10 Stocks Warren Buffett and His Successor, Greg Abel, Plan to Hold Forever
It’s a new era for Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB). On Dec. 31, longtime CEO Warren Buffett retired, paving the way for his understudy, Greg Abel, to take over. Berkshire’s new boss wasted little time making his mark, dumping 16 stocks in the first quarter, as well as piling into tech titan Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG).
But despite these changes, one fundamental truth remains: Buffett’s and Abel’s long-term vision.
Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 14x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »
Warren Buffett and Greg Abel have a list of companies they never plan to sell. Image source: Getty Images.
10 stocks Berkshire Hathaway may never sell
In Warren Buffett’s 2023 letter to shareholders, and in Greg Abel’s first-ever letter to shareholders, Berkshire’s bosses outlined several stocks they planned to effectively hold forever. Warren Buffett labeled the following eight companies as “indefinite” holdings:
-
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)
-
American Express (NYSE:AXP)
-
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)
-
Mitsubishi (OTC:MTSUY)
-
Mitsui (OTC:MITSY)
-
Itochu (OTC:ITOCY)
-
Marubeni (OTC:MARUY)
-
Sumitomo (OTC:SSUMY)
Meanwhile, in Abel’s letter to shareholders, he expected four companies to “compound over decades.” This includes Coca-Cola and Amex, as well as:
-
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
-
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO)
Legacy holdings aren’t going anywhere
Arguably, the least surprising names on this list are Coca-Cola, American Express, and Moody’s, which are the three longest-tenured holdings in Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio. Coke, Amex, and Moody’s have been continuously held since 1988, 1991, and 2000, respectively.
Aside from having rock-solid operating models, the lure of this trio is their mouthwatering yields on cost. Berkshire Hathaway’s minuscule cost bases in Coca-Cola ($3.2475 per share), American Express ($8.489 per share), and Moody’s ($10.05 per share) have translated into annual yields relative to cost of 65%, 45%, and 41%, respectively. There’s simply no reason for Abel to ever sell this trio.
Image source: Getty Images.
Japan is a big investment theme for Abel
Although Warren Buffett’s shareholder letter labeled Japan’s five trading houses — Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Marubeni, and Sumitomo — as indefinite holdings, the sogo shosha, as they’re more commonly known, have been a longtime favorite investment theme for Berkshire’s newest boss.
Like the Oracle of Omaha, Greg Abel has always been a stickler for value. With U.S. stocks entering 2026 at their second-priciest valuation in history, finding value domestically has been a challenge. However, Japan’s sogo shosha have traded at considerably more attractive price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples than U.S. stocks.
Furthermore, Japan’s five trading houses all offer impressive capital-return programs, including dividends and share buybacks, as well as modest executive compensation packages. The sogo shosha have built a shareholder-first, long-term mentality that Abel and Buffett appreciate.
Berkshire’s No. 1 holding should stick around
Despite Warren Buffett dumping 75% of Berkshire’s Apple stake in the nine quarters leading up to his retirement, Abel’s first letter to shareholders makes it clear that his company’s No. 1 holding isn’t going anywhere.
On the one hand, Apple isn’t the bargain it once was. When Buffett began building his company’s stake in the iPhone maker in early 2016, Apple was oscillating between 10 and 15 times trailing 12-month earnings. Today, Apple commands a P/E ratio of almost 40!
But Abel gravitates toward tech stocks and innovation far more than Warren Buffett ever did as CEO. It also doesn’t hurt that Apple has the largest share repurchase program on the planet!
Should you buy stock in American Express right now?
Before you buy stock in American Express, 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 American Express 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 $344,608!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,327,222!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 904% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 28, 2026.
American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Moody’s. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
10 Stocks Warren Buffett and His Successor, Greg Abel, Plan to Hold Forever was originally published by The Motley Fool