In 2024, Warren Buffett Highlighted 8 "Forever" Holdings -- and His Successor, Greg Abel, Just Added 2 New Stocks to the List

By Sean Williams – Mar 4, 2026 at 3:06PM ESTKey PointsTwo years ago, Berkshire's now-retired billionaire boss, Warren Buffett, labeled eight stocks as "indefinite" holdings in his annual letter to shareholders.

Successor Greg Abel's first letter to shareholders introduced two existing investments as forever holdings -- one of which is generating an annual yield on cost of 41%! Meanwhile, Abel's other forever stock is a surprise, given that Buffett sold 75% of its shares in the nine quarters leading up to his retirement.On Jan. 1, a new era began for trillion-dollar conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA +1.34%)(BRKB +1.22%).

With Warren Buffett retiring from the CEO role on Dec. 31, Berkshire's day-to-day operations and its $319 billion investment portfolio are now the responsibility of successor Greg Abel. For the most part, Abel has vowed to follow in the Oracle of Omaha's footsteps, which includes holding near and dear the eight existing stocks Buffett described as "indefinite" holdings in a February 2024 letter to shareholders. This includes Berkshire's two longest-tenured stocks, Coca-Cola and American Express, as well as Occidental Petroleum and all five Japanese trading houses. Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire Hathaway CEO on Dec. 31. Image source: The Motley Fool. But just two months into his new role as CEO, Abel is leaving an indelible mark by adding two more stocks to Berkshire's "forever" list. The Oracle of Omaha's successor plans to hold these two stocks indefinitely In Abel's first letter to shareholders, under "equity investments," he had this to say: A large portion of our portfolio is concentrated in a small number of American companies, such as Apple (AAPL 0.47%), American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody's (MCO +1.50%) -- businesses we understand well, have a high regard for their leaders, and expect will compound over decades. ExpandNYSE: MCOMoody'sToday's Change(1.50%) $6.94Current Price$471.24Key Data PointsMarket Cap$82BDay's Range$463.75 - $475.9052wk Range$378.71 - $546.88Volume64KAvg Vol1.2MGross Margin68.14%Dividend Yield0.83% The addition of rating agency Moody's to the ranks of Berkshire Hathaway's forever holdings isn't a surprise. It's the third-longest tenured stock in the portfolio (since 2000) and sports one of the highest yields on cost. Berkshire's cost basis of approximately $10.05 per share in the company, compared to Moody's base annual dividend of $4.12/share, works out to a 41% annual yield, relative to cost. There's no incentive to ever sell. Furthermore, Moody's is ideally positioned to navigate any economic climate. Moody's Investors Services is primed to benefit if interest rates decline and corporate/government debt issuances increase. Meanwhile, periods of economic uncertainty favor Moody's Analytics, which is used by businesses for financial risk management and economic research. However, Apple's addition to the ranks of the forever holdings is a surprise. Image source: Apple. Is Apple really a forever holding for Berkshire's new CEO? Abel's mention of Apple as a potential multidecade compounder is an eyebrow-raiser, given that the now-retired Warren Buffett had sold 687,642,574 shares of Apple -- 75% of Berkshire's total stake -- in the nine quarters leading up to his retirement. On the surface, Apple checks several boxes that Buffett and Abel would typically look for in a long-term investment. It has an exceptionally loyal customer base, a trusted management team, and an unmatched share repurchase program. Since initiating a buyback program in 2013, Apple has spent more than $841 billion to retire over 44% of its outstanding shares. This has had a markedly positive effect on its earnings per share. ExpandNASDAQ: AAPLAppleToday's Change(-0.47%) $-1.23Current Price$262.52Key Data PointsMarket Cap$3.9TDay's Range$261.42 - $266.1552wk Range$169.21 - $288.62Volume39MAvg Vol48MGross Margin47.33%Dividend Yield0.39% But Apple isn't a cheap stock, and Greg Abel is just as much a stickler for value as his predecessor. When Buffett initially opened a position in Apple in early 2016, it was trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of between 10 and 15. Apple now commands a P/E ratio of 33.4 and is coming off a three-year stretch (2022-2024) in which its physical device sales growth completely stalled. Although Abel has made clear that Apple stock isn't going anywhere, don't be surprised if Berkshire's stake in its current No. 1 holding is further whittled down.Read NextMar 4, 2026 •By Danny Vena, CPAApple Just Made a Power Move to Gain Market ShareMar 3, 2026 •By Daniel SparksApple's New Product Blitz This Week Enhances the Stock's Bull CaseMar 3, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPACan Investing in Apple Stock Double Your Money?Mar 3, 2026 •By Daniel SparksApple Launches a New iPhone: What Investors Should KnowMar 2, 2026 •By Neil PatelUp 1,000%, Should You Buy Apple Right Now?Feb 27, 2026 •By Adam LevyPrediction: This Big Tech Company Will Outperform in 2026 by Bucking the TrendAbout the AuthorSean Williams is a data-driven Motley Fool contributing analyst who's been investing for 27 years and has penned north of 15,000 articles. You'll find him at the intersection of politics and investing tackling macroeconomic topics of interest (Social Security and Donald Trump's economic/tax policies), analyzing which stocks billionaire investors (e.g., Warren Buffett) are buying and selling, and digging into how the world's most-influential businesses and trends -- everything from the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) to the next stock split -- are changing Wall Street. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.TMFUltraLongX@AMCScamStocks MentionedAppleNASDAQ: AAPL$262.73(-0.39%)-$1.02Berkshire HathawayNYSE: BRKA$730,707.01(+1.34%)+$9,662.12Berkshire HathawayNYSE: BRKB$487.48(+1.27%)+$6.12American ExpressNYSE: AXP$311.27(+1.12%)+$3.45Coca-ColaNYSE: KO$78.08(-1.59%)-$1.26Moody'sNYSE: MCO$471.24(+1.50%)+$6.94Occidental PetroleumNYSE: OXY$53.65(-0.07%)-$0.04*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.