Berkshire Hathaway Is Underperforming, but 4 of Warren Buffett’s Top Picks Are Up Big This Year

Berkshire Hathaway Is Underperforming, but 4 of Warren Buffett’s Top Picks Are Up Big This Year Lee Jackson Thu, May 28, 2026 at 2:47 PM GMT+2 8 min read BRK-B OXY KO MNST CVX Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on December 31, 2025, after six decades leading the conglomerate he transformed from a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion empire. The "Oracle of Omaha" left his successor, Greg Abel, with a very concentrated portfolio: more than 65% of Berkshire's $381 billion portfolio is invested in just six stocks. Abel, who has served as vice chair overseeing non-insurance operations, officially took over as CEO on January 1, 2026.

At 95 years old, Buffett isn't fully retiring—he will remain board chair and plans to continue coming to the Omaha headquarters as much as before. However, he has stated he will be "going quiet" and leaving all decision-making to Abel. While he is now in charge of Berkshire Hathaway, he added to one of Buffett's top picks in the first quarter in a big way.

Quick Read: Berkshire Hathaway is underperforming the S&P 500 this year by a sizable margin. The biggest winners in the portfolio are companies that Warren Buffett bought when he was still the CEO. The surprise may be that the biggest winner is a technology stock that Buffett bought last year.

The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and Chevron wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE . Berkshire Hathaway ( NYSE: BRK-B ) stock is down approximately 3.

2%, so far in 2026, while the S&P 500 has gained about 9. 6%. This leaves Berkshire lagging the broader market by almost 13 percentage points so far this year.

This performance gap is significant. The underperformance stems primarily from the leadership transition. Buffett stepped down as CEO at the end of 2025, and this was accompanied by uncertainty about Berkshire’s future direction.

Additionally, several of the company’s largest holdings have weighed on results, most notably American Express, which is down around 20% year to date. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and Chevron wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE .

However, the biggest winners in the Berkshire portfolio this year are all positions Buffett put in, some as recently as last year and others decades ago. All the top names in the portfolio that are up the most have been total return winners, as they also pay dividends. Plus, all are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms that we cover.

Why do we cover Berkshire Hathaway stocks? Few investors have the results and reputation that Buffett has garnered over the past 60 years. Though he has stepped away from the CEO chair, his impact and investment guidelines are likely to remain in place long after he is gone.

While investing has evolved since Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, and now that Abel is in charge, he is vowing to stay the course, buying good companies with products and services recognized worldwide, and paying dividends will always remain a timeless approach and never go out of style. Story Continues Here are the four top performers in Berkshire Hathaway this year. Alphabet The mega-cap tech giant was a major addition in the first quarter, strengthening Berkshire's growth potential.

Alphabet ( NASDAQ: GOOGL ) is a holding company and pays a small 0. 22% dividend. Berkshire Hathaway came in big in the first quarter, adding a massive 36.

4 million Class A shares and 3. 5 million Class C shares, which tripled the existing stake. They now own 57,835,013 shares, which is 0.

9% of the float and a huge 6. 9% of the portfolio. Under its new CEO, Berkshire Hathaway has elevated Alphabet to the fifth-largest holding in Berkshire’s equity portfolio.

The stock is up about 24. 3% in 2026. The company's segments include: Google Services, which includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

Google Cloud includes infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers. Other Bets sells healthcare-related services and Internet services. Google Cloud provides enterprise-ready cloud services, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace.

Google Cloud Platform provides access to solutions such as: Artificial intelligence (AI) offerings, including its AI infrastructure Vertex AI platform Gemini for Google Cloud Xybersecurity, data, and analytics Google Workspace includes cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Meet. Citizens JMP has a Market Outperform rating with a huge $515 Chevron Chevron ( NYSE: CVX ) is an American multinational energy company primarily focused on oil and gas. It is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector, and it pays a substantial 3.

61% dividend, which was raised by 5% earlier this year. Chevron operates integrated energy and chemicals businesses worldwide. Berkshire Hathaway bought 8 million additional shares at a well-timed price in the fourth quarter, but sold 46 million shares in Q1.

Despite the sale, Berkshire still holds 84,375,856 shares, representing 4. 2% of the float and 5. 1% of the portfolio.

The stock is up 21. 9% year-to-date, riding a broader energy sector surge. The company operates in two segments.

The Upstream segment is involved in the following: Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas Transportation of crude oil through pipelines, and storage Marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant The Downstream segment engages in: Refining crude oil into petroleum products Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels Transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives It also involves cash management, debt financing, insurance operations, real estate, and technology businesses. Mizuho has an Outperform rating with a $235 target price. Coca-Cola Coca-Cola ( NYSE: KO ) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892.

This company remains a top long-time holding of Buffett. Berkshire owns 400 million shares, representing 9. 3% of the float and 9.

9% of the portfolio. The stock comes with a dependable 2. 56% dividend.

The shares have been strong in 2026, up 15. 09% year-to-date on a price basis and trading near their 52-week high of $82. 66.

Solid fundamentals have driven the gains as Q1 2026 earnings came in at $0. 86 per share, beating the $0. 81 consensus (the fourth straight beat), on revenue of $12.

47 billion (up 12% year-over-year). The company also raised its full-year EPS guidance to reflect 8% to 9% growth. Coca-Cola is the world's largest beverage company, offering consumers more than 500 sparkling and still brands.

Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, the portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including: Diet Coke Coca-Cola Light Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Caffeine-free Diet Coke Cherry Coke Fanta Orange Fanta Zero Orange Fanta Zero Sugar Fanta Apple Sprite Sprite Zero Sugar Simply Orange Simply Apple Simply Grapefruit Fresca Schweppes Dasani Fuze Tea Glacéau Smartwater Glacéau Vitaminwater Gold Peak Ice Dew Powerade Topo Chico Minute Maid Globally, it is the top provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, juices, and juice drinks. Through the world's most extensive beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of over 1. 9 billion servings per day.

And remember that the company owns 19. 5% of Monster Beverage ( NASDAQ: MNST ), which continues to deliver strong financial results. Citigroup has a Buy rating and a target price of $91.

Occidental Petroleum After years of building this position, Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are finally in the money on this company, which pays a 1. 67% dividend. Occidental Petroleum ( NYSE: OXY ) is an international energy company with assets primarily in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The company is an oil and gas producer in the United States, including the Permian and D. J. basins and offshore Gulf of America.

The shares are up 39. 7% year to date, leading Berkshire's energy names. The key catalyst was the divestiture of OxyChem to Berkshire Hathaway, which closed on January 2, with proceeds used to cut principal debt by $5.

8 billion. Berkshire Hathaway has a large position in the company, owning 264,941,431 shares, representing 26. 7% of the float and 4.

9% of the portfolio. Occidental’s oil and gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil (including condensate), natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The midstream and marketing segment purchases, markets, gathers, processes, transports, and stores oil (including condensate), NGLs, natural gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), and power.

This segment provides flow assurance, maximizes the value of its oil and gas, and optimizes the company's transportation and storage capacity. It also invests in entities that conduct similar activities, including low-carbon venture businesses. As mentioned, Occidental sold its OxyChem subsidiary to Berkshire Hathaway, with the bulk of the proceeds expected to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and further concentrate its business on oil and gas.

The move was especially interesting because Buffett reportedly had long been interested in OxyChem, and Berkshire now owns the business outright. Berkshire Hathaway completed its purchase of OxyChem from Occidental on January 2, 2026, giving Buffett full ownership of the chemicals business while providing Occidental with $9. 7 billion in cash to reduce debt and sharpen its focus on energy.

Barclays has an Overweight rating and a $72 price objective. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks This analyst's 2025 picks are up 106% on average. He just named his top 10 stocks to buy in 2026.

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