Warren Buffet, also known as the "Oracle of Omaha," manages the prestigious Berkshire Hathaway. We are still in the first quarter of 2017, but there are already a lot of people that are curious about how Buffet's portfolio is doing. As of the moment, Berkshire Hathaway is almost flat. This might not be impressive, but we are still in the early months of 2017. In fact, some of the stocks under Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio are already gaining momentum. In this article, we are going to list the top 5 performing stocks under Buffet's managed portfolio.
5. Visa
Visa may have increased its operating expenses by 16% last year, but investors don't care that much. This is probably because Visa was still able to give impressive results. The company reported a 7% growth in year-over-year earnings. The acquisition of Visa Europe also resulted in a 25% revenue growth.
For the fiscal year of 2017, Visa is expecting a 15% - 18% growth in net income. The earnings per share are in the area of "mid-teens" (adjusted basis). It's safe to say that Visa is having a good start this year. As a result, it contributed to a 10% gain for Buffet's managed portfolio.
4. Charter Communications
Charter Communications got a huge boost in stock price which was not directly related to a high growth or some other metrics. The company's stock soared around mid-January because of acquisition rumors. According to the "Grapevine," Verizon was considering the idea of acquiring Charter Communications. A lot of experts say that such acquisition is unlikely to happen. And yet, the rumors haven't cleared from the building. As a result, Charger Communications contributed to a 12.3% gain for Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
3. Apple
The holiday shopping season gave Apple a huge boost in earnings. To be exact, Apple reported earnings of $78.4 billion. Apple remarkably surpassed the expected earnings. One possible reason for this is because of its growing service revenue, which includes Apple Pay, Apple Music, iTunes, App Store etc. In fact, this revenue stream of Apple is growing by 18% year-over-year. While this revenue stream may just account for 9% of Apple's total results, it's quickly becoming a critical part of Apple's bottom line. Apple expects the revenue to continue climbing during the first quarter of 2017. As a result, Apple contributed to a 13.5% gain for Buffet's portfolio.
2. Moody's
Moody's stocks have been steadily rising since the start of 2017. A big reason for this is the resolution of a pending civil claim. Not only did the issue cleared faster than everyone expected, but it cost significantly less compared to most experts’ estimates. As a result, Moody's contributed a 15.6% boost to Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
1. Liberty Media
So far in 2017, Liberty Media is the biggest winner under Buffet's managed portfolio. The company experienced impressive growth within the European markets. The company is also speeding up its major investments and activities in the UK. Furthermore, Liberty Media is aggressively repurchasing its stocks. As a result, it contributed a 16.2% increase to Buffet's managed portfolio.
