In this article, we will take a look at the top 10 stocks Warren Buffett would buy in 2026.
Warren Buffett is the legendary founder of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the world’s most successful value investors. As of early 2026, Buffet transitioned to a Chairman role in Berkshire following his retirement as CEO, with Greg Abel now leading the firm’s $274.16 billion portfolio.
Buffett was never interested in making quick profits, which often rely on opportunities created by short-term market trends. He always insisted on prioritizing the quality of the stocks when making investment decisions, and this is reflected in one of his popular quotes from his 1989 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
”It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
Accordingly, his framework is focused on steady profitability, long-term value, and the company’s overall financial strength. Given the current economic volatility, marked by looming tariff disputes and uncertain rate cuts, Buffett’s framework might prove helpful in building a more resilient portfolio for investors.
In this regard, we have come up with 10 stocks that align perfectly with the Oracle of Omaha’s timeless investing philosophy.
Stay with us as we count down the best Buffett-style plays for 2026.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the top 10 stocks Warren Buffett would buy in 2026, we applied a Buffett-style framework focusing on capital efficiency, financial strength, and consistent profitability. We screened for companies with Return on Equity (ROE) above 15%, Debt-to-Equity below 1, and EPS growth of at least 8%–10% over the past five years. We further narrowed our selection to stocks trading below the broader market forward P/E multiple (S&P 500 at 22x P/E).
From this pool, we selected 10 stocks with the highest number of hedged funds having a stake in each and ranked them accordingly. We limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. All the pricing data are current as of market close on February 27, 2026.
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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
10. East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) is one of the top 10 stocks Warren Buffett would buy in 2026.
In an insider activity on February 4, 2026, East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) saw significant sales from one of its top executives. The company’s CEO, Ng Dominic, sold 50,000 shares of company stock in a sale totaling $5,890,752, resulting in a -6% change in the CEO’s ownership value.
Separately, on February 6, 2026, one of the company’s top executives, Director Molly Campbell, sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock. The transaction, valued at $221,058, reduced the Director’s ownership value in the company by 24%, reflecting a notable impact on her personal holdings.
Prior to these events, on January 22, 2026, East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) reported its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings results and highlighted record-high revenue of $2.9 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase. The net income was a record $1.3 billion, or $9.52 per diluted share – a 14% year-over-year increase. Notably, the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share on February 17, 2026, a 33% increase.
Founded in 1973, East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) is the parent company of East West Bank, which provides commercial and consumer banking services globally, with its headquarters in California.
