What Does Warren Buffett Own?

Warren Buffett owns a wide variety of businesses through his massive conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (BRK.B). He grew the failing New England textile company into a booming enterprise with a market cap of over $526 billion as of Sept. 2018. Berkshire Hathaway has an amazing range of businesses under its umbrella. Buffett is a master at acquiring and running profitable businesses, from the company's core insurance companies to Dairy Queen and furniture stores.

Buffett is also one of the most successful investors in history with his value investing style. Buffett is not trying to gain short-term bumps in stock prices with his investments. Rather, he views buying stock as acquiring an ownership interest in the business for a company. Berkshire’s 13-F filing discloses the current portfolio for the company. The following are some key stocks in Buffet's Berkshire portfolio.

Phillips 66

Berkshire Hathaway has owned shares of Phillips 66 (PSX) since 2012 according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Berkshire Hathaway now owns 22.2 million shares with a market value of around $2.6 billion. This represents a 4.3% interest in Phillips 66.

Phillips 66 is a major energy manufacturing and logistics company. It has five operating segments: midstream, chemicals, refining, marketing, and specialties. The company has a market cap of $52.8 billion and pays a dividend yield of 2.84% as of Sept. 2018.

The position is unique for Buffett, who generally shies away from companies that depend on the sale of commodities for revenue. He has said the commodity markets are volatile and do not produce anything in and of themselves. For example, oil is a mere commodity and trades based on the outlook for future demand. Oil in and of itself does not produce any income.

Buffett has invested in Phillips 66 due to a restructuring of the company. Phillips 66 was spun out of ConocoPhillips in 2012 to focus on investing in midstream assets. These midstream assets will help to move and export America's increased oil and natural gas production. Phillips 66 is also a major customer for the BNSF Railway, a Berkshire company. Phillips 66 is using rail to transport its commodities to the market, as well as building pipelines and rail terminals. Berkshire has other significant investments in the energy infrastructure industry.

Charter Communications

Berkshire Hathaway has owned shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR) since 2014. Buffett owns around 7.5 million. These shares have a market value of around $2.2 billion. The shares comprise a 3.1% ownership interest in the company.

Charter is a provider of cable TV and Internet services. The company serves millions of residential and internet customers. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Charter bought Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) in 2016.

U.S. Bancorp

Buffett has U.S. Bancorp (USB) as one of its top 10 holdings. In the second quarter of 2018, he added 10% to his position, buying an additional 9.85 million shares. He owns just over 100 million shares total, with a market value of $5 billion. Berkshire Hathaway has a 6% ownership interest in the company.

U.S. Bancorp has a market cap of over $86 billion with a dividend yield of 2.3% as of Sept. 2018. The large bank offers a wide range of financial and banking products. It also has commercial and consumer lending services. Experts believe that Buffett is increasing his position in the bank because of the low default rate on its growing loan portfolio.