Last year, American Express demonstrated its pricing power as it raised the annual fee on its Platinum Card from $550 to $695.American Express makes most of its money through discount fees — merchants are charged a percentage of every Amex card transaction. As the price of goods and services increases, the company gets to take a cut of larger bills.
Berkshire also owns shares of American Express competitors Visa and Mastercard, although the positions are much smaller.Article contentCoca-Cola is a classic example of a recession-resistant business. Whether the economy is booming or struggling, a can of Coke is affordable to most people. Buffett has held Coca-Cola in his portfolio since the late 1980s. Today, Berkshire owns 400 million shares of the company, worth approximately $25.8 billion.Article contentNo one who spends $1,600 for a fully decked-out iPhone 13 Pro Max would call it a steal. But consumers love splurging on Apple products anyway.
Today, Apple is Buffett’s largest publicly traded holding, representing nearly 40 per cent of Berkshire’s portfolio by market value. Of course, the sheer increase in Apple’s stock price is one of the reasons for that concentration. Over the past five years, shares of the tech gorilla have surged more than 280 per cent.Article content