Legendary investor Warren Buffett has helped Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) beat the S&P 500 Index many times in recent years. Bets on financials are helping the conglomerate post impressive gains since the end of the second quarter.
BRKB stock is taking a breather. Review the technical setup here.
Buffett Bets On Banks
Among the top holdings in the Berkshire Hathaway investment portfolio are several financial and credit card companies.
At the end of the second quarter, here were some of Buffett's top holdings in the financial sector, as reported by CNBC:
- Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC): 605,267,375 shares
- Visa Inc (NYSE:V): 8,297,460 shares
- Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA): 3,986,648 shares
- Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF): 7,150,000 shares
- American Express Company (NYSE:AXP): 151,610,700 shares
American Express is the second-largest holding of the Berkshire Hathaway investment portfolio, representing around 17.3% of the portfolio. Bank of America ranks third at around 10.1% of the portfolio.
Here's a look at how much the financial stock positions have gained or lost since the end of the second quarter:
- Bank of America: +$2.88 billion, +10.1%
- Visa: -$66.38 million, -2.3%
- Mastercard: +$50.63 million, +2.3%
- Capital One: +$71.43 million, +4.7%
- American Express: +$5.66 billion, +11.7%
In total, the five financial stocks are up $8.59 billion since the end of the second quarter, gaining 10.3% over the last nearly four months.
Read Also: Warren Buffett’s Lennar, DR Horton Stakes Are Up $125 Million — And Still Climbing
Buffett Trails S&P 500
The 10.3% gain for the five stocks since the end of the second quarter has outperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the S&P 500. The ETF is up 9.6% over the same time period.
Overall, in 2025, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) had the better return, with a gain of 15.8%, compared to an 8.7% increase for Berkshire Hathaway shares.
Benzinga previously shared that some of Buffett's newer stock picks have been performing well. Some of Buffett's largest positions, like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), have been weighing down the overall performance.
Apple stock is now up 6.9% year-to-date, but was down for many months. The stock is the largest position in the Berkshire Hathaway investment portfolio.
Buffett has just over two months left to try to outperform the S&P 500 once again. Berkshire Hathaway has beaten the S&P 500’s gains in 11 of the last 20 years, including three of the previous four years.
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