Stocks purchased by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway often don’t perform well in the months following disclosure of the purchases, Andrew Bary of Barron’s recently pointed out.
In light of that, it might be interesting to look at the historical performance of Buffett’s biggest holdings (as of March 31). The following returns are as of May 16.
For comparison, the S&P 500 had total annualized returns of 4.33% for the last year, 14.6% for three years, 10.5% for five years and 11.67% for 10 years.
Apple Leads the Pack
1. Apple (AAPL) (recent market value of Berkshire’s stake: $156.9 billion). Total returns: 18.87% for one year, 31.45% for three years, 30.23% for five years and 27.7% for 10 years.
2. Bank of America (BAC) (recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $29.4 billion). Total returns: negative 18.9% for one year, 11.55% for three years, negative 0.03% for five years and 9.17% for 10 years.
3. Coca-Cola (KO) (recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $25.2 billion). Total returns: negative 1.46% for one year, 16.47% for three years, 11.48% for five years and 6.14% for 10 years.
4. American Express (AXP) (recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $23.1 billion). Total returns: negative 3.75% for one year, 23.29% for three years, 9.35% for five years and 8.48% for 10 years.
5. Chevron (CVX) (recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $20.7 billion). Total returns: negative 7.94% for one year, 23.97% for three years, 6.71% for five years and 4.98% for 10 years.
Occidental Through HP
6. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) (recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $12.6 billion). Total returns: negative 13.3% for one year, 62.14% for three years, negative 5.01% for five years and negative 1.29% for 10 years.
7. Kraft Heinz (KHC) (recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $12.6 billion) Total returns: negative 7.89% for one year, 14.47% for three years, negative 4.27% for five years, and there’s no 10-year return, as it only began trading in 2015.
8. Moody’s (MCO), the ratings agency. Recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $7.6 billion. Total returns: 7.83% for one year, 7.84% for three years, 13.12% for five years and 17.16% for 10 years.
9. Activision Blizzard (ATVI), the video game publisher. Recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $3.8 billion. Total returns: negative 0.28% for one year, 2.12% for three years, 2.48% for five years and 18.46% for 10 years.
10. HP (HPQ), the computer/printer maker. Recent value of Berkshire’s stake: $3.7 billion. Total returns: negative 18.2% for one year, 29.55% for three years, 8.6% for five years and 8.79% for 10 years.
Above Data are from Morningstar and CNBC
Aside from Apple, these stocks aren’t exactly barn burners. Apple is the only company out of the 10 to return more than the S&P 500 for all four periods. For you long-term investors, Apple and Moody’s were the only stocks to beat the S&P 500 for both the five- and 10-year periods.
Looking at Berkshire itself, Buffett’s baby returned 4.68% for one year, 24.13% for three years, 10.35% for five years and 11.24% for 10 years. That topped the S&P 500 for the first two periods but lagged a bit for the last two.
Buffett has warned in recent years that given Berkshire’s huge size ($712 billion market capitalization now), it’s unlikely to post outsized returns again.
The author of this story owns shares of Apple, Bank of America, Coke, Kraft Heinz and Berkshire Hathaway.
