Price
$302.02
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$4.4T
Day’s Range
$298.07 – $302.79
52wk Range
$193.46 – $303.20
Volume
308
Avg Vol
44M
Gross Margin
47.86%
Dividend Yield
0.35%
Per the latest 13-F disclosure filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire Hathaway’s 1.6% stake in Apple is the portfolio’s largest and most valuable single holding. Making up almost 21% of the overall portfolio, the position is worth about $67.9 billion .
When Berkshire first invested in Apple, it was a unique moment, because Buffett had long shunned technology stocks. Since then, Berkshire Hathaway has invested in many major tech companies, including Google parent Alphabet, which has since become a top 10 Berkshire Hathaway holding.
However, among the “Magnificent Seven” stocks that are also Warren Buffett stocks, Apple may be the one that best fits his investing criteria. Apple shares many key features of a long-term Buffett holding, and not just because of the company’s deep economic moat. There’s also Apple’s loyal customer base, plus its extensive use of stock buybacks, which Buffett prefers to dividends.
American Express has a deep, varied moat
Berkshire Hathaway may have dumped its positions in Visa and Mastercard, but it hasn’t touched its decades-old position in American Express.
Today’s Change
(0.19%) $0.60
Current Price
$309.91
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$211B
Day’s Range
$303.06 – $310.80
52wk Range
$281.46 – $387.49
Volume
2
Avg Vol
3.7M
Gross Margin
60.19%
Dividend Yield
1.10%
Similar to American Express, Visa, and Mastercard, all payment network operators benefit greatly from the digitalization of payments growth trend. However, while Visa and Mastercard do have a deep economic moat by virtue of their position in the payment network oligopoly, these names lack certain factors that are much more prevalent in American Express.
First, there’s valuation. Due to continued high rates of earnings growth, investors have bid up Mastercard and Visa to forward multiples in the mid-20s. American Express shares trade at a more reasonable 18 times forward earnings. This comes despite sell-side analysts also expecting Amex to report double-digit percentage earnings growth in the years ahead.
Second, unlike the pressure Visa and Mastercard face from vendors who object to their swipe fees, merchants participating in Amex’s network are willing to pay even higher fees, in exchange for access to the company’s affluent customer base.
Coca-Cola: Berkshire’s Dividend King
Coca-Cola has been a Buffett stock for nearly 40 years. Berkshire slowly accumulated its position between 1988 and 1994, investing a total of $1.3 billion. Berkshire has never sold a single share, and today its 9.3% stake is worth about $32.8 billion.
Today’s Change
(-0.45%) $-0.37
Current Price
$81.55
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$351B
Day’s Range
$81.52 – $82.40
52wk Range
$65.35 – $82.66
Volume
16K
Avg Vol
15M
Gross Margin
61.82%
Dividend Yield
2.53%
Just as impressive as the tens of billions in gains from this position is the high level of dividend income this investment has generated for Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire reaps about $816 million in Coca-Cola dividends, almost a 63% yield on cost.
In total, Berkshire has generated about nine times its original investment in just dividends alone. This high level of dividend income is a testament to Coca-Cola’s status as one of the Dividend Kings, or stocks with more than 50 consecutive years of dividend increases.
With its economic moat and brand status driving steady revenue and earnings growth, Coca-Cola is likely to continue increasing its dividend in the years ahead. During the past decade, Coca-Cola’s dividend increases have averaged about 4.5% annually. The shares have a forward yield of just 2.6%, but as seen with Berkshire’s investment, dividend income can snowball over time thanks to decades of consistent payout growth.
