Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) on December 31, 2025, after six decades leading the conglomerate he transformed from a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion empire. The “Oracle of Omaha” left his successor, Greg Abel, with a very concentrated portfolio: 65% of Berkshire’s $381 billion in assets is invested in just six stocks. Abel, who has served as vice chair overseeing non-insurance operations, officially took over as CEO on January 1, 2026. At 95 years old, Buffett is not fully retiring. He will remain as board chair and plans to continue coming to the Omaha headquarters as much as before. However, he has stated he will be “going quiet” and leaving all decision-making to Abel.
Long-time investors and Buffett mavens are familiar with this quote: “His favorite holding for an S&P 500 stock is forever.” So, it is not surprising to report that for all the success and stature Berkshire Hathaway has in the investment world, six top companies make up 65% of the fund’s total holdings. While Buffett has departed, there is a good chance that the six stocks at the core of Berkshire Hathaway will remain in the portfolio indefinitely. At 24/7 Wall Street, we believe four of the stocks are good growth and income investments that can be safely acquired now and held in investment portfolios forever. They are ideal companies for passive-income investors seeking total return potential, and all are rated Buy by top Wall Street firms we cover.
Why do we cover Berkshire Hathaway stocks?
Few investors have the results and reputation that Buffett has garnered over the past 60 years. Though he has stepped away from the CEO role, his impact and investment guidelines are likely to remain in place long after he is gone. While investing has evolved since Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, buying good companies with products and services recognized worldwide and paying dividends will always remain a timeless approach and never go out of style.
American Express
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation specializing in payment cards. The stock performed strongly in 2025, and it comes with a dividend yield of 0.86%.
American Express is a globally integrated payments company that deals with card-issuing, merchant-acquiring, and card network businesses. It offers products and services to customers worldwide, including consumers, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large corporations.
Its segments include:
- U.S. Consumer Services, which offers travel and lifestyle services, as well as banking and non-card financing products.
- Commercial Services offers payment, expense management, banking, and non-card financing products.
- International Card Services provides services to international customers, including travel and lifestyle services, and manages certain international joint ventures and its loyalty coalition business.
- Global Merchant and Network Services operates a payments network that processes and settles card transactions, acquires merchants, and provides multichannel marketing programs, capabilities, services, and data analytics.
Berkshire Hathaway owns 151,610,700 shares, or 22% of American Express’s float. It is 18.2% of the portfolio.
Royal Bank of Canada has an Outperform rating and a $425 target price.
Bank of America
While Buffett has trimmed his position over the past two years, this quality financial giant remains an exceptional long-term holding with a solid 2.05% dividend yield. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is a bank holding company and financial holding company that reported impressive fourth-quarter results. Berkshire Hathaway owns 568,070,012 shares, which is 9.9% of the portfolio and 7.8% of the float.
Its segments include:
- Consumer Banking, which offers a range of credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses.
- Global Wealth & Investment Management comprises two businesses. Merrill Wealth Management offers tailored solutions to meet clients’ needs through a comprehensive suite of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products. Bank of America Private Bank provides comprehensive wealth management solutions.
- Global Banking offers a range of lending-related products and services, including integrated working capital management and treasury solutions, as well as underwriting and advisory services.
- Global Markets offers sales and trading services, as well as research services, to institutional clients across fixed income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity markets.
Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating with a $65 target price.
Chevron
This American multinational energy company is primarily focused on oil and gas. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector. It pays a substantial 4.05% dividend, which was raised by 5% earlier this year. Berkshire Hathaway owns 122,064,792 shares, which equals 6.1% of the float and 5.8% of the portfolio.
Chevron operates integrated energy and chemicals businesses worldwide through two segments. The Upstream segment is involved in the following:
- Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas
- Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas
- Transportation of crude oil through pipelines, and transportation, storage
- Marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant
The Downstream segment engages in:
- Refining crude oil into petroleum products
- Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants
- Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels
- Transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car
- Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives
It also involves cash management, debt financing, insurance operations, real estate, and technology businesses.
Bank of America has a Buy rating with a $180 target price.
Coca-Cola
This American multinational corporation, founded in 1892, remains a top long-time holding of Buffett. He owns 400 million shares of Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), which is 9.3% of the float and 9% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. The stock increased by a huge 17.1% in 2025 and comes with a dependable 2.80% dividend.
Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company, offering consumers more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, the company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including:
- Diet Coke
- Coca-Cola Light
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
- Caffeine-free Diet Coke
- Cherry Coke
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Zero Orange
- Fanta Zero Sugar
- Fanta Apple
- Sprite
- Sprite Zero Sugar
- Simply Orange
- Simply Apple
- Simply Grapefruit
- Fresca
- Schweppes
- Dasani
- Fuze Tea
- Glacéau Smartwater
- Glacéau Vitaminwater
- Gold Peak
- Ice Dew
- Powerade
- Topo Chico
- Minute Maid
Globally, it is the number one provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, juices, and juice drinks. Through the world’s most extensive beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of over 1.9 billion servings per day.
Note that the company also owns 16% of Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), which continues to deliver strong financial results.
Bank of America has a Buy rating and a target price of $80.
Consumer Staples Are Exploding Higher in 2026: Buy 5 High-Yielding Dividend Kings Now