5 Best Performing Warren Buffett Stocks in 2023

In this article, we discuss 5 best performing Warren Buffett in 2023. If you want to read our discussion on Buffett’s investment journey, head over to 11 Best Performing Warren Buffett Stocks in 2023. 

5. D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI)

YTD Share Price Performance as of November 26: 40.58%

Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $641,565,163

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) is a homebuilding company in the United States, which is involved in acquiring and developing land, as well as constructing and selling residential homes. The homes are marketed under different names, including D.R. Horton, America’s Builder, Express Homes, Emerald Homes, and Freedom Homes. D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) is set to pay a $0.30 per share quarterly dividend on November 28, to shareholders on record as of November 21. 

Securities filings for Q3 2023 reveal that Warren Buffett held nearly 6 million shares of D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) worth $641.5 million. It is one of the best performing Buffett stocks. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 64 hedge funds were bullish on D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), compared to 54 funds in the prior quarter. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 3.8 million shares worth $412 million. 

Baron Real Estate Fund made the following comment about D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Our investments in homebuilder companies – Toll Brothers, Inc., Lennar Corporation, and D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) – performed well in the first six months of 2023. The share price of Toll Brothers increased nearly 60% and the shares prices of Lennar and D.R. Horton each gained more than 35%.

Year-to-date, each company has witnessed a meaningful uptick in demand to buy homes:

• Home buyers continue to come off the sidelines and buy homes despite 30-year mortgage rates remaining in the 6.5% to 7.0% range. Several factors are contributing to the recent strength, including pent-up demand to buy homes and fears that mortgage rates could move higher. • The sticker shock of rapidly rising mortgage rates appears to have cooled down. Homebuilders have made homes more affordable to prospective home purchasers by offering mortgage rate buydowns to the mid-5% mortgage rate range while maintaining strong profitability margins. • A dearth of inventory in the existing home market and an overall housing supply shortage is driving home buyers to “stretch their wallet” due to fears that they could miss the opportunity to buy a home.

We remain optimistic about the long-term potential for the Fund’s investments in Toll Brothers, Lennar, and D.R. Horton for several reasons…” (Click here to read the full text)

4. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

YTD Share Price Performance as of November 26: 51.89%

Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $156,753,093,002

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the best performing Warren Buffett stocks in 2023. In the third quarter, Warren Buffett held 915.5 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) worth $156.75 billion. It is the biggest holding of Buffett, representing 50.03% of the portfolio. 

On November 24, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock with a $240 price target. The analyst noted that demand for the iPhone 15 in China is consistently strong, with no significant negative revisions to production. Despite the U.S. being a positive market for Apple and the iPhone 15 launch, China is expected to contribute significantly to the tech giant’s success, according to the analyst. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 134 hedge funds were bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 135 funds in the prior quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 53.6 million shares worth over $9 billion. 

RiverPark Advisors made the following comment about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Apple shares were a top detractor in the quarter following reports of the Chinese government banning iPhone use by government employees. Additionally, while the iPhone 15 rollout went generally as expected, the market was underwhelmed by the upgrades in the new phone. Despite these overhangs, early reports from the supply chain seem to indicate demand for the new phone is in line with or better than investor expectations. In August, the company reported a broadly in-line fiscal 3Q23 with $82 billion of revenue and $24 billion of free cash flow. High margin Services Revenue continues to grow faster than the overall business leading to gross and operating margin expansion.

With an installed base of 2 billion active devices and significant growth of the company’s recurring revenue Services segment (now 18% of revenue), we believe that Apple remains one of the most innovative, best positioned and most profitable companies in the mobile technology industry.”

3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

YTD Share Price Performance as of November 26: 70.99%

Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $1,271,200,000

Warren Buffett added Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to his portfolio in the first quarter of 2019. In the third quarter of 2023, Buffett held 10 million shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) worth $1.27 billion, representing 0.4% of the total portfolio. It is one of the best performing Warren Buffett stocks in 2023. 

On November 16, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported a 100% success rate for its Project Kuiper internet satellites during the first test mission, called “Protoflight.” Launched in October, the two satellites, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, were sent into space aboard an Atlas V rocket and are operating as intended. Project Kuiper’s goal is to enhance global broadband access using a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit.

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 286 hedge funds were long Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), compared to 278 funds in the prior quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 41.35 million shares worth $5.25 billion. 

Here is what Polen Global Growth has to say about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Amazon continues to showcase its place as one of the most competitively advantaged companies in the world. The company has made significant progress in managing costs and better leveraging existing capacity, driving a strong recovery in its profitability. We think there’s additional room for improvement.

AWS growth seems to be stabilizing even while management continues to work with clients to optimize their infrastructure spend. Roughly 90% of global IT spending remains on premise. We believe this will eventually flip, with most IT spending ultimately moving to the cloud over time. We think AWS will be a significant beneficiary of this transition.

Further, our investment case on company profitability driven by AWS and advertising continues to unfold, delivering nearly $8 billion in free cash flow over the trailing twelve months and a net margin of 5%. We expect both to move higher with the mix shift of more profitable businesses growing fastest continuing to take effect.

At Amazon’s current price, we believe the company is well positioned to deliver a mid-teens or higher total shareholder return for our clients over the next five plus years without a Herculean effort from the business. It simply needs to continue executing on current businesses and growing into the capacity it built during and immediately after the pandemic.”

2. StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE)

YTD Share Price Performance as of November 26: 71.19%

Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $114,120,430

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) offers financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners, allowing them to engage in electronic commerce in Brazil. Berkshire Hathaway 10.7 million shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) worth $114 million in the third quarter of 2023. It is one of the best performing Warren Buffett stocks this year. 

On November 14, StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) announced board authorization to repurchase up to R$1 billion ($205.5 million) in common shares. This new buyback program replaced the previous one, which included the repurchase of 5.73 million shares at an average price of $10.29 per share, amounting to $59 million. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 32 hedge funds were bullish on StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE), compared to 35 funds in the prior quarter. Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management is a significant position holder in the company, with 10.2 million shares worth $109.2 million. 

Nordstern Capital made the following comment about StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE): (STNE, share price increased + 1% in 1Q 2023)

The card association in Brazil has indicated that the industry should grow between 14% and 18% this year. And we expect to continue to gain market share.” – Thiago dos Santos Piao, Director and former CEO StoneCo Ltd

STNE’s transformation is progressing well. New key personnel have joined, the board and management have strengthened. Cash flows are growing, margins are increasing, the client base and market share keep expanding. The company is all set to restart its lending business in the second half of 2023.

In our view, despite all the changes, STNE still offers best-in-class service coupled with lower pricing than the industry and continues to drive high customer satisfaction…” (Click here to read the full text)

1. Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU)

YTD Share Price Performance as of November 26: 130.62%

Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake Value: $776,611,184

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) operates a digital banking platform and offers financial services globally, including in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Their services include Nu credit and debit cards, Ultraviolet credit and debit cards, and mobile payment solutions for NuAccount customers, facilitating transfers, bill payments, and everyday purchases through mobile phones. It is one of the best performing Warren Buffett stocks in 2023. Berkshire Hathaway held 107 million shares of Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) worth $776.6 million in Q3 2023. 

On November 14, Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) added 5.4 million customers in the third quarter, bringing its total customers to 89.1 million. In the third quarter of 2023, the revenue reached $2.14 billion, surpassing the market consensus of $2.05 billion. This marked an increase from $1.87 billion in the earlier quarter and $1.31 billion in the prior-year quarter. 

According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 50 hedge funds were bullish on Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU), compared to 44 funds in the prior quarter. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management is a significant stakeholder of the company, with 55 million shares worth $400 million. 

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