Warren Buffett’s Hand-Picked Successor, Greg Abel, has 68% of Berkshire Hathaway’s Portfolio Invested in Just 5 Stocks. Here’s My Top Pick for September.

Warren Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway to six decades of market-beating returns thanks to his ability to choose quality companies and hold onto them for the long term. Buffett often made significant bets on a handful of players and stuck with them. For example, companies such as Coca-Cola and American Express have been among his leading positions for years.

Buffett retired at the end of 2025 and handed over the investment reins — the chief executive officer position — to Greg Abel. The billionaire carefully selected Abel, who already played a key role at the company as vice chairman of non-insurance business operations. And Abel pledged to continue on the Buffett-established track: favoring quality businesses, getting in at reasonable prices, and sticking with them over time.

Today, Abel has 68% of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio invested in just five stocks. Here’s my top pick for September.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s top five stocks

So, first, a quick look at the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio‘s five biggest positions, in order. They are Apple (AAPL -2.51%), American Express, Coca-Cola, Alphabet, and Bank of America. Each of these companies has been a major holding for years, with the exception of Alphabet. Buffett first bought that stock last year, and Abel significantly added to the position this year, showing a growing belief in the tech company’s long-term prospects.

Now, of these five companies, which one is a top pick this month? The answer to that question is smartphone giant, Apple. The company, already a Buffett favorite as the company’s No. 1 holding, is entering a particularly interesting period. John Ternus took over as CEO at the start of the month from Tim Cook. Cook did a tremendous job over 15 years, leading Apple through a period of many successes, including the quadrupling of revenue and the launching of key products such as the Apple Watch.

AAPL Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts

In recent quarters, though, Apple was slower to lean into artificial intelligence (AI) than other tech companies. Apple disappointed some investors when it delayed the release of the newest version of its virtual assistant Siri — the launch, now expected this month, could highlight Apple’s AI capabilities and offer the company a big boost in the AI market.

And speaking of this month, September generally represents a key moment for Apple as it is when the tech giant announces important product launches. In fact, Apple is hosting a launch event on Sept. 9, and investors are expecting the release of Apple Watches and iPhones, along with the Siri update (Siri AI) and the company’s first-ever folding phone.

A focus on product innovation

The event also offers Ternus the opportunity to share his vision with Apple fans and investors. Ternus, who was senior vice president of hardware engineering prior to becoming CEO, has a solid engineering and product background — elements that support a focus on product innovation. This suggests that Apple could possibly be entering a fresh era of product development, something that may pave the way to additional growth drivers down the road.

Today’s Change

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Current Price

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Key Data Points

Market Cap

$4.7TMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.

Day’s Range

$317.86 – $328.93

52wk Range

$225.95 – $344.57

Volume

101.3K

Avg Vol

54.3M

Gross Margin

48.65%

Dividend Yield

0.33%