3 Top Buffett Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Haul

Berkshire Hathaway’s largest tech exposures—Apple (44.5% of its portfolio), alongside much smaller positions in Amazon (≈0.5%) and Snowflake (0.2%)—are flagged as likely candidates to rise: Apple, a 5.1% stake bought beginning in 2016, has delivered roughly 480% gains vs. Buffett’s average buy price, posted 9% revenue and 17% EPS CAGRs (2016–23), repurchased nearly 30% of shares, and holds $162 billion in cash, supporting diversification into services and AI despite a ~31x forward P/E; Amazon, acquired from 2019 onward and up ~140% from Buffett’s average cost, grew revenue at a 20% CAGR (2019–23), is seeing stabilizing e‑commerce and renewed cloud momentum with $85 billion cash on the balance sheet, though it trades near ~44x forward earnings; Snowflake—an IPO investment that’s up only ~14% from its IPO price—posted an 80% revenue CAGR (2020–24) and achieved non‑GAAP profitability ($1.08 EPS in 2024) but faces slower analyst‑expected growth (24% CAGR to 2027) and very rich multiples (~250x forward adjusted earnings), making it a higher‑risk, long‑horizon growth bet.

Analysis

The article isolates three Berkshire Hathaway tech exposures driving its public-equity outlook: Apple makes up 44.5% of Berkshire’s portfolio (Buffett bought starting in Q1 2016 and owns 5.1% of Apple; his average purchase was $39.60 and the position is up roughly 480%), Amazon represents about 0.5% of the portfolio from a 0.1% stake (acquired beginning in Q1 2019 and up ~140% from an $84.20 average cost), and Snowflake is a small, 0.2% portfolio position (Berkshire holds 1.8% of Snowflake and the stake is ~14% above the $120 IPO price).

Apple’s fundamentals show steady top-line and margin expansion (2016–2023 revenue CAGR 9% and EPS CAGR 17%), a ~30% share buyback over seven years, more than 1 billion services subscribers, and $162 billion in cash, but the stock trades at ~31x forward earnings with analysts forecasting 5% revenue and 10% EPS CAGRs to 2026. Amazon posted 2019–2023 revenue and EPS CAGRs of 20% and 26% respectively, has $85 billion in cash, renewed cloud momentum and e-commerce stabilization, yet markets price it at ~44x forward earnings with analyst revenue/EPS CAGRs of 11%/37% to 2026.

Snowflake delivered an 80% revenue CAGR from fiscal 2020–2024 and moved to non-GAAP profitability (EPS $0.01 in 2022 to $1.08 in 2024), but consensus expects growth to decelerate to ~24% CAGR to 2027 and the stock still sits at very rich multiples (~250x forward adjusted earnings, ~13x sales), implying high execution and valuation risk. Sentiment is moderately positive overall (score ~0.45) with limited market-impact (0.25), while concentration risk in Berkshire remains meaningful given Apple’s outsized weight.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Consider a core allocation to Apple to capture durable cash generation, buybacks and services diversification but constrain position size versus benchmarks because it trades at ~31x forward earnings and analysts forecast only mid-single-digit revenue CAGR through 2026
• Maintain or modestly add to Amazon exposure to benefit from accelerating cloud and ad monetization, monitor delivery speed, ad revenue and cloud growth metrics, and keep valuation discipline given the ~44x forward P/E
• Treat Snowflake as a high-risk, long-horizon growth exposure — size positions small or use staged purchases and require signs of re-accelerating revenue above the current ~24% analyst CAGR or sustained margin gains before increasing exposure