Berkshire Hathaway's stock rose 5,502,284% during Warren Buffett's 56-year tenure, compared with 39,054% for the S&P 500. Coca-Cola (KO) is Berkshire's longest-held stock and has raised its dividend for 64 straight years, one of the best track records among Dividend Kings. Berkshire spent $1.3 billion buying Coca-Cola shares over several years ending in 1988, and it still owns 400 million shares without ever selling any, making up 10.4% of the portfolio as its third-largest position. With an annual dividend of $2.12, Berkshire is on track to collect $848 million from Coca-Cola's dividend this year alone. KO shares are up 37% this year versus 12% for the index, as third-quarter revenue rose 7% and operating income climbed 12%, lifting operating margin to 33.4% from 32%.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
Berkshire HathawayWarren BuffettdividendsCoca-Cola
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- Warren Buffett Paid About $1.3 Billion for Berkshire's Coca-Cola Shares. They're Now Worth About $37 Billion.
In August 1994, Berkshire Hathaway finished a seven-year buying spree in Coca-Cola, spending about $1.3 billion on 400 million shares that are now worth roughly $37 billion at around $93 per share. Berkshire's annual Coca-Cola dividend has grown from $75 million in 1994 to $816 million in 2025, and the current quarterly rate implies about $848 million a year. The author argues that Buffett's starting yield of about 5.8% cannot be matched today, when a new buyer would receive a yield of about 2.3%, and the stock trades near 29 times trailing adjusted earnings versus 23 times at the end of 2025. Coca-Cola reported 6% organic revenue growth and an 11% rise in adjusted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2026, while management expects 9% to 10% adjusted EPS growth for 2026. The shares have risen about 34% since the end of 2025.
- This ETF Delivers the Buffett Playbook With a 15% Yield. But Here's the Trade-Off.
Berkshire Hathaway pays no dividend, and new CEO Greg Abel said in his first shareholder letter that it won't pay one as long as each retained dollar is likely to create more than a dollar of market value. The VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF (OMAH) targets a 15% distribution rate by selling call options on Berkshire and holdings such as Apple, American Express, Chevron and Coca-Cola, aiming for roughly 1.25% monthly, though this is a target rather than a guarantee. As of Oct. 23, Apple (10.8%) and Berkshire itself (10.7%) were the largest positions, and the fund's expense ratio is 0.95%. The trade-off is capped upside: since its March 2025 inception, the fund has returned about 15% versus about 9% for Berkshire, but has lagged the S&P 500's total return of roughly 34% over the same period. The article says the fund suits income-focused investors who accept that trade-off.
- Meet the Stocks Yielding 65%, 45%, and 41% Annually for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway is now led by Greg Abel after Warren Buffett retired as CEO on Dec. 31 and stepped down as chairman in mid-September, with the company holding a $368 billion investment portfolio. Coca-Cola, American Express and Moody's, held since 1988, 1991 and 2000 respectively, generate yields on Berkshire's cost basis of 65%, 45% and 41%, compared with current market yields of 2.22%, 1.17% and 0.84% as of Oct. 22. The article attributes these high yields to patience and low cost bases, with annual dividends of $2.12, $3.80 and $4.12 per share. It also cites a Hartford Funds and Ned Davis Research study finding dividend payers averaged a 9.2% annual return from 1973 to 2025, versus 4.21% for non-payers.
- 2 Stocks to Buy From the 5 That Make Up Roughly 61.5% of Berkshire Hathaway's Portfolio
The article notes that Berkshire Hathaway's roughly $365 billion stock portfolio is highly concentrated, with five holdings making up about 61.5%: Apple (21.5%), American Express (13%), Coca-Cola (10.3%), Alphabet (9.9%) and Bank of America (6.8%). Berkshire has held American Express and Coca-Cola since its initial purchases in the 1980s and 1990s, and has trimmed Bank of America in recent quarters, while Alphabet is its newest large position. The author names Apple and Coca-Cola as the two top picks in this group, citing Apple's buybacks of over $850 billion since 2013 and its limited AI infrastructure spending, and Coca-Cola's long record of dividend growth and a stock up nearly 35% this year.
- BNSF Paid Berkshire Hathaway $4.4 Billion in Dividends Last Year. Berkshire Bought It for $34.5 Billion in 2010.
According to Greg Abel's 2025 shareholder letter, BNSF, the railroad owned by Berkshire Hathaway, generated $8.1 billion in operating earnings in 2025, and $4.4 billion of that was paid to Berkshire as a cash dividend, with the company on pace to at least match that again this year. In the first half of 2026, BNSF's operating earnings reached just over $2.9 billion, up nearly 10% year over year. Berkshire paid $34.5 billion for BNSF in 2010, and the effective dividend yield on that initial investment is now 12.7% after 16 years, not counting the appreciation of the railroad's value. Estimates of BNSF's market value range from $75 billion to $200 billion, and Warren Buffett has described it as Berkshire's second-most-valuable asset, mainly because of the cash it produces. The author suggests shareholders might prefer that Abel make more acquisitions of small cash-generating companies rather than use Berkshire's $365.5 billion in uninvested cash to buy stocks.
- History Says Berkshire Hathaway Stock Rewards Patience: It Rose in 50 of the Last 61 Years
Berkshire Hathaway's stock declined in only 11 years from 1965 through 2025, with a total return of 6,099,294% (19.7% compounded annually), versus 46,061% (10.5% annually) for the S&P 500 including dividends. Under Warren Buffett, Berkshire grew from a textile manufacturer into one of the largest conglomerates, with an investment portfolio of nearly $365 billion and cash and equivalents above $365 billion at the end of the second quarter. Greg Abel became CEO earlier this year and said decentralized management and a concentrated long-term portfolio would remain. The article argues investors may expect Abel to allocate capital and return more to shareholders than Buffett did, since Berkshire's size makes large returns harder to find. The stock is now at an all-time high.
Related markets
Latest news
- Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX Block Their Stock From OKX-ICE Tokenized Venue
Six more companies, including Amazon, Tesla, SpaceX, Netflix, Lam Research and SoFi Technologies, have objected to OKXICE TSV trading their shares, according to an updated notice dated Nov. 2. The total has risen to 56, from nine on Oct. 15 and 50 in the Oct. 30 notice. Under the SEC's innovation exemption, a timely written objection bars the venue from listing a third-party tokenized version of that stock, though the objection applies only to that venue. Apple is one of the few megacap names still not on the list, and the venue can still list shares that issuers tokenize themselves.
- Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX Block Their Stock From OKX-ICE Tokenized Venue
Six more companies, including Amazon, Tesla, SpaceX, Netflix, Lam Research and SoFi Technologies, have objected to OKXICE TSV trading their shares, according to an updated notice dated Nov. 2. The total has risen to 56, from nine on Oct. 15 and 50 in the Oct. 30 notice. Under the SEC's innovation exemption, a timely written objection bars the venue from listing a third-party tokenized version of that stock, though the objection applies only to that venue. Apple is one of the few megacap names still not on the list, and the venue can still list shares that issuers tokenize themselves.
- AMD and Sandisk Both Suffered Massive Price Swings But Sandisk is Absolutely Riskier
Sandisk fell 37.49% and AMD dropped 26.36% over the past month despite strong earnings. Sandisk's fiscal Q1 2027 revenue reached $11.03B, up 377.9% year over year, largely driven by higher pricing, while AMD's revenue rose 50.1% to $11.54B, with Data Center making up 58% of the total. The author argues Sandisk carries more risk because it sells a single NAND product through a joint venture with Kioxia, its margins could reverse quickly, and consumer revenue fell 29% sequentially. AMD's broader product mix and multi-gigawatt AI deals are seen as easier to absorb a downturn, though its P/E near 176 leaves little room for error.
- Nvidia Is Extremely Compelling Right Now And Here’s Why
NVIDIA shares fell 13.63% over the past month to $202.06, even though revenue roughly doubled. Q2 fiscal 2027 revenue reached $96.22B, up 105.8% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $2.22 versus the $2.09 consensus, and Q3 revenue is guided to $108.0B, plus or minus 2%. The author says the stock trades at about 22 times the fiscal 2027 EPS consensus of $9.3124 and about 13 times the fiscal 2028 consensus of $15.9146, and that analysts made 7 upward revisions and no downward ones in 30 days. Risks include $279B of supply obligations, days sales outstanding rising to 60 from 45, and Q3 guidance that assumes no Data Center compute revenue from China. The author says they will continue accumulating on dips while estimates rise.
- Investors Are Beginning to Say That Meta Is The Best Buy And Hold Stock Through 2030
Meta shares fell 16.67% over the past month to $606.73, as a $9.89B settlement with 52 state attorneys general over teen mental health claims pulled GAAP EPS to $3.83 against a $5.70 consensus; without the charge, EPS would have been $7.40. Revenue rose 26.1% to $64.60B, with ad impressions up 10% and average price per ad up 14%. Meta plans $135B to $145B in 2026 capex, third-quarter free cash flow turned negative at $2.12B, and operating margin fell to 20% from 40%. The average analyst target is $848.38, implying 39.8% upside. The author argues the long-term case through 2030 depends on ad growth and Muse, which signed up more than 10 million users in about a month and a half.
- Here's the 1 Thing I'd Wait to See Before Buying Plug Power Stock
The author remains bearish on Plug Power (PLUG), though his view has softened somewhat due to improving financials and a management change, and he still finds buying the stock unlikely for now. Plug grew sales at a 21.3% compound annual growth rate from 2015 through 2025, but its operating cash flow has been negative for a decade. In the first half of 2026, Plug reported negative $244 million in operating cash flow, while Bloom Energy (BE) reported $300 million in operating cash flow. Its outstanding share count rose from over 180 million in March 2016 to about 1.4 billion by February 2026, diluting shareholders. The author says the third-quarter 2026 results could change his view, but argues that without organic cash generation the stock is not a sound investment.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.