Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on December 31, 2025, after six decades leading the conglomerate he transformed from a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion empire. The “Oracle of Omaha” left his successor, Greg Abel, with a very concentrated portfolio: more than 65% of Berkshire’s massive portfolio is invested in just six stocks. Abel, who has served as vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, officially took over as CEO on January 1, 2026. At 95 years old, Buffett isn’t fully retiring; he will remain chairman of the board and plans to continue coming to the Omaha headquarters as much as before. However, he has stated he will be “going quiet” and leaving all decision-making to Abel.
The cautious strategy Buffett handed over to Abel is eerily similar to the stance Berkshire Hathaway took in the late 1990s, before the dot-com bubble crashed. Perhaps both men saw the circular financing of the artificial intelligence complex, the massive focus on expensive data center projects that will demand a tremendous amount of electricity, water, and most importantly, capital, plus a host of potential geopolitical obstacles, like what we are facing in Iran and the Middle East, as obstacles for a continued run higher for Berkshire Hathaway.
The bottom line for investors is that history shows the most important aspect of investing is a long-term approach, and timing the market is very difficult; however, when a shift is obvious, like the Magnificent 7, where all are trading down in 2026, with legacy technology giant Microsoft down a stunning 18% year to date, it may be time to shift to safe dividend stocks that have products or services that are always in demand.
We screened Berkshire Hathaway holdings for the safest stocks that pay dependable dividends and, in some cases, rising dividends. Four top companies are outstanding ideas for investors who can’t afford to move everything to cash and sit and wait for a bear market. All four are Buy-rated at the top Wall Street firms we cover.
Why do we cover Warren Buffett’s stocks?
Few investors have the results and reputation that Buffett has garnered over the past 50 years. While investing has changed over the past half-century, buying good companies with products and services known worldwide and paying dividends will always remain in style. Though he has turned the ship over to Greg Abel, he still has a large presence at Berkshire Hathaway.
Chevron
Chevron (NYSE: CVX | CVX Price Prediction) is an American multinational energy company primarily focused on oil and gas but with integrated energy and chemicals businesses worldwide. It is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector and pays a substantial 3.44% dividend, which was raised by 4.1% in January. Berkshire Hathaway owns 130,156,362 shares, which equals 6.5% of the float and 8.7% of the portfolio.
The company operates in two segments. The Upstream segment is involved in the following:
- Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas
- Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas
- Transportation of crude oil through pipelines, and transportation, storage
- Marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant
The Downstream segment engages in:
- Refining crude oil into petroleum products
- Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants
- Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels
- Transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car
- Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives
It also involves cash management, debt financing, insurance operations, real estate, and technology businesses.
Piper Sandler has an Overweight rating with a huge $242 target price.
Coca-Cola
This American multinational corporation was founded in 1892, and it remains a top long-time holding of Warren Buffett. He owns a massive 400 million Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) shares, which is 9.3% of the float and 9.6% of the portfolio. The stock increased by a huge 17.1% in 2025, still has solid upside potential, and pays a dependable 2.63% dividend.
The world’s largest beverage company offers consumers more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, the company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, including:
- Diet Coke
- Coca-Cola Light
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
- Caffeine-free Diet Coke
- Cherry Coke
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Zero Orange
- Fanta Zero Sugar
- Fanta Apple
- Sprite
- Sprite Zero Sugar
- Simply Orange
- Simply Apple
- Simply Grapefruit
- Fresca
- Schweppes
- Dasani
- Fuze Tea
- Glacéau Smartwater
- Glacéau Vitaminwater
- Gold Peak
- Ice Dew
- Powerade
- Topo Chico
- Minute Maid
Globally, it is the top provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, juices, and juice drinks.
Through the world’s most extensive beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the company’s beverages at a rate of over 1.9 billion servings per day. It’s also important to remember that the company owns 16% of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST), which continues to deliver strong financial results.
Jefferies has a Buy rating and a target price of $90.
Domino’s Pizza
Buffett first bought Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ: DPZ) stock in 2024. The American multinational pizza restaurant chain, founded in 1960, pays a 1.93% dividend. Berkshire Hathaway owns 10% of the float, and the stock makes up 0.4% of the portfolio.
The company operates a significant business in both delivery and carryout pizza with a global network of over 20,500 stores across 90 markets. It operates through three segments:
- U.S. Stores, which primarily comprises franchised stores in the United States. The segment also operates a network of U.S. company-owned stores.
- International Franchise segment primarily includes operations related to the company’s franchising business in foreign markets.
- Supply chain primarily includes distributing food, equipment, and supplies to stores from the company’s supply chain center operations in the United States and Canada.
Domino’s Pinpoint Delivery technology enables customers to receive deliveries nearly anywhere, including parks, baseball fields, and beaches.
Evercore ISI has an Overweight rating with a huge $510 target price.
Kroger
Kroger (NYSE: KR) is an American retail company that operates supermarkets, combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price-impact warehouses throughout the United States. This grocery chain giant is a consistently solid and conservative investment with a dependable 1.91% dividend. Berkshire Hathaway owns 8.1% of the float, and Kroger marks up 1.1% of the portfolio.
Its combination of food and drug stores offers:
- Natural food and organic sections
- Pharmacies
- General Merchandise
- Pet centers
- Fresh seafood and organic produce
Multi-department stores offer:
- Apparel
- Home fashion and furnishings
- Outdoor living
- Electronics
- Automotive products
- Toys
The company’s marketplace stores offer:
- Full-service grocery, pharmacy, health, and beauty care
- Perishable goods, as well as general merchandise, including apparel, home goods, and toys
- Price-impact warehouse stores sell groceries, health and beauty care products, meat, dairy, baked goods, and fresh produce
The company also manufactures and processes food products in its supermarkets and online; it sells fuel through 1,613 fuel centers.
Telsey Advisory has an Outperform rating with an $82 target price.