Keith Noonan and Jennifer Saibil, The Motley Fool

Wed, May 21, 2025, 7:00 AM6 min read

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At Berkshire Hathaway's latest shareholder meeting, CEO Warren Buffett announced that he would be stepping down from his position as the company's leader at the end of this year.

To put into perspective the incredible success the company has seen under Buffett's tenure, Berkshire stock was priced at roughly $18 per share when Buffett purchased a controlling stake in the business and became its chief executive in 1965. Today, a single share of Berkshire's Class A stock trades at more than $776,000.

Given that Berkshire Hathaway now has a market capitalization of more than $1.1 trillion and ranks as the world's ninth-largest company, it's likely that the investment conglomerate's most explosive days of growth are now behind it. On the other hand, Warren Buffett's company has built an incredible track record through its portfolio of high-quality investments.

With that in mind, here's a look at two companies in Berkshire's stock portfolio that could turn a $1,000 investment into much more over the long term.

Jennifer Saibil (Amazon): Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock accounts for only 0.7% of the Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio, but it's been a lucrative addition, gaining around 187% since Berkshire first purchased the stock in 2019. Amazon stock is down 6% this year as investors worry about the impact of tariffs on its e-commerce business, but there's plenty of opportunity for Amazon to grow and create shareholder value, and now is an excellent time to take a position.

Before determining how tariffs might impact Amazon, it's important to understand just how much of a lead Amazon has in e-commerce. It controls nearly 40% of all U.S. e-commerce, and as it constantly improves its delivery times and product assortment, its Prime members rely on it for more and more of their essentials and other purchases.

On the company's most recent earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy discussed how the company is viewing the tariff situation. He made four separate points. Jassy explained that:

1. Many U.S. retailers buy from resellers who buy goods from China, so customers buying on Amazon directly from Chinese sellers will still get a lower price.

2. People are buying everyday essentials from Amazon, like groceries, where Amazon has a $100 billion business, and these are less susceptible to being curtailed.

3. The company offers a huge assortment of products, which is beneficial because customers can easily switch to other products without leaving Amazon.

4. When there's uncertainty, shoppers tend to buy from companies they trust.