M arket crashes don’t create opportunity. They reveal it.
Related Brief 2d ago
value investing Berkshire Hathaway holds $350 billion in cash, waiting for a market crash big enough to deploy it
Warren Buffett isn’t buying stocks—even after the S&P 500 fell 4.02% in 2026, the Nasdaq dropped 5.84%, and the Dow slid 3.88%. Declines of 5% or 6%, he says, are not enough to move the needle for Berkshire Hathaway. The company is sitting on more than $350 billion in cash, waiting for a 'big decline' that creates long-term value. Buffett only deploys capital when he sees durable opportunities, not short-term dips. He’s witnessed Berkshire’s own stock lose more than half its value three times under his leadership. That history shapes his patience. Instead of chasing rebounds or speculating on corrections, Berkshire is parking cash in short-term U.S. Treasury bills—safe, liquid, unexciting. He still calls the U.S. economy an 'incredible cathedral,' confident in its long-term trajectory. But he draws a hard line between investing and gambling. Modern stock trading, he says, resembles a 'casino.' Berkshire buys businesses to hold forever. It doesn’t time markets. It waits for markets to break. When they do, Buffett will act. Until then, $350 billion stays on the sidelines.
The real winners aren’t those who time the fall. They’re the ones who already know which companies turn downturns into decades of compounding. Warren Buffett’s playbook—reflected in three stocks he’d likely buy in a crash—doesn’t chase bargains. It targets businesses engineered to pay you steadily, regardless of price swings.
Related Brief 11h ago
portfolio concentration Sixty Percent of Berkshire Hathaway’s $320 Billion Stock Portfolio Rests on Nine Companies
Sixty percent of Berkshire Hathaway’s $320 billion stock portfolio is now concentrated in just nine companies, a strategic shift under Greg Abel that signals a move toward durable, core positions over broad diversification. While Warren Buffett built the portfolio with deep conviction in select businesses, Abel’s first shareholder letter formalizes that focus—elevating nine holdings as the anchors of Berkshire’s equity strategy. Apple alone makes up 18.5% of the portfolio, a position Buffett began scaling back in 2023 but which Abel now appears ready to maintain or even expand. “I’m very happy to have it be our largest holding,” Buffett said in a recent interview, suggesting the selling phase may be over. At 31 times forward earnings, Apple trades near fair value, supported by strong iPhone sales in China and an upcoming AI-driven Siri upgrade expected to spur a major refresh cycle. American Express, at 15% of the portfolio, has evolved from a charge-card issuer into a growing lender, with net interest income accounting for a quarter of revenue and card fees rising 17% annually since 2019. Trading at 18 times earnings, it offers attractive valuation relative to its mid-teens EPS growth targets. Coca-Cola, a decades-long holding at 9.8% of the portfolio, leverages unmatched brand power to maintain margins while peers struggle, delivering 7% to 9% annual EPS growth at a forward P/E of 24. Moody’s, at 3.4%, benefits from a global duopoly in credit ratings and a fast-expanding analytics segment, though its 27 times earnings valuation reflects fair, not cheap, pricing. The final 13.4% is split across five Japanese trading houses—Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, Marubeni, and Sumitomo—each held at between 9.7% and 10.8%. These firms mirror Berkshire’s own structure, operating diverse businesses and reinvesting cash flows. Their shares have surged, with Marubeni up 173% over the past year, though valuations have diverged: Itochu and Sumitomo now trade at the lowest enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiples in the group, making them the most compelling entry points for new investors. Itochu’s focus on high-return capital investments, including full ownership of FamilyMart, sets it apart from peers more tied to volatile resource markets. Itochu and Sumitomo trade at lower enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratios than their peers, making them the two best options for investors interested in the Japanese trading houses.
Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for 64 straight years. Its current forward yield: 2.7%. That’s not luck. It’s leverage. The brand is global, the margins are sticky, and Berkshire Hathaway owns more than $30 billion of it. When the market drops, Buffett wouldn’t flinch. He’d reload.
Related Brief 1d ago
equities Berkshire Hathaway's Google Investment Yields $1.29 Billion Profit
Berkshire Hathaway has netted $1.29 billion in profit from its position in Google's Alphabet stock. The investment arm of Warren Buffett established the position of 17.85 million Class A shares in the third quarter of 2025, paying an average price of roughly $243.22 per share. The total cost of the entry was $4.34 billion. Alphabet stock traded at $315.50 on April 9, 2026, bringing the current value of the position to $5.63 billion. This represents an estimated return on investment of 29% over the last six to seven months.
Chevron trades with a 3.7% forward yield. Yes, the energy transition is real. But the International Energy Agency still projects rising oil demand through 2050. Buffett added to this position repeatedly before stepping down as CEO. The bet isn’t on fossil fuels forever. It’s on cash flow now.
Related Brief 1d ago
investing A £500 monthly investment at Buffett’s 19.8% return would yield £10.9 million in 30 years
Investing £500 a month for 30 years at a 19.8% annual return results in £10.9 million. The same £500 monthly investment in the S&P 500 would result in £1.3 million. Warren Buffett achieved a 19.8% average annualised return over the long term. The S&P 500 has generated a long-term average total return of 10.6% per year. Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) has delivered a nearly 4,200% total return since Buffett acquired shares in October 2000. Moody’s operates as a near-duopoly in credit ratings, functioning as a toll booth to the public debt markets. The company generates enormous, predictable cash flows from recurring credit rating fees. Moody’s has diversified into data and risk analytics software, creating additional recurring revenue streams. Demand for debt—and thus credit ratings—varies with economic and geopolitical cycles, introducing revenue cyclicality. AI tools could disrupt Moody’s data and risk analytics segment. For long-term investors, Moody’s remains a potential quality compounder in the Buffett tradition.
Then there’s McDonald’s. No, Berkshire doesn’t own it today. But it fits the blueprint. The company isn’t just a burger chain. It’s a real estate landlord. Ninety-five percent of its stores are franchised. McDonald’s owns the land, sets the rent, and collects checks even when burger sales slow. That’s why it’s raised its dividend for 49 straight years.
Related Brief 1d ago
equity investing Warren Buffett's 1998 Exit from McDonald's Reveals a Rare Departure from His Long-Term Strategy
Berkshire Hathaway does not hold a material stake in McDonald's as of the most recent filings. This follows a historical position that was established in the mid-1990s when the company first bought shares. Berkshire built a sizable position, owning approximately 4.3% of the company. By the late 1990s, the position grew to tens of millions of shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Berkshire sold the entire stake by 1998.
The common thread isn’t yield. It’s durability. Coca-Cola, Chevron, and McDonald’s all generate reliable cash, wield pricing power, and return capital consistently. A crash doesn’t break that machine. It just makes the shares cheaper.
The strategy reveals that market crashes are opportunities to acquire high-quality dividend compounders at discounted prices.
Related Brief 3d ago
value investing Quebecor's 60% Rally is Backed by Free Cash Flow and National Expansion
Quebecor shares have climbed nearly 60% over the past twelve months, recently reaching C$60. The rally is supported by a 14.3% increase in free cash flow to C$1.4 billion. This growth is driven by wireless service revenue, which climbed 9.5%, the strongest quarterly performance since the acquisition of Freedom Mobile. The company is now eroding the market share of Canada's Big Three wireless incumbents on a national scale. Quebecor shares are trading at C$60.
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