(IBD) The coronavirus stock market crash is costing investors trillions. That includes Warren Buffett. But he likely wishes he owned more of the three S&P 500 stocks that are working for him.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is down nearly $60 billion on its U.S.-listed holdings this year. Online retailer Amazon.com, drugmaker Biogen and consumer staples retailer Kroger, are the only stocks in Berkshire Hathaway's lineup of 51 U.S.-listed stocks that are up this year. All are members of the S&P 500. That's according to an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
These S&P 500 stocks up this year, though, account for a small portion of the Buffett portfolio: Only about 1% in total. Maybe these could be candidates for his nearly $128 billion cash stockpile? All three carry 90 or higher IBD Composite Ratings.
Warren Buffett Stocks Sector Call In Coronavirus Stock Market Crash
Buffett has the sector call right, though. The information technology sector is his biggest bet by far. And tech stocks are holding up much better than the rest.
Nearly 40% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio is in tech stocks, says S&P Global. That includes five positions valued at $67.3 billion in total. Tech is Buffett's largest sector weighting, topping his $64.5 billion holdings in financials.
And so far this year, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund is down just 10.2%. That's the best year-to-date performance of any of the 11 sectors amid the coronavirus stock market crash this year. It's also much better than the nearly 19% drop this year by SPY stock.
Buffett's top tech stock is also his largest overall holding. He owns nearly $65 billion in Apple, or nearly 6% of the company. Apple stock is only down 12% this year, but given the size of the position, Berkshire is down nearly $9 billion on it this year.
Warren Buffett's Best Cornavirus Stocks This Year
But Buffett's best stock this year isn't in the tech sector. It's Amazon.com, which is in the consumer discretionary sector. Yet, the S&P 500 stock made more for Buffett this year than any other he owns: $58 million. That's not much for a portfolio this size. But still, Amazon stock is up nearly 6% this year amid the cornavirus stock market crash.
And yet, Amazon accounts for just 0.6% of Berkshire's U.S.-listed portfolio. He owns just 0.1% of the company's shares outstanding. That's unfortunate given that Amazon is the key winner from the online shopping theme. Here's what to look at if you're thinking about buying Amazon stock yourself.
Another winner is Biogen. The S&P 500 stock is up nearly 3% this year. But Buffett only owns 0.4% of this medical breakthrough company. And it's only 0.1% of his U.S. listed stock portfolio. But that's still enough to pad the Berkshire portfolio by $5 million.
And then there's the grocer, Kroger. The stock is essentially flat this year. But unlike the S&P 500, which is down 23% from the Feb. 19 high, Kroger is down less than 2% during that time. Again, Kroger is a tiny holding for Berkshire at just 0.3% of the portfolio. Berkshire owns 2.4% of the grocery chain.
So, while Buffett may be a master of investing, he's having a tough year, too.
Looks like investors, even Buffett, will need to be patient while they wait for the coronavirus stock market crash to subside.
