5 Stocks Warren Buffett and Bill Gates Agree On

- By James Li

According to the All-in-One Screener, a Premium feature of GuruFocus, the stocks commonly owned by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) and Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio)' Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust are Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYA)(NASDAQ:LBTYK), Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILA)(NASDAQ:LILAK) and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS).

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Background

The "Oracle of Omaha" once said that Gates could do what Buffett does while Buffett cannot do what Gates does. The founder of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) established in 2000 with his wife the Gates Foundation Trust, which holds Buffett's endowment and annual installments. While Buffett is a trustee of the foundation, the Berkshire CEO does not participate in the foundation trust's investing operations.

According to its website, the foundation trust's investing philosophy hinges on the belief that businesses "play a crucial role" in promoting a healthy, productive lifestyle. The trust praises companies that dedicate their resources to solving problems that impact billions of people around the world.

Likewise, Buffett's insurance conglomerate seeks investments in companies that meet a four-criterion approach to identify "good companies at fair prices": understandable business, favorable growth prospects, shareholder-friendly management and low purchase prices.

As such, the two investment portfolios may contain common holdings: GuruFocus' All-in-One Screener identified several companies owned by both Berkshire and Gates' foundation trust.

Apple

According to Aggregated Portfolio statistics, a Premium feature of GuruFocus, Berkshire and Gates' foundation trust have a combined weight of 44.21% in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as of the December 2020 quarter.

GuruFocus ranks the Cupertino, California-based technology giant's profitability 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and profit margins and returns outperforming more than 95% of global competitors.

Other gurus with holdings in Apple include Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) and Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio).

Amazon.com

Berkshire and Gates have a combined weight of 1.08% in Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN).

GuruFocus ranks the Seattle-based e-commerce giant's profitability 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a five-star business predictability rank and profit margins near 10-year highs.

Liberty Global

Berkshire and Gates have a combined weight of 0.39% in Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA).

GuruFocus ranks the U.K.-based cable operator's financial strength 3 out of 10 on several warning signs, which include a low Altman Z-score of 0.47 and interest coverage and debt ratios underperforming over 80% of global competitors.

Liberty Latin America

Berkshire and Gates have a combined weight of 0.02% in Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA).

GuruFocus ranks the telecommunications company's financial strength 3 out of 10 on several warning signs, which include a low Altman Z-score of 0.16 and interest coverage and debt ratios underperforming over 91% of global competitors.

United Parcel Service

Berkshire and Gates have a combined weight of 3.41% in United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS).

GuruFocus ranks the Atlanta-based logistics company's profitability 7 out of 10 on the back of profit margins and returns outperforming over 60% of global competitors.

Disclosure: Long Apple and United Parcel Service.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.