Buffett Timeline
Decade by decade, the best-known stocks Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway bought — roughly when, why, and where each stands today.
Educational financial history — not investment advice. Position sizes are approximate and described in plain terms.
- Around 1964American ExpressAXPStill held
One of Berkshire's longest-running and most significant holdings
American Express
Warren Buffett first bought into American Express in the mid-1960s, before Berkshire Hathaway was his main investment vehicle, after the company's shares fell sharply during the so-called salad oil scandal. The market was worried about near-term financial damage and reputational harm, but Buffett focused on whether the core franchise was still intact.
What stood out to him was that customers and merchants continued to trust and use American Express's charge cards and travel-related services. That fit a pattern seen throughout Buffett's career: when a strong brand or network suffers a temporary shock, he has often asked whether the business's competitive position is actually broken or merely under pressure.
Over time, American Express became a classic Buffett-style holding: a well-known consumer-financial brand with a durable moat, strong customer loyalty, and the ability to earn attractive returns over long periods. Berkshire has held the stake for decades, and it has remained one of the company's better-known long-term equity investments, even as its relative size within the portfolio has changed over time.
Lesson: A temporary scandal or market panic can create opportunity if a business's underlying customer trust and competitive advantage remain intact.
- In 1973The Washington Post CompanyExited
a major long-term Berkshire investment
In 1973, Berkshire Hathaway bought a significant stake in The Washington Post Company during a difficult period for the broader stock market and for media shares. Buffett later described the company as selling for far less than what he believed its underlying businesses were worth, even though it owned unusually strong media assets, including the flagship newspaper and broadcast properties.
The investment became one of the classic examples of Buffett's value-investing approach: buying a high-quality business with a strong competitive position when market pessimism had pushed the stock well below his estimate of intrinsic value. It also reflected his preference, when the opportunity appeared, to back understandable businesses with durable local or regional influence.
The position remained associated with Berkshire for decades and became one of Buffett's best-known early successes. Over time, corporate changes and later transactions reshaped the original investment, and Berkshire ultimately no longer holds the position in its original form. In Buffett history, the Washington Post stake is often cited as a textbook case of patience, conviction, and buying quality at a large discount to estimated value.
Lesson: A core value-investing lesson is that exceptional businesses can become outstanding investments when bought with patience during periods of deep market mispricing.
- Mid-1970s, then fully acquired in 1996GEICOStill held
A long-running, ultimately foundational insurance position
GEICO
Warren Buffett had studied GEICO as a young investor in the early days of his career, and Berkshire later became involved again when the insurer ran into serious trouble in the mid-1970s. Berkshire bought a significant stock stake during that stressful period, when GEICO was restructuring but still had a well-known low-cost direct-to-consumer model.
That investment fit Buffett's approach: backing a business he understood, with a durable cost advantage, at a time when market fear was high. Over time, GEICO recovered and became one of Berkshire's most important insurance interests. Its economics were especially attractive to Buffett because insurance can provide investable "float" when underwriting is disciplined.
Berkshire increased its ownership over the years and completed a full acquisition of GEICO in 1996. Since then, GEICO has been a core operating business inside Berkshire rather than a publicly traded portfolio holding. The relationship is often cited as a classic example of Buffett combining deep prior knowledge, patience, and conviction when a strong business faces temporary distress.
Lesson: A durable competitive advantage can matter most when a temporarily troubled business is available at a price shaped by fear rather than long-term economics.
- Starting in 1988Coca-ColaKOStill held
Became one of Berkshire's largest and most famous holdings
Coca-Cola
Berkshire Hathaway began building its Coca-Cola position in 1988, shortly after the 1987 market crash. The investment quickly became a landmark example of Warren Buffett's preference for simple businesses with strong consumer loyalty, global reach, and pricing power. Coca-Cola fit that mold well: it sold a widely recognized product, generated substantial cash, and benefited from a powerful distribution system and brand that was hard for competitors to match.
The stake came to symbolize Buffett's shift toward buying outstanding businesses at sensible prices rather than focusing only on statistically cheap stocks. It also reflected a core Berkshire theme: owning companies whose economics could remain attractive for decades with relatively little need to predict rapid technological change.
Coca-Cola has remained a major Berkshire holding for many years. While Berkshire's portfolio has evolved and newer positions have at times overshadowed it in size, Coca-Cola is still widely viewed as one of the signature long-term investments in Buffett's record.
Lesson: A durable brand with global scale and staying power can illustrate how long-term compounding often comes from business quality as much as purchase price.
- Around 1989Gillette (later Procter & Gamble)PGExited
A major long-term consumer brands investment
Gillette: a classic consumer-moat investment
Around 1989, Berkshire Hathaway made a large investment in Gillette, the razor and personal-care company. Buffett has often pointed to Gillette as the kind of business he likes: a simple product people buy repeatedly, a strong global brand, and pricing power supported by habit and shelf presence. It fit Berkshire’s preference for understandable businesses with durable competitive advantages rather than fast-changing industries.
Over time, the stake became one of Berkshire’s better-known consumer holdings. When Procter & Gamble acquired Gillette in the mid-2000s, Berkshire’s Gillette shares converted into a large Procter & Gamble position. That kept the original thesis largely intact: ownership in a portfolio of everyday consumer brands with broad distribution and recurring demand.
In later years, Berkshire reduced the Procter & Gamble stake and eventually no longer reported it as a public-equity holding. The Gillette investment is still widely remembered as a textbook Buffett move: buying a high-quality consumer franchise and letting time, brand strength, and business economics do much of the work.
Lesson: A durable consumer brand with repeat purchases and pricing power can be valuable to long-term investors when bought with a business-owner mindset.
- Around 1989-1990Wells FargoWFCExited
For many years, one of Berkshire's major bank holdings
Wells Fargo in Berkshire's portfolio
Berkshire Hathaway began building its Wells Fargo stake around 1989-1990, during a period when bank stocks were under pressure and investor sentiment toward the industry was weak. Buffett was attracted to banks that appeared conservatively run, had strong deposit franchises, and could earn solid returns over long periods. Wells Fargo fit that pattern and became a well-known example of Berkshire buying into a durable business when the market was worried.
For many years, the investment was characteristic of Buffett's approach: back a business with a strong competitive position, capable management, and economics that could compound over time, then hold patiently through market cycles. Wells Fargo remained one of Berkshire's most important financial holdings for decades.
That view changed after Wells Fargo's sales-practices scandal and the broader governance and regulatory problems that followed. Berkshire gradually reduced the position over time and had largely exited by the early 2020s. The arc of the investment is a useful reminder that even long-held Buffett positions can be reassessed when confidence in management, culture, or long-term economics is damaged.
Lesson: A strong franchise can justify long-term patience, but changes in management quality and business culture can also justify eventually walking away.
- Around 2003PetroChinaPTRExited
a significant but not core position
PetroChina
Berkshire Hathaway built its PetroChina position in the early 2000s, when the Chinese oil producer appeared to trade at a large discount to what Warren Buffett believed the underlying business was worth. Buffett later said the decision was driven by straightforward valuation work: in broad terms, Berkshire saw a profitable, strategically important energy company selling for much less than a conservative estimate of intrinsic value.
The investment was characteristic of Buffett’s approach at the time because it was less about making a macro bet on China or oil prices and more about buying a understandable business at a clear discount. It also showed Berkshire’s willingness to invest outside the U.S. when the numbers were compelling.
By 2007, Berkshire had sold the stake after the share price had risen substantially and Buffett concluded that the gap between price and value had narrowed. The position is often remembered as a relatively quick, highly successful example of value investing: buy when a business is meaningfully underpriced, and exit when that mispricing appears to be corrected.
Lesson: A core value-investing lesson is to focus on the gap between price and business value, rather than on headlines, geography, or short-term market narratives.
- Around 2008BYD1211.HKTrimmed
A significant long-term international holding
BYD
Berkshire Hathaway's investment in BYD was made around 2008, during a period when the company was better known for batteries and emerging auto ambitions than for being a global electric-vehicle leader. The idea is widely associated with Charlie Munger and Li Lu, who saw unusual technical capability, ambitious management, and a long runway as China electrified transport.
For Berkshire, the position stood out as a somewhat less typical bet: it was outside the usual U.S.-centric consumer and insurance orbit, but it still fit familiar principles. BYD combined a founder-led culture, heavy operational know-how, and the possibility of durable advantages from manufacturing scale and battery expertise. Over time, the stake became one of Berkshire's most successful international investments as BYD grew into a major EV and battery company.
In the 2020s, Berkshire began reducing the position in stages. Even after those sales, the investment remains a notable example of Berkshire backing a business with strong capabilities early and then benefiting from a very long holding period.
Lesson: A long-term value approach can include unconventional opportunities when a business has exceptional capabilities, trusted leadership, and a large runway for growth.
- 2009-2010Burlington Northern Santa FeStill held
a major full-company acquisition that became one of Berkshire's most important operating businesses
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
In 2009, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy the rest of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, completing the transaction in 2010 and turning the railroad into a wholly owned subsidiary rather than a stock-market holding. Warren Buffett described the deal as a long-term wager on the economic future of the United States: railroads move essential goods, require hard-to-replicate infrastructure, and can remain relevant across decades.
The purchase fit several Berkshire themes. BNSF was a large, understandable business with durable competitive advantages, significant barriers to entry, and a central role in the real economy. It also produced substantial cash flow from an asset-heavy network that would be extremely difficult to recreate today. While railroads are capital-intensive and cyclical, Buffett appeared comfortable owning a business whose long-term utility outweighed near-term swings.
Today, BNSF remains one of Berkshire's most important operating companies. Because it was acquired outright, it no longer appears as a public stock position, but it is still a significant part of Berkshire's earnings power and a notable example of Buffett using Berkshire's scale to buy an entire high-quality business.
Lesson: A strong long-term investment case can come from owning essential infrastructure with durable advantages, even when the business is capital-intensive and economically sensitive.
- Around 2011Bank of AmericaBACTrimmed
a major Berkshire financial holding
Bank of America
Berkshire’s Bank of America position began in 2011, when Warren Buffett negotiated a preferred-stock investment with warrants during a period of market stress and skepticism around large U.S. banks. The deal fit a pattern Berkshire has used at times of dislocation: providing capital to a well-known company on favorable terms when confidence is weak.
What made the investment characteristic of Buffett’s approach was the mix of downside protection and long-term upside. The preferred stock offered income, while the warrants gave Berkshire a path to benefit if Bank of America’s earnings power and franchise recovered. In 2017, Berkshire exercised those warrants and converted the position into a very large common-stock holding, which became one of Berkshire’s biggest equity stakes.
The investment reflected Buffett’s long-running interest in strong financial franchises with large customer bases, low-cost funding, and durable competitive positions. In more recent years, Berkshire has reduced the stake from its peak, but Bank of America has remained an important holding overall.
Lesson: A recurring Buffett lesson is that market stress can create chances to back durable businesses on terms that balance protection with long-term upside.
- Around 2011IBMIBMExited
a major Berkshire position
IBM
Berkshire Hathaway began building its IBM stake around 2011, making it one of the firm’s larger public-equity positions at the time. The investment stood out because Buffett had long avoided most technology companies, saying they were harder to predict. IBM appealed partly because it looked less like a fast-changing consumer tech story and more like a large, established business with deep customer relationships, recurring enterprise spending, strong cash generation, and significant share repurchases.
The position was characteristic of Buffett’s approach in one sense: Berkshire believed it understood the company’s competitive position, customer stickiness, and ability to return capital over time. But it also became a notable example of the limits of that framework when industry change moves faster than expected. As cloud computing and competitive pressures reshaped the business, Berkshire reassessed its view and later sold down the stake, with Buffett eventually describing the investment as a mistake.
Today, Berkshire is no longer invested in IBM, and the episode is often cited as a reminder that even disciplined long-term investors can misjudge durability in sectors facing rapid change.
Lesson: A strong investing process still requires humility, especially when a company’s competitive position may be vulnerable to faster technological change than expected.
- Starting in 2016AppleAAPLTrimmed
Berkshire's largest single stock holding
Apple
Berkshire Hathaway began building its Apple position in 2016, and over the following years it grew into the company's largest public-stock holding. The investment was widely seen as unusual only on the surface: while Apple is a technology company, Buffett and his investment managers described it more like a powerful consumer franchise, anchored by a deeply loyal customer base, a strong brand, and an ecosystem that encourages repeat purchases and services revenue.
The position fit several classic Berkshire themes: a business with a durable competitive advantage, significant cash generation, shareholder-friendly capital returns, and management that Buffett praised. Apple also showed how Buffett's approach evolved over time—less focused on industry labels and more on the economic strength of the business and the quality of the customer relationship.
In more recent years, Berkshire has reduced the stake from its peak, but Apple has remained a major holding and an important part of Berkshire's equity portfolio. The investment is often cited as a modern example of Buffett backing a dominant franchise he believed could keep compounding over a long period.
Lesson: A core Buffett lesson is to look past a company's label and focus on whether it has a durable franchise, strong cash generation, and customers likely to stay for years.
- Around 2019-2020, first disclosed in 2020Five major Japanese trading houses (sogo shosha)Still held
A major international equity position spread across five companies
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed in 2020 that it had built meaningful stakes in five large Japanese trading houses: Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Sumitomo. Buffett later explained that Berkshire was drawn to their familiar economics: diversified operations, long histories, global commodity and industrial exposure, shareholder returns, and valuations that appeared modest relative to earnings and assets.
What made the investment characteristic of Buffett’s approach was not a short-term macro call on Japan, but a patient purchase of understandable businesses at sensible prices. Berkshire also emphasized its preference to hold the positions for the long run and, over time, indicated that the stakes could rise within agreed limits. Buffett has spoken favorably about the companies’ capital allocation, dividends, and willingness to repurchase shares, while Berkshire used yen borrowing in a way that fit the investment’s long-duration nature.
The position remains held today in general terms, and Berkshire has at times increased the stakes. The investment is often cited as a notable example of Buffett applying value-investing principles outside the U.S. through large, established businesses rather than fast-growing technology names.
Lesson: A value investor can look globally for large, understandable businesses when price, durability, and shareholder-friendly capital allocation line up.
- From 2022Occidental PetroleumOXYStill held
A very large equity stake that became one of Berkshire's biggest public-stock positions
Occidental Petroleum
Berkshire Hathaway built its common-stock position in Occidental Petroleum aggressively beginning in 2022, after Warren Buffett said he was impressed by the company’s annual report and management’s approach to capital allocation. The stake quickly became one of Berkshire’s largest listed equity holdings.
The investment fit several familiar Buffett themes: buying heavily when he believed he understood the business, backing management he viewed favorably, and preferring companies that could generate substantial cash flow in a supportive environment. In Occidental’s case, Berkshire already knew the company well from its earlier financing tied to Occidental’s Anadarko deal, so the later stock purchases were not coming from a standing start.
The position also showed a version of Buffett’s approach that is sometimes overlooked: he is willing to make large bets in cyclical industries when valuation, balance-sheet progress, and cash-generation prospects appear attractive. Berkshire has continued to hold a very large stake, with the position generally viewed as an important current holding rather than a short-term trade.
Lesson: Even in cyclical sectors, Buffett has shown he may invest at scale when he understands the business, trusts management, and sees strong cash-generation potential at a sensible price.
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