- Warren Buffett’s annual letter was released Saturday.
- In it he listed Berkshire Hathaway’s 15 biggest investments by market value.
- Watch Berkshire Hathaway trade live.
Warren Buffett’s annual letter was released Saturday, and in it he listed Berkshire Hathaway’s 15 biggest investments by market value.
Buffet said he and Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger don’t view the names as a “collection of ticker symbols – a financial dalliance to be terminated because of downgrades by ’the Street,’ expected Federal Reserve actions, possible political developments, forecasts by economists or whatever else might be the subject du jour.”
Instead, they see them as “an assembly of companies that we partly own and that, on a weighted basis, are earning about 20% on the net tangible equity capital required to run their businesses” without employing excessive debt.
Buffett called those returns “remarkable” and said they are “truly mind-blowing when compared against the return that many investors have accepted on bonds over the last decade – 3% or less on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds, for example.”
Below are Berkshire's 15 largest holdings ranked from smallest to largest market value at the end of 2018 (Note, Kraft Heinz, of which Berkshire owns 325,442,152 shares, is not included, because the conglomerate is part of a control group and must account for the investment on the "equity" method. Berkshire's Kraft investment has a cost basis of $9.8 billion and market value of $14 billion.):
United Continental
Ticker: UAL
Shares: 21,938,642
% of company owned: 8.1%
Cost: $1.195 billion
Market value: $1.837 billion
USG Corporation
Ticker: USG
Shares: 43,387,980
% of company owned: 31%
Cost: $836 million
Market value: $1.851 billion
Charter Communications
Ticker: CHTR
Shares: 6,789,054
% of company owned: 3%
Cost: $1.21 billion
Market value: $1.935 billion
Southwest Airlines
Ticker: LUV
Shares: 47,890,
% of company owned: 8.7%
Cost: $2.005 billion
Market value: $2.226 billion
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: GS
Shares: 18,784,698
% of company owned: 4.9%
Cost: $2.38 billion
Market value: $3.138 billion
Delta Air Lines
Ticker: DAL
Shares: 65,535,000
% of company owned: 9.6%
Cost: $2.86 billion
Market value: $3.27 billion
Moody's Corporation
Ticker: MCO
Shares: 24,669,778
% of company owned: 12.9%
Cost: $248 million
Market value: $3.455 billion
Bank of New York Mellon
Ticker: BK
Shares: 84,488,751
% of company owned: 8.8%
Cost: $3.86 billion
Market value: $3.977 billion
JPMorgan Chase
Ticker: JPM
Shares: 50,661,394
% of company owned: 1.5%
Cost: $5.605 billion
Market value: $4.946 billion
US Bancorp
Ticker: USB
Shares: 146,346,999
% of company owned: 9.1%
Cost: $5.548 billion
Market value: $6.688 billion
American Express
Ticker: AXP
Shares: 151,610,700
% of company owned: 17.9%
Cost: $1.287 billion
Market value: $14.452 billion
Coca-Cola
Ticker: KO
Shares: 400,000,000
% of company owned: 9.4%
Cost: $1.299 billion
Market value: $18.94 billion
Wells Fargo
Ticker: WFC
Shares: 449,349,102
% of company owned: 9.8%
Cost: $10.639 billion
Market value: $22.423 billion
Bank of America
Ticker: BAC
Shares: 918,919,000
% of company owned: 9.5%
Cost: $11.650 billion
Market value: $22.642 billion
Apple
Ticker: AAPL
Shares: 255,300,329
% of company owned: 5.4%
Cost: $36.044 billion
Market value: $40.271 billion
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