In this article, we will discuss Bill Gates’ 2026 Portfolio: Top 10 Stocks to Buy.
The Gates Foundation Trust is the endowment fund of Billionaire Bill Gates. The fund’s equity portfolio was valued at about $35.36 billion at the end of last year and remains highly concentrated in stable companies with durable, long-term business models. The fund is positioned towards generating steady returns that help finance the foundation’s annual grantmaking. While Gates is not involved in the day-to-day management of the portfolio, these investments are important for his financial strategy because they provide long-term funding visibility for his charitable commitments.
The Gates Foundation’s stock portfolio is managed by Michael Larson, chief investment officer of Cascade Asset Management. Larson has overseen Gates’ investments for years and is known for maintaining a concentrated portfolio focused on high-quality companies with consistent cash flows.
Gates, a close friend of Warren Buffett and an admirer of the Oracle of Omaha’s stock-picking skills, has been a fan of investing in companies with strong moats and long-term business models. You will find many non-AI, “boring” stocks with strong balance sheets in Gates’ stock portfolio. In a December interview with CNBC, Gates said that while AI’s impact on the world will be “profound,” not all AI valuations are justifiable and many of these stocks could go down in the future.
“AI is only a bubble in the sense that not all of these valuations will end up going up,” Gates said. “Some of them will go down but in the sense that behind it is a technology that’s deeply profound that will reshape the world. There’s not the slightest doubt about that. Does it mean all of these companies with high valuations will all be winners? No. It’s going to be hyper- competitive. A reasonable percentage of those companies won’t be worth that much.”
For this article, we scanned the Gates Foundation’s stock portfolio and picked its top 10 holdings. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE:KOF)
Gates Foundation Stake Value: $0.59 Billion
Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE:KOF) is a smart stock pick of the Gates Foundation to benefit from the rising consumer class in Latin America. While the beverage market in the US is getting saturated, consumption in Brazil, Mexico and other key countries in the region is rising. Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE:KOF) saw double-digit operating income growth in the last quarter of 2025 amid strong demand in Brazil and pricing benefits in Mexico. The stock has a P/E of about 15.4, much lower than the industry average of 17. It has a dividend yield of about 4%. The stock ranks 10th in our list of the top stocks in Bill Gates’ 2026 portfolio.
9. FedEx (NYSE:FDX)
Gates Foundation Stake Value: $0.69 Billion
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) shares are up 46% over the past year. But can it run more? The company is executing a major efficiency plan (DRIVE) to reduce billions in costs and increase margins with fewer flights, using automation and network consolidation. Despite short-term volatility, global e-commerce is positioned to expand and FedEx (NYSE:FDX) will benefit from increasing package volume growth.
Another growth catalyst is FedEx’s (NYSE:FDX) plan to spin off its Freight segment. Separating the higher-margin LTL business could unlock value through a higher standalone valuation, while allowing FedEx to focus on improving efficiency in its Express and Ground operations.
The London Company Large Cap Strategy stated the following regarding FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) – FDX was a top performer after reporting better results led by improved revenue quality, disciplined pricing, and continued cost savings. Despite the freight recession, domestic ground volume has been fairly resilient recently, and margins expanded in the core Express business due to the structural cost reductions. We remain attracted to the strong cash generation, balanced capital allocation, and a solid balance sheet.”
8. Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Gates Foundation Stake Value: $0.93 Billion
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has become more than just a go-to place for millions of Americans for everyday shopping. The company has diversified into a high-growth tech and service ecosystem that is rapidly changing its profit profile. After years of spending a fortune to catch up with Amazon, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) ecommerce has become profitable, a key milestone. It now delivers roughly 35% of its online orders in under three hours by using its 4,700 stores as high-speed fulfillment centers.
Amid rising inflation and wavering consumer sentiment, rich households are also flocking to Walmart (NYSE:WMT). Its market share from households with $100,000+ income is rising due to the convenience of Walmart+ and high-end fashion lines. With 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a store, it remains the primary source for essentials for the 150 million people who shop there weekly.
The stock ranks 8th in our list of the top stocks in Bill Gates’ 2026 portfolio.
7. Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)
Gates Foundation Stake Value: $1.37 Billion
Water treatment company Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) has become a new AI play amid its exposure to liquid cooling solutions for data centers. How? The company recently announced to buy direct-to-chip liquid cooling CoolIT Systems for $4.75 billion. Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)’s closed-loop technology could solve the water-based cooling problem by replacing traditional, evaporative air cooling with sealed systems that recycle the same fluid indefinitely.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) is positioning itself as the “end-to-end” provider for the thousands of new data centers opening globally. The world faces a projected 56% water deficit by 2030. Ecolab’s solutions could become essential for tech and industrial businesses in the future. The stock ranks 7th in our list of the top stocks in Bill Gates’ 2026 portfolio.
6. Deere & Co (NYSE:DE)
Gates Foundation Stake Value: $1.66 Billion
Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) is operating in a cyclical business of agricultural and construction equipment linked to commodity prices and interest rates. But it’s fast diversifying towards precision agriculture and automation technologies. It’s expanding its John Deere Operations Center digital platform and monetizing products such as See & Spray computer‑vision weed control and autonomous‑ready tractors with subscription‑style software fees.
What about its core business? Despite cyclicality, Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) has long-term secular growth catalysts related to increasing global food demand, infrastructure expansion, and increasing mechanization in emerging markets. Its equipment sales could be supported by replacement cycles of aging machinery and demand for higher-capacity tractors.
While we acknowledge the potential of DE to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DE and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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