Warren Buffett's Big Bets: 10 Of Berkshire's Largest Deals Reveal Diversification Strategy

Legendary investor Warren Buffett may have shocked the investing world recently with an announcement that he will be stepping down as the longtime CEO of Berkshire Hathaway BRK BRK at the end of 2025.

With the latest news, here's a look back at some of the largest acquisitions made by Buffett during his time leading Berkshire Hataway.

What Happened: Berkshire Hathaway has produced market-beating returns for many years, with Buffett's leadership helping the company outperform the S&P 500 through a strategy of acquisitions and stock holdings.

Benzinga previously shared a look at the top 10 stock holdings in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. Along with the public stocks held, the diversified conglomerate owns companies in sectors like consumer products, energy, utilities, industrial, railroads, insurance and more.

Here are 10 of the largest acquisitions made by Berkshire Hathaway during Buffett's leadership, according to a report from Business Insider and a chart from Freedom Capital Markets Chief Global Strategist Jay Woods' weekly newsletter.

1. Precision Castparts Corp: $37.2 billion, 2016, aerospace/industrial
2. Burlington Northern Santa Fe: $34 billion, 2010, railroads
3. Heinz/Kraft Heinz: $28 billion, 2013, food/consumer goods
4. General Reinsurance: $22 billion, 1998, reinsurance
5. Pilot Flying J: $13.6 billion, 2017 to 2024, truck stops
6. Alleghany Corporation: $11.6 billion, 2022, insurance
7. Dominion Energy: $10.0 billion, 2020, natural gas/energy
8. Lubrizol Corporation: $9.7 billion, 2011, chemicals
9. PacificCorp: $9.4 billion, 2005, utilities
10. NV Energy: $5.6 billion, 2013, utilities

The Heinz acquisition is notable. Buffett partnered with 3G Capital to acquire the company and later helped facilitate a merger with Kraft Foods with an additional equity commitment. Kraft Heinz KHC is now publicly traded, with Berkshire Hathaway owning around 27.5% of the company, with a stake valued at around $9.1 billion.

Pilot Flying J was one of several companies where Buffett took a small stake and eventually bought the company outright. The value is the total spent by Berkshire Hathaway to acquire the company in several equity stakes.

Read Also: Warren Buffett’s CEO Challenge: ‘Which Of Your Competitors’ Stocks Would You Buy?’

Why It's Important: The above acquisitions show that despite Berkshire Hathaway being a $1.11 trillion company today, the conglomerate has made many small bets when it comes to acquisitions.

Only three of the company's acquisitions were $25 billion or larger deals and only seven of the deals were valued at $10 billion or more.

Buffett's largest acquisitions reveal a clear preference for sectors like utilities, railroads, insurance, and energy — all of which remain core pillars of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio today.

Berkshire Hathaway currently has a cash balance of more than $300 billion, which will likely remain on the balance sheet when new CEO Greg Abel takes over the company from the legendary investor.

Berkshire Hathaway investors will be closely watching to see if Abel uses the cash for new acquisitions or stock investments in 2026.

Read Next:

• If You Invested $1,000 In Berkshire Hathaway Stock When Warren Buffett Did, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.