logo
3 Top Buffett Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Haul

3 Top Buffett Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Haul

Globe and Mail19-03-2025

Warren Buffett is one of the most closely followed investors in the world. Six decades ago, his fledgling fund acquired the struggling textile maker Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B). Buffett subsequently shut down Berkshire's textile business and transformed it into a diversified conglomerate with subsidiaries across the insurance, railroad, energy, and consumer staples sectors. Those subsidiaries generated plenty of cash for building Berkshire's investment portfolio.
Today, that portfolio is worth $276 billion and holds positions in 44 stocks. Many investors follow those stocks for investment ideas, but they're mostly conservative blue chips that won't skyrocket over the next few months.
If you can tune out the near-term noise and want some Buffett-backed stocks to hold for the long haul, you should consider investing in these three evergreen plays: Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Visa (NYSE: V), and Chubb (NYSE: CB). All three companies dominate their respective markets with very wide moats.
1. Amazon
Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud infrastructure company, accounts for 0.70% of Berkshire's portfolio. It initially bought Amazon stock in the first quarter of 2019, and it now holds $1.98 billion worth with an average purchase price of $84.20. That investment has more than doubled in value over the past six years.
From 2019 to 2024, Amazon's revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% as its EPS rose at a CAGR of 37%. It logged impressive growth even as it weathered the pandemic, inflation, and other macro headwinds.
Amazon grew by expanding its e-commerce marketplace, locking more shoppers into its Prime subscriptions, and serving up more remote computing power and storage through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure platform. It usually subsidizes the growth of its lower-margin e-commerce business with AWS' higher-margin revenues, and that strategy gives it a formidable advantage against other retailers.
Amazon's scale should keep it ahead of its e-commerce and cloud competitors. It should also profit from the growth of the AI market, which will drive more companies to upgrade their cloud infrastructure to handle the latest AI services.
2. Visa
Visa, the world's top card payments processor, accounts for 1% of Berkshire's portfolio. It started buying Visa in the second quarter of 2011, and it now owns $2.75 billion in shares with an average purchase price of $52. That's a six-bagger gain in 14 years.
From 2011 to 2024, Visa's revenue and EPS increased at a CAGR of 11% and 19%, respectively. Like Amazon, Visa kept growing through several economic downturns.
Visa's business is resilient because it doesn't issue any cards or take on any debt. Instead, it only partners with banks and other financial institutions to issue co-branded cards. Those partners handle all the accounts and customer debt, while Visa only charges "swipe fees" of 1.5%-3.5% for every transaction processed on its network.
Visa and Mastercard share a near-duopoly in that market, so merchants are usually willing to pay those fees to attract more customers. Both companies are facing pressure from businesses and government regulators to lower those fees, but they'll likely dominate the card-based payment market for decades to come.
3. Chubb
Chubb is the biggest publicly traded provider of property, supplemental, health, and casualty insurance policies. Berkshire started to invest in Chubb in the third quarter of 2023, and that $7.95 billion stake now accounts for 2.9% of its portfolio. It paid an average price of $221 for those shares, so it's already sitting on a 33% gain.
Chubb's core operating income per share (excluding any tax benefits) grew 30% in 2023 and 13% in 2024. Its business was well insulated from inflation and rising interest rates, since its customers generally won't cancel their essential policies to save a few dollars. That's why its consolidated net premiums rose 13.5% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2024.
Chubb isn't an exciting investment, but it's a safe one to hold as the macro headwinds drive investors away from more consumer-driven and cyclical sectors. Moreover, Buffett notably increased Berkshire's exposure to Chubb even as it reduced its stakes in other top holdings like Apple and Bank of America while raising its cash and short-term Treasury holdings to record levels -- so Chubb could be a great way to ride out the near-term volatility and generate reliable long-term gains.
Don't miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity
Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this.
On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:
Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $309,972!*
Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $40,573!*
Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $512,338!*
Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.
Continue »
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2025

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Should You Buy Nio Stock Right Now?
Should You Buy Nio Stock Right Now?

Globe and Mail

time31 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Should You Buy Nio Stock Right Now?

Nio (NYSE: NIO) is reporting an increase in deliveries and vehicle margins. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » *Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of June 6, 2025. The video was published on June 8, 2025. Should you invest $1,000 in Nio right now? Before you buy stock in Nio, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nio wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to173%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

'The Multi-Year Rebuild…Is Working' Walmart Stock (NYSE:WMT) Gets Boost From Mizuho
'The Multi-Year Rebuild…Is Working' Walmart Stock (NYSE:WMT) Gets Boost From Mizuho

Globe and Mail

timean hour ago

  • Globe and Mail

'The Multi-Year Rebuild…Is Working' Walmart Stock (NYSE:WMT) Gets Boost From Mizuho

Giant retailer Walmart (WMT) has been working to recover from the hits it took trying to compete with online stores and its own negative image. 'People of Walmart,' anyone? But the long road it has taken to recover seems to be working, and as far as Mizuho Securities is concerned, it already has worked. Investors were willing to play along, and gave shares a fractional boost in Monday afternoon's trading. Confident Investing Starts Here: Mizuho, via analyst David Bellinger, noted, 'The multi-year rebuild into a much more tech-led player is working, with a focus on speed of delivery and further volume gains ahead.' In fact, Bellinger noted, Walmart was on track to clear $100 billion in annual ecommerce revenues just in the United States. This would put ecommerce as 10% of Walmart's total annual sales in the United States, and that in turn would make it the second largest online player, with only Amazon (AMZN) ahead of it. This in turn is opening up significant opportunities for Walmart as a power in not only domestic sales, but also in '…advertising, marketplace, and membership…' opportunities as well. Chasing the Kids Meanwhile, Walmart is acutely aware of the impact of tariffs on its operations, especially after the person perhaps most responsible for putting them there, President Trump, demanded Walmart 'eat the tariffs' rather than hike prices. Walmart may not have completely followed orders on that one, but there are signs that Walmart is actively courting the younger demographics as it pursues young shoppers. In fact, reports note, Walmart pulled out a whole new ad campaign designed to haul in the youngsters, along with a tween-focused clothing brand. Walmart even has plans to ramp up its drone deliveries as well, trying to get more shoppers to part with their money in a time when everyone is starting to feel the pinch, and is pulling in their spending accordingly. Is Walmart Stock a Good Buy Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on WMT stock based on 28 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 45.56% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WMT price target of $109.66 per share implies 12.63% upside potential. See more WMT analyst ratings Disclosure Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue

S&P/TSX composite edges lower in late-morning trading, U.S. stocks mixed
S&P/TSX composite edges lower in late-morning trading, U.S. stocks mixed

Winnipeg Free Press

time3 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

S&P/TSX composite edges lower in late-morning trading, U.S. stocks mixed

TORONTO – Canada's main stock index edged lower in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the base metal and technology sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 10.32 points at 26,365.48. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.02 points at 42,750.74. The S&P 500 index was up 1.56 points at 6,007.44, while the Nasdaq composite was down 8.57 points at 19,582.67. The Canadian dollar traded for 73.11 cents US compared with 73.08 cents US on Monday. The July crude oil contract was up 84 cents US at US$66.13 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down eight cents US at US$3.55 per mmBTU. The August gold contract was down US$8.20 at US$3,346.70 an ounce and the July copper contract was down two cents US at US$4.91 a pound. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store