Warren Buffett Stock Portfolio: Top 5 Stock Picks

Below we take a look at the legendary Warren Buffett Stock Portfolio: Top 5 Stock Picks. For our methodology and a more comprehensive list of the Oracle of Omaha’s stock picks, please see Warren Buffett Stock Portfolio: Top 10 Stock Picks.

5. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Value of Berkshire Hathaway‘s 13F Position: $20.4 Billion

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 71

Warren Buffett’s stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was left unchanged during Q3 at nearly 152 million shares. Buffett also owns stakes in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), though they’re much smaller by comparison. Those holdings were also left untouched during Q3. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also own noteworthy stakes in AXP.

As noted in the first half of this article, Buffett loves companies like American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) that have strong competitive advantages. His interest in the company dates all the way back to 1964, which is when he first took a stake in it. He sold out of that position a few years later, but went long AXP again in 1993 and now owns more than 20% of the company.

Buffett might prefer American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) over its rivals due to the company’s focus on affluent customers and its resulting strong credit quality. Nonetheless, American Express’s $778 million in provisions during Q3, was much higher than the market anticipated and suggests even its customer base isn’t immune from the broader economic fallout. The company’s overall performance has remained strong however, with net income rising by 3% during the quarter to $1.88 billion while revenue surged by 24% to $13.6 billion.