As you may be aware, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) is in a state of transition. Warren Buffett is retiring from his role as CEO, which will be taken over by Greg Abel. Thus, a legendary career is coming to a close.
Still, you don’t need to dump your Berkshire Hathaway shares just because Buffett is retiring. Berkshire’s current portfolio currently reflects the carefully selected stock picks of Buffett and his associates. Thus, whatever’s in the company’s stock holdings list is worth considering.
It may surprise you to learn that 50% of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio consists of just three stocks. This fact is less shocking, however, when you see the three stocks as they represent top-tier businesses. So, without further ado, let’s reveal the three stocks that dominate Buffett’s portfolio right now.
Apple (AAPL)
Buffett isn’t known for loading up on Magnificent Seven technology stocks very often. Yet, believe it or not, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock shares comprise 21.1% of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio weighting.
That’s a huge portfolio portion for just one stock, you must admit. All told, Berkshire Hathaway holds around 238.2 million AAPL shares, representing a 1.6% stake in Apple.
Buffett usually doesn’t explain why Berkshire Hathaway bought a particular stock. Since he’s known as a value investor, we should be able to find a good value in Apple stock.
This may not be immediately evident if we apply an old-school valuation metric, the trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Apple’s P/E ratio is 36.58x, which isn’t outrageously high for a Magnificent Seven company but also isn’t extremely low.
Instead of focusing on the company’s P/E ratio, perhaps we should observe that Apple stock doubled over the past five years. Furthermore, Buffett surely knows that Apple is a reliable revenue grower.
For example, Apple total net sales grew from $391.035 billion in the quarter ended September 28, 2024, to $416.161 billion in the quarter ended September 27, 2024. During that time frame, Apple recorded increases in iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Services sales.
Now, we’re starting to see how Apple stock can be a good value irrespective of Apple’s P/E ratio. At the end of the day, Apple’s value comes from the company’s steady growth and the stock’s consistent price appreciation. Therefore, if you believe in Buffett’s portfolio strategies, you might want to own some AAPL shares.
American Express (AXP)
Turning to the financial sector, Berkshire Hathaway holds approximately 151.6 million shares of credit card provider American Express (NYSE:AXP). Consequently, Berkshire owns a huge 22% stake in American Express.
Interestingly, AXP stock takes up 18.4% of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio. Why would Buffett like this stock so much, though?
Here’s a fact that might startle you. Whereas Apple stock has doubled over the past five years, American Express stock has actually tripled during that time.
It just goes to show that financial sector stocks aren’t boring at all. Additionally, there may be a good value here as American Express’s P/E ratio is fairly reasonable at 25.1x.
But again, we need to look beyond the P/E ratio. We can peek into American Express’s third-quarter 2025 results to see if the company is really raking in the revenue.
As it turns out American Express’s Q3 2025 total revenue net of interest expense grew 11% year over year to $18.426 billion. Notably, American Express’s net interest income increased by 12%, “primarily reflecting growth in balances and net yield expansion.”
Clearly, AXP stock isn’t just a safety play; it’s a growth investment, as well. With that in mind, you’re welcome to mimic Buffett’s portfolio and give American Express stock a try.
Bank of America (BAC)
To round out our list of the three stocks that make up 50% of Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings, we have another financial sector pick, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) stock. Comprising 10.2% of Berkshire’s portfolio, Buffet’s company owns more than 568 million shares of BAC.
Berkshire Hathaway controls a 7.8% stake in Bank of America, so there’s no denying that Buffett believes in this famous banking firm. And in case you’re curious, Bank of America has a P/E ratio of 15.11x, which seems reasonable enough.
Digging deeper than the P/E ratio, it’s worthwhile to see how Bank of America performed during the third quarter of 2025. The company’s total revenue, net of interest expense, increased from $25.345 billion in the year-earlier quarter to $28.088 billion in Q3 2025.
It’s also worth noting that, during this time frame, Bank of America recorded increases in credit card and debit card purchase volumes, as well as in total home equity loan production. All in all, it was a solid quarter for Bank of America.
Finally, it should be mentioned that Bank of America stock rallied 84% over the past five years, which is nothing to sneeze at. Hence, investors ought to take a look at BAC stock along with AAPL and AXP as great Buffett-backed buy-and-hold portfolio additions.