Here’s how much you’d have if you invested in Warren Buffett’s top 3 stocks when he did

Over the years, Warren Buffet has developed famous investment strategies and made immensely profitable investments. 

Among the 41 stocks held in ‘The Oracle of Omaha’s’ portfolio at the time of the latest available Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) 13-f filing – the one covering the second quarter of 2024 – three holdings stand out as the famous investor’s favorites.

These are the technology giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and American Express (NYSE: AXP), and together, they made up 58% of Buffett’s $279.96 billion portfolio.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

The technology giant Apple is perhaps the most famous of Warren Buffett’s current investments due to a string of factors including the company’s prominence, the sheer size of the stake – AAPL shares accounted for 30% of the portfolio – and its relative recency.

When ‘The Oracle of Omaha’ purchased Apple stock in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, it was trading at approximately $24. Considering AAPL share price today stands at $229.69, a $1,000 investment made at the same time as Warren Buffett’s would be worth $9,570 – $8,570 in profit.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)

Though the legendary investor has been selling a vast quantity of his Bank of America shares, the company remains a major holding within his portfolio. 

When Buffett purchased BAC shares – allegedly after getting the idea in a bathtub – in Q3, 2011, they stood somewhere between $6 and $10, with $7 appearing as the likely approximation.

BAC stock price today, at press time, is a much higher $42.47, meaning that a $1,000 investment in 2011 would have grown to $6,067 – for a profit of $5,067.

American Express (NYSE: AXP)

If contrasted with the BAC and AAPL bets, Warren Buffett’s American Express investment is ancient. Specifically, ‘The Oracle of Omaha’ first gained exposure to the stock sometime during the ‘salad oil swindle‘ of 1963.

The event saw Buffett take advantage of the AXP stock price collapse from about $65 to approximately $37 – roughly $0.90 after all the subsequent stock splits are taken into account.

Considering American Express share price today, at press time, stands at $270.67, any investor old enough to have followed Buffett into the trade would now have $300,744 – meaning they’d have made nearly $300,000 just from AXP stock.

Ultimately, any investor who managed to follow Warren Buffett into his current top 3 holdings with a total $3,000 investment would have indeed gotten rich slowly – particularly thanks to AXP – and would, at press time, have $316,381 for a total return of 10,446%.