Berkshire Hathaway Scores Big on Coca-Cola Investment

Berkshire Hathaway's stock portfolio includes many companies across various sectors. Warren Buffett has always focused on buying stocks long-term that will perform well over an entire economic cycle. Despite Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) underperformance this year, some of its largest stock holdings have generated strong gains.

One of these companies is Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), which has been part of Berkshire's portfolio since the late 1980s. Berkshire owns all 400 million shares of Coca-Cola and it accounts for nearly 10% of Berkshire's capital.

Coca-Cola, an iconic consumer beverage company, is not a high-flying artificial intelligence stock but rather a best-in-breed consumer staples stock that performs well in times of economic turbulence and uncertainty. The company has shown the ability to adapt over the years to changing consumer preferences with a diversity of different beverage brands.

As of July 29, Coca-Cola's shares were up nearly 29% this year, resulting in close to $8 billion in gains for Berkshire Hathaway. Additionally, Coca-Cola paid out $1.06 per share in dividends through the first six months of the year, resulting in another $424 million in passive income for Berkshire.