Warren Buffett served as chief executive officer of the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) holding company from 1965 to 2025. He turned it into a $1 trillion conglomerate with numerous wholly owned subsidiaries, a $350 billion stock portfolio, and over $300 billion in cash. That's a tough act to follow for Buffett's chosen successor, Greg Abel, who took the reins at the beginning of 2026.
But during the second quarter, ended June 30, he plowed $4.2 billion into Buffett's all-time favorite stock, which should be a very popular move with Berkshire's shareholders. This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia.
For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » Buffett acquired a controlling stake in Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, when it was a struggling textiles company. He quickly realized its core business wasn't viable, so he converted it into a holding vehicle for his various investments.
Berkshire has acquired stakes in many different companies since then, targeting those with steady growth, reliable profits, and strong management teams. But above all else, Buffett often favored companies that consistently returned money to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks, because they compounded Berkshire's returns much faster. Perhaps one of the best examples is Coca-Cola; Buffett acquired 400 million shares in the beverage giant for $1.3 billion between 1988 and 1994, and Berkshire still holds all of them today.
The shares are now worth $34 billion and will pay Berkshire $848 million in dividends during 2026 alone. American Express is another dividend powerhouse Berkshire has owned for decades. Buffett invested a whopping $38 billion in the iPhone maker between 2016 and 2023, and heading into 2024, the position was worth over $170 billion and accounted for half the value of the conglomerate's entire stock portfolio.
Berkshire wound up selling around 75% of its Apple stake by the end of 2025 to cash in some of its gains and reduce concentration risk. Occasionally, Buffett liked to acquire entire companies that Berkshire would manage privately. He bought numerous insurance companies, logistics companies, utilities, and even consumer brands, and they continue to provide a substantial amount of cash flow that funds Berkshire's other investments.
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