Abel’s $196 Billion Bet: Four Stocks Account for Over Half of Berkshire’s Portfolio

Key Points

• Despite overhauling the portfolio following Warren Buffett’s retirement, Greg Abel has maintained a highly concentrated investment strategy.
• Alphabet has emerged as a premier holding under Abel’s leadership, earning the title of a new core position.
• Long-standing equity stakes have evolved into highly lucrative dividend generators over the decades.

For the first time in over half a century, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) entered the year without Warren Buffett as its CEO. The Oracle of Omaha retired on Dec. 31, handing his understudy, Greg Abel, the reins of day-to-day operations and the revered $360 billion investment portfolio.

Abel has wasted no time making his mark. He completely overhauled Berkshire’s portfolio in the first quarter while building up several core positions. However, the defining trait that persists after Buffett’s retirement is portfolio concentration. Abel currently has 55% ($196 billion) of Berkshire’s invested assets concentrated in just four standout stocks:

• Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL): $76.61 billion (21.3% of invested assets)
• American Express (NYSE:AXP): $47.24 billion (13.1%)
• Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG): $36.91 billion (10.3%)
• Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO): $35.3 billion (9.8%)

Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio remains highly concentrated after Warren Buffett’s Dec. 31 retirement. Image source: Getty Images.

Alphabet Emerges as Abel’s New Core Position

For much of the past decade, iPhone maker Apple has been Berkshire’s largest holding. While Apple’s success is closely tied to its ongoing innovation and shift toward higher-margin services, Buffett—who initiated the massive stake—valued the brand’s ability to inspire consumer loyalty and command premium prices.

Although Buffett also initiated Berkshire’s stake in Alphabet, it is Abel who has expanded it to nearly $37 billion. Unlike Buffett, who favored Apple’s consumer appeal, Abel’s optimism regarding Alphabet centers on its artificial intelligence (AI) ties.

Google remains foundational to Alphabet’s ongoing success. In August, Google accounted for more than 91% of global internet search traffic, affording the company exceptional pricing power.

Google Cloud knocked it out of the park again. They’re now at a ~$99B run rate growing 82% YoY. Another MASSIVE jump in YoY growth

Quarterly YoY growth trends below $GOOG pic.twitter.com/9pAJvuajmh

— Jamin Ball (@jaminball) July 22, 2026

However, it is the integration of generative AI and large language model solutions into cloud infrastructure services platform Google Cloud that can supercharge Alphabet’s long-term growth. Since incorporating AI into Google Cloud, sales growth for this substantially higher-margin segment has gone parabolic.

It would appear that it only took Greg Abel a few quarters to find his own “Apple.”

Image source: Getty Images.

Berkshire’s Enduring Holdings Are Dividend Goldmines

In addition to a strong tech presence—with AI stocks now making up almost 32% of Berkshire’s invested assets—Abel is overseeing a portfolio packed with legacy holdings that deliver outsize dividends.

Beverage behemoth Coca-Cola and credit-services provider American Express have been continuously held by Berkshire Hathaway since 1988 and 1991, respectively. Each company possesses competitive advantages that have boosted its operating results over time.

For example, Coca-Cola has operations in all but three countries (North Korea, Cuba, and Russia), enabling it to generate consistent operating cash flow in developed markets, while leaning on emerging markets to move the organic growth needle.

Meanwhile, American Express enjoys the luxury of double-dipping. It benefits from both sides of the transaction counter, generating fees from merchants when processing transactions, and fees/interest from cardholders as a lender.

But it is the dividend income Berkshire receives from these two stocks—both of which were labeled as “indefinite” holdings in Warren Buffett’s 2023 letter to shareholders—that makes them so valuable.

Berkshire’s cost bases in Coca-Cola and American Express are roughly $3.25 and $8.49 per share, respectively. After 64 consecutive years with a dividend increase, Coca-Cola pays out $2.12/year, while American Express doles out $3.80/year. Based on yield-to-cost, Abel’s company is netting annual yields of 65% and 45% on Coca-Cola and American Express, respectively.

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