If I Could Buy Only 1 Warren Buffett Stock Amid the Stock Market Chaos, This Would Be It

Keith Speights, The Motley Fool

Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 4:42 AM 4 min read

Good stocks to own during periods of uncertainty can be found, though. Looking at the stocks Warren Buffett owns is a great place to start. The legendary "Oracle of Omaha" is faring well in 2025 while most investors are struggling. But if I could buy only one Buffett stock amid the stock market chaos, which would it be?

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Several worthy contenders

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) portfolio includes several worthy contenders. If we were focusing primarily on the best-performing stocks during the market turmoil, BYD (OTC: BYDD.F) (OTC: BYDDY) would be an obvious pick. Shares of the Chinese electric vehicle maker have skyrocketed around 37% year to date.

I think BYD probably has more room to run as it rolls out self-driving technology in its vehicles. However, like many investors, I'm somewhat leery of buying Chinese stocks due to the possibility of Chinese government interference in their businesses.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is a better pick for risk-averse investors. The food and beverage giant is Buffett's third-largest holding. It's also his longest-held position. As a blue chip consumer staples stock, Coca-Cola tends to hold up well when the stock market is volatile. We've seen that exemplified in 2025: Coke's share price has jumped 16% while the S&P 500 has fallen sharply.

Income investors should especially like Coca-Cola. The company is a Dividend King, recently announcing its 63rd consecutive annual dividend increase.

If you're looking for a great Buffett stock to buy at a discount that should perform well over the long run, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stands out. The e-commerce and cloud services leader's shares have plunged roughly 20% year to date. Amazon trades at its lowest price-to-earnings multiple in years.

However, the company's long-term prospects remain bright. Artificial intelligence (AI) demand is fueling an acceleration of organizations moving their apps and data to the cloud, which benefits Amazon Web Services. AI is also helping Amazon increase the profitability of its e-commerce operations.

The best Buffett stock of all

While BYD, Coca-Cola, and Amazon are good Buffett stocks to buy in a chaotic market, I think the best choice is...Berkshire Hathaway itself. Berkshire is clearly defying the overall market downturn with its shares up nearly 15% year to date.

More importantly, buying Berkshire Hathaway provides a level of diversification that you can't get with most individual stocks. Berkshire has over 60 subsidiaries. It owns stakes in over 40 other companies, including BYD, Coca-Cola, and Amazon, of course. The conglomerate's wholly and partially owned businesses represent pretty much every sector.

When there's significant uncertainty, this diversification makes Berkshire a better stock to own than most. Some of its holdings won't perform well, but others will. You can also rest easy knowing that Buffett and his team invest only in businesses built for the long run.

Another big plus with buying Berkshire Hathaway shares right now is the company's huge cash position of over $334 billion. Buffett has steadily amassed cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasuries, mainly because he couldn't find enough attractively valued stocks to buy. If the stock market sinks further, though, he could put that money to work buying great stocks at great prices.

What if the volatility fades?

Some safe-haven stocks perform well when the market is turbulent, but not so well when the volatility fades. That shouldn't be a problem with Berkshire Hathaway. The stock has delivered an average annual gain of nearly 20% over the last 60 years. Berkshire is truly an all-weather stock to buy and hold.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If I Could Buy Only 1 Warren Buffett Stock Amid the Stock Market Chaos, This Would Be It was originally published by The Motley Fool

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