10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy in 2026: Berkshire’s Highest-Conviction Holdings Ranked

Warren Buffett Just Filed His Report Card—and It’s Worth Reading

Warren Buffett turned 94 in 2025—and he is still beating Wall Street.

Since 1965, Berkshire Hathaway has delivered compound annual returns of roughly 19.8%, nearly double the S&P 500’s long-term average. That’s not a lucky streak. That’s a system refined over six decades of disciplined investing in world-class businesses.

And the best part? That system is hiding in plain sight.

Every quarter, Berkshire Hathaway files a 13F with the SEC—a public document that lists every publicly traded stock Buffett holds. It’s a free cheat sheet to one of the greatest investing minds in history.

But here’s the catch: not all of his holdings are created equal.

The best Warren Buffett stocks to buy in 2026 are the ones he holds with overwhelming conviction—positions so large and so long-held that they reveal exactly where Buffett puts his money when he truly believes in a business.

In this article, we rank all 10 of Berkshire’s top publicly traded holdings based on the Q1 2026 13F filing, counting down from his smallest major position to his single biggest bet. We’ll also break down why each stock made the cut—and what it signals about Buffett’s thinking in 2026.

Most Investors Copy Buffett Wrong

Here’s a common mistake: people hear “invest like Warren Buffett” and immediately assume it means buying cheap, boring value stocks that nobody wants.

That mental model is decades out of date.

Buffett has evolved. His largest holding is a technology company. He’s added a major AI-adjacent name to his portfolio. He’s maintained energy bets worth billions. And he continues to hold some of the most enduring consumer brands in American history.

Another mistake? People copy Berkshire’s portfolio by weight without understanding which positions Buffett is actively building versus simply holding for tax reasons. Understanding the difference matters—especially when you’re deciding where to put your own money.

What Berkshire’s Q1 2026 13F Actually Tells Us

Berkshire’s most recent quarterly filing paints a clear picture of Buffett’s highest-conviction bets heading into 2026. Based on the Q1 2026 13F data, the top 10 holdings break down like this—counting down from #10 to Buffett’s single biggest bet.

#10: Kraft Heinz (KHC)—Portfolio Weight: ~2.8%

Kraft Heinz is the most controversial position in Berkshire’s portfolio. Buffett has publicly admitted that Berkshire overpaid when it helped engineer the 2015 merger between Kraft and Heinz. The company later took a $15 billion write-down and cut its dividend.

So why does Berkshire still hold it?

Tax complexity. Selling a position this size would trigger a substantial capital gains bill. Buffett also continues to collect dividends and believes the brand portfolio—Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia Cream Cheese—retains intrinsic value despite management missteps.

For new investors, Kraft Heinz is a cautionary tale more than a buy signal. Buffett himself has called it an investment mistake. It’s worth watching, but not worth copying at this stage.

#9: Moody’s Corporation (MCO)—Portfolio Weight: ~4.1%

Moody’s is one of Buffett’s longest-held and most underrated positions. Berkshire first acquired shares in the early 2000s when Dun & Bradstreet spun off its financial data assets. Today, it remains a core holding.

Why does Buffett love it? Moody’s is one of only three major credit rating agencies in the world. Every company or government that wants to issue debt needs a credit rating—and that demand does not disappear in recessions. It actually tends to increase, as companies rush to refinance at lower rates.

This is a capital-light business with enormous pricing power and recurring revenue. It fits Buffett’s criteria almost perfectly. If you’re looking to add a financial services company with genuine competitive moat and steady earnings growth, Moody’s deserves serious attention.

#8: Chubb Limited (CB)—Portfolio Weight: ~4.2%

Chubb is one of Berkshire’s more recent major additions—first disclosed in mid-2023 after Buffett had been secretly building his position for over a year. That secrecy alone tells you something: when Buffett asks the SEC for confidential treatment, it means he’s serious.

Chubb is a property and casualty insurance giant known for disciplined underwriting. In an industry where competitors race to the bottom on pricing, Chubb maintains pricing integrity. That discipline produces consistent underwriting profits even when catastrophe losses spike elsewhere.

Insurance companies generate “float”—premiums collected before claims are paid out—which Buffett has long used as essentially free leverage to invest. Chubb fits perfectly into that framework.

#7: Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)—Portfolio Weight: ~5.9%

This one surprises people.

Warren Buffett built his reputation avoiding technology stocks. He famously passed on Microsoft and Google early on, saying he couldn’t predict how competition would evolve. But Buffett’s team—and increasingly Buffett himself—has moved past that reluctance.

Berkshire significantly increased its Alphabet exposure in recent quarters, making it one of the top 10 holdings heading into 2026. Why? Because Alphabet isn’t really a tech company in the way most people think of tech. It’s a near-monopoly in digital advertising (Google Search, YouTube), a growing cloud infrastructure business (Google Cloud), and now a serious player in AI through Gemini and DeepMind.

Buffett’s investment in Alphabet signals that he sees it the same way he sees Coca-Cola or American Express: as a business with an almost unassailable competitive position and decades of earnings growth ahead. If you’re interested in AI-adjacent investing, check out our deep-dive on 

If you’re interested in AI-adjacent investing, check out our deep-dive on the 10 best AI stocks to buy in 2026 for more ideas alongside Alphabet.

#6: Occidental Petroleum (OXY)—Portfolio Weight: ~6.5%

Occidental Petroleum is Buffett’s most active recent bet. Berkshire has been consistently buying OXY shares since 2022, accumulating what is now a stake of roughly 28% of the entire company—making Berkshire by far the largest shareholder outside index funds.

Buffett has also received regulatory approval to buy up to 50%, which many investors interpret as a signal that a full acquisition could eventually come.

Why OXY? Occidental operates large-scale, low-cost oil and gas assets in the United States, particularly in the Permian Basin. It also has a chemical subsidiary (OxyChem) that generates cash regardless of oil prices, and a growing carbon capture business that could become increasingly valuable under future regulatory environments.

This is an energy bet more than a simple oil price bet. Buffett believes in the long-term irreplaceable role of domestic energy production—and OXY is his clearest expression of that view.

#5: Chevron Corporation (CVX)—Portfolio Weight: ~6.6%

Chevron is the other side of Berkshire’s energy bet—and it’s a more conservative one. While Buffett trimmed Chevron substantially in Q1 2026, it remains a top-five holding by weight, reflecting the sheer size of the original position.

Chevron is one of the largest integrated energy companies in the world. It pays a reliable and growing dividend—a major attraction for income-focused investors. Its balance sheet is among the strongest in the energy sector, meaning it can maintain dividends and buybacks even during oil price downturns.

For investors looking to build a dividend-focused portfolio, Chevron pairs well with the names on our list of the 25 best high-yield dividend stocks in the USA.

Buffett’s trimming of Chevron suggests he is rebalancing energy exposure rather than abandoning the sector entirely. Combined with OXY, Berkshire still holds a 13%+ combined energy weighting—a very deliberate macro call.

#4: Bank of America (BAC)—Portfolio Weight: ~9.5%

Bank of America is Buffett’s largest financial services holding by weight, and it has been a consistent position for over a decade. Berkshire acquired its initial stake in 2011 through a $5 billion preferred share deal during the aftermath of the financial crisis—a classic Buffett move: invest when others are panicking.

Bank of America benefits from higher interest rates, which boost net interest income (the spread between what banks earn on loans and what they pay on deposits). It’s also the most digitally advanced of the major US commercial banks, with over 57 million active digital users.

Buffett has sold some BAC shares in recent quarters, but the position remains enormous. It reflects his long-held view that large, well-managed banks are excellent long-term investments—generating earnings through economic cycles while compounding capital through buybacks and dividends.

#3: Coca-Cola (KO)—Portfolio Weight: ~11.6%

Coca-Cola is the position most people think of when they think of Buffett. He first bought it in 1988 following the company’s post-Black Monday dip, when Wall Street was panicking and Buffett was quietly accumulating.

He has never sold a single share.

Today, Berkshire’s original investment of around $1.3 billion generates over $750 million in annual dividends alone—a cash-on-cost yield that most investors can only dream of. That’s the power of holding a great business and doing nothing.

Coca-Cola sells over 2 billion servings per day across 200 countries. It has one of the most recognized brand names in human history. It raises its dividend every single year—qualifying it as a Dividend King with over 60 consecutive years of dividend growth.

It may not double your money in three years. But it’s the definition of a business that quietly makes you wealthy over decades.

#2: American Express (AXP)—Portfolio Weight: ~17.4%

American Express is Buffett’s second-largest holding and one of his longest relationships. Berkshire first invested in the 1960s (yes, the 1960s) and built its current position in the early 1990s during the “Salad Oil Scandal” crisis that temporarily crushed AmEx’s stock price.

What Buffett saw then—and still sees now—is a business with a fundamentally different economic model than Visa or Mastercard. American Express is both the payment network and the card issuer. It charges higher merchant fees because its cardholders spend more. And it earns interchange, annual fees, and interest income simultaneously.

AmEx targets affluent, credit-worthy consumers who spend heavily and rarely default. That customer quality provides a natural hedge against economic downturns. Berkshire’s position has grown so large as a percentage of the portfolio because AmEx’s stock price has compounded dramatically—Buffett hasn’t had to add meaningfully in years.

This is a masterclass in letting a great business run.

#1: Apple Inc. (AAPL)—Portfolio Weight: ~22.0% (Largest Holding)

And here it is: Apple. Warren Buffett’s single largest publicly traded holding, representing over one-fifth of Berkshire’s entire equity portfolio.

Buffett started buying Apple in 2016—a move that surprised even longtime Berkshire followers, given his historical reluctance to invest in technology. But Buffett made an important distinction: he doesn’t see Apple as a tech company. He sees it as a consumer brand.

“I’d rather own 100% of Apple than 100% of any other company,” Buffett has said publicly.

Why? Because Apple has built an ecosystem that hundreds of millions of people actively choose not to leave. iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, iCloud, App Store—these products create switching costs that translate into pricing power, repeat purchases, and extraordinary customer loyalty. The Services segment (now over $100 billion in annual revenue) means Apple earns money even when customers aren’t buying new devices.

Berkshire has trimmed its Apple position over the past two years—likely for tax management reasons—but it remains by far the #1 holding. That speaks for itself.

For a deeper dive into Apple’s valuation and long-term outlook, read our full Apple stock analysis.”

10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy in 2026 at a Glance:

Rank	Stock	Portfolio Weight	Why Buffett Owns It
#1	Apple (AAPL)	~22.0%	Largest position; consumer loyalty, brand moat, massive buybacks
#2	American Express (AXP)	~17.4%	Held since 1991; premium consumer brand with pricing power
#3	Coca-Cola (KO)	~11.6%	Held since 1988; global brand with unmatched distribution
#4	Bank of America (BAC)	~9.5%	Major financial holding; benefits from economic growth
#5	Chevron (CVX)	~6.6%	Energy hedge; strong dividend, trimmed in Q1 2026
#6	Occidental Petroleum (OXY)	~6.5%	Active bet; Berkshire increased ownership over recent quarters
#7	Alphabet (GOOGL)	~5.9%	AI infrastructure play; search monopoly + cloud growth
#8	Chubb (CB)	~4.2%	Property & casualty insurer; disciplined underwriting
#9	Moody’s (MCO)	~4.1%	Held since early 2000s; near-monopoly on credit ratings
#10	Kraft Heinz (KHC)	~2.8%	Legacy position; held for dividends, not growth

Want More Income From Your Portfolio?

If dividend income is a priority alongside capital growth, explore our ranked list of the top 10 best dividend ETFs for a diversified income approach that complements individual stock picks like Coca-Cola and Chevron.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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The Bottom Line: Invest Like Buffett, Not Like the Crowd

Warren Buffett doesn’t try to predict the next quarter. He doesn’t chase trends, follow social media hot tips, or panic during market downturns. He finds businesses with durable competitive advantages, buys them at fair prices, and holds them for as long as the fundamental case remains intact.

His top 10 holdings in 2026 tell that story clearly: Apple’s consumer ecosystem. American Express’s premium cardholder network. Coca-Cola’s century-old global brand. Moody’s near-monopoly on credit ratings. Alphabet’s search and AI infrastructure.

These are not moonshot bets. They are the kinds of businesses that quietly make investors wealthy over decades—the ones that keep compounding while you sleep.

You don’t need to be a billionaire to invest like Buffett. You just need to start.