In this article, we take a look at Warren Buffett’s stock portfolio and compare it to Kanye West’s stock portfolio and see whose stock portfolio wins in terms of returns. To see Kanye West’s stock portfolio, click Kanye West Stock Portfolio vs. Warren Buffett Stock Portfolio.
Now we discuss Warren Buffett’s top five stock picks from his Q4’2017 portfolio.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61
Coca Cola was the fifth biggest stockholding for billionaire Warren Buffett, as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. The stock was trading at around $46 during December 2017, while its stock price today sits at $61. In addition to stock price gains, Buffett has enjoyed billions of dollars in dividends from Coca Cola since the company has an impeccable track record of upping its dividends for over six decades.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, 61 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Coca Cola.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
Bank of America was the fourth largest stock position of Warren Buffett during the fourth quarter of 2017. Back then the stock was trading at $29. Today, its stock price sits at around $28.71. Clearly the stock has gone nowhere. Over the past five years the stock has lost about 4.3%. Bank of America, however, is a dividend payer and a symbol of stability in the financial world. Perhaps that’s why Bank of America remains one of the biggest positions of Buffett to this date. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, Buffett had a $29 billion stake in the company.
Artisan Value Fund made the following comment about Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“At the end of Q1, we had an ~7% weighting in banks consisting of PNC, US Bancorp and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC). All 3 are among the 10 largest US banks. We believe the range of probabilities and long-term outcomes are tilted in our favor at current prices but are proceeding with caution for several reasons. First, while we believe deposit-runs have likely burned themselves out, there is a non-zero risk these runs spread wider than our base case. Second, we expect more regulation in coming years which will increase the cost of doing business, potentially in exchange for higher FDIC limits. Third, at the very least we expect banks to cease buybacks for the rest of the year to build up liquidity and capital ratios. There is an increasingly more likely outcome that banks issue equity capital and preferred stock once markets stabilize. Fourth, with the banking system in shock, it will likely retrench, which will constrict capital to the US economy. Coupled with the “long and variable lags” of Fed policy, this will slow US economic growth beyond what private credit markets can make up.”
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34
Food company Kraft Heinz was trading at around $78 near the end of 2017. At that time Buffett had a $25 billion stake in the company. As of June 4, Kraft Heinz shares were trading at $38.51. Over the past five years the stock has lost about 34% in value. Buffett has over the past few years cut his exposure to Kraft Heinz but the stock is nevertheless a significant part of his portfolio. As of the end of the first quarter Berkshire had a $12.5 billion stake in the company.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78
Wells Fargo was the second biggest stockholding of Warren Buffett as of the end of the 2017. Berkshire had a $28 billion stake in the financial services company. At that time the stock was trading at around $58. Fast forward to June 4, Wells Fargo stock price has gone down to $41.24. The stock has lost about 29% in this period. However, Wells Fargo is no longer in the portfolio of the Oracle of Omaha.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, 78 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in the company, a massive decline from 87 hedge funds in the previous quarter.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131
Apple was the biggest holding of Warren Buffett back in the fourth quarter of 2017. At that time Buffett had a $28 billion stake in the company. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, Buffett has a $150 billion stake in the company. Apple shares have rewarded the billionaire over these years both through share price gains and dividends.
Alger Spectra Fund made the following comment about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a leading technology provider in telecommunications, computing, and services. Apple’s iOS operating system is the company’s unique intellectual property and competitive strength. This software drives particularly tight engagement with consumers and enterprises, which is fostering the growing purchase of high margin services like music, apps, and Apple Pay. While iPhone sales were down year-over-year (YoY). services revenues grew 7% YoY which was slightly above analyst estimates. Company earnings were also better-than-anticipated due to lower input costs, such as memory chips and cost control initiatives. Aside from production disruptions, negative sentiment had also weighed on shares as investors questioned how an economic slowdown would affect consumer demand for Apple products in 2023. However, management projected an acceleration in earnings for the fiscal first quarter, where they noted that iPhone and services growth should remain strong, along with encouraging impacts around product mix, lower input costs, and continued cost controls.”
Kanye West Vs Warren Buffett Stock Returns Competition: Who Wins?
Time for the showdown.
Let’s calculate equal-weighted returns of Kanye West and Warren Buffett’s portfolios based on their holdings as of December 2017. For Buffett’s portfolio we used the top 5 stock picks from Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio as of the Q4’2017. For Kanye West’s portfolio, we used the 5 stocks he gifted to Kim Kardashian.
Kanye West Portfolio Returns
1. adidas AG (OTC:ADDYY)
Price as of December 2017: $98.46
Price as of June 4, 2023: $85.79
2. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Price as of December 2017: $58.52
Price as of June 4, 2023: $124
3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Price as of December 2017: $42.70
Price as of June 4, 2023: $180.95
4. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Price as of December 2017: $108
Price as of June 4, 2023: $90.77
5. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Price as of December 2017: $532
Price as of June 4, 2023: $400
Kanye West Portfolio Value in December 2017 = (0.2 * $98.46) + (0.2 * $58.52) + (0.2 * $42.70) + (0.2 * $108) + (0.2 * $532) = $167.44
Kanye West Portfolio Value on June 4, 2023 = (0.2 * $85.79) + (0.2 * $124) + (0.2 * $180.95) + (0.2 * $90.77) + (0.2 * $400) = $176.30
Equal-Weighted Return = (End Portfolio Value – Start Portfolio Value) / Start Portfolio Value = ($176.30 – $167.44) / $167.44 = $8.86 / $167.44 ≈ 0.0529 or 5.29%
Warren Buffett’s Portfolio Returns
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Price as of December 2017: $42.70
Price as of June 4, 2023: $180.95
2. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Price as of December 2017: $58
Price as of June 4, 2023: $41.24
3. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)
Price as of December 2017: $78
Price as of June 4, 2023: $38
4. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
Price as of December 2017: $29
Price as of June 4, 2023: $28.71
5. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)
Price as of December 2017: $46
Price as of June 4, 2023: $61
Warren Buffett’s Portfolio Value in December 2017 = (0.2 * $42.70) + (0.2 * $58) + (0.2 * $78) + (0.2 * $29) + (0.2 * $46) = $50.08
Warren Buffett’s Portfolio Value on Jun 4, 2023 = (0.2 * $180.95) + (0.2 * $41.24) + (0.2 * $38) + (0.2 * $28.71) + (0.2 * $61) = $69.58
Equal-Weighted Return = (End Portfolio Value – Start Portfolio Value) / Start Portfolio Value = ($69.58 – $50.08) / $50.08 = $19.50 / $50.08 ≈ 0.3894 or 38.94%
Comparing the equal-weighted returns:
Kanye West Portfolio Returns from December 2017 to June 4, 2023: 5.29%
Warren Buffett Portfolio Returns from December 2017 to June 4, 2023: 38.94%
Warren Buffett has a clear lead here, and we are not even surprised.
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