Berkshire Hathaway first invested in Coca-Cola as a major stake in 1988.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway began buying Coca-Cola shares in 1988, eventually building a position that became one of the best-known long-term investments in its portfolio. The purchase followed Coca-Cola’s restructuring and the continued global strength of its soft-drink brands.
Berkshire Hathaway is unusual among the world’s largest companies because it combines operating businesses with a large portfolio of publicly traded securities. Its subsidiaries have included insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing, and consumer brands. Its market capitalization therefore reflects both the operating businesses and investors’ assessment of Buffett’s capital-allocation model.
Coca-Cola is not the same as Berkshire’s later large Apple holding. Berkshire began purchasing Apple in 2016, decades after the Coca-Cola investment, and Apple eventually became a much larger position by market value.