The billionaire Warren Buffett added two more big, American brands to Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s investment portfolio.
Mr. Buffett’s conglomerate has purchased $8.6 billion in stock in Verizon Communications Inc., the largest U.S. mobile carrier, and $4.1 billion in the oil company Chevron Corp. according to a snapshot of investments held in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
It isn’t clear in a filing whether Mr. Buffett made the decision to invest in the two firms or if the decision was made by Berkshire money managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. The two are expected to take over all of Berkshire’s investments once Mr. Buffett is no longer in the top job.
In the early months of the pandemic, the 90-year old Mr. Buffett said he was optimistic that the American economy would recover over time from Covid-19 turmoil.
“You can bet on America, but you are going to have to be careful on how you bet,” Mr. Buffett said in May. “Simply because markets can do anything.”