Investing legend Warren Buffett has delivered fortune-building returns to Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A -0.39%) (BRK.B -0.56%) shareowners for almost 60 years. You can position yourself to profit alongside the centibillionaire by investing in some of his favorite stocks. Here are three of Buffett's biggest buys, all of which remain smart investments today.
1. Coca-Cola
Berkshire Hathaway has owned shares of Coca-Cola (KO -0.19%) for more than 35 years. The investment conglomerate's stake in the beverage titan is now valued at over $25 billion.
Coca-Cola is far more than just a seller of soda. Its steadily expanding product lineup includes healthier options like milk, coffee, tea, juice, and purified water. Fairlife, Costa Coffee, Gold Peak, Simply, and Dasani count among the company's impressive portfolio of brands.
The beverage giant excels at creating or acquiring a hit new product, plugging it into its global marketing and distribution network, and rapidly growing its sales. Coca-Cola then harvests the profits, which it can use to fund its innovation initiatives, make other acquisitions, or pay dividends to shareholders.
The company, in fact, has raised its cash payments to investors for 62 straight years. Its stock's dividend yield stands at over 3% today.
2. Occidental Petroleum
While Coca-Cola is one of Buffett's longest-held positions, Occidental Petroleum (OXY 0.75%) is one of his newest buys. Berkshire scooped up more of the energy producer's stock in June. Buffett's investment behemoth now owns about $16 billion worth of Occidental's shares.
Berkshire helped Occidental finance its acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019. The combined business emerged as a powerful player in the Permian Basin, one of the richest sources of oil and natural gas in the U.S.
Buffett is also bullish on Occidental's carbon-capture initiatives. The energy company believes its more than four decades of experience with injecting carbon dioxide into the ground to extract oil more efficiently will give it a head start in the potentially enormous market for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) services.
CEO Vicki Hollub plans to license Occidental's technology to companies that want to construct facilities that can take carbon straight from the air and store it underground -- or use it for other purposes. Hollub sees an opportunity for 1,000 such plants worldwide.
Make no mistake: While the potential environmental benefits are massive, this is a profit-seeking venture. ExxonMobil sees the market for carbon capture services soaring to a stunning $4 trillion by 2050. Occidental, in turn, expects its carbon management operations to eventually be more profitable than its oil and gas businesses.
3. Berkshire Hathaway
If you're looking for another Buffett favorite to invest in today, consider Berkshire Hathaway itself. Buy now, and you'll likely be buying alongside Buffett. Berkshire has bought back its own stock for 23 straight quarters. These share purchases, which total over $77 billion, indicate that Buffett believes the investment conglomerate's stock is worth far more than its current price.
Berkshire has built a lucrative presence in various industries, including insurance, railroads, retailers, and real estate. Over 60 operating subsidiaries crank out cash that Buffett and his lieutenants can then reinvest in other profit-making opportunities. All told, these competitively advantaged businesses produced operating profits of $37 billion in 2023, up from $31 billion in 2022 and $28 billion in 2021.
Berkshire's impressive profitability and large stakes in top-tier businesses like Coca-Cola and Occidental Petroleum have its shareholders well-positioned for continued success.
