How the Buffett 13F List Is Built

MarketScreener has put together a thematic investment list of Warren Buffett's US stock holdings, based on the quarterly 13F filings of his listed conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. The company employs more than 350,000 people worldwide and operates across textiles, insurance, energy, transportation and industry.

The 13F regime is a disclosure mechanism, not a trading signal. Any investment manager or listed holding company controlling more than $100 million in assets must report its long positions in US-listed securities to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 45 days of the end of each quarter. The rule also covers registered investment advisers, banks, hedge funds, trust companies, pension funds and mutual funds.

Berkshire Hathaway, like other large filers, reports only its US exchange-traded holdings under this requirement. Positions listed outside the US, and the businesses Berkshire owns outright through its operating subsidiaries, are not part of the 13F snapshot. MarketScreener says it updates the list after each new composition of Berkshire's portfolio is published.

What the 13F Does and Doesn't Reveal

Berkshire's Portfolio Has a Built-In Time Lag

Because the 13F can be filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends, the list always arrives with a delay. A position published in the filing may already have been changed by the time an investor reads it. The filing is a historic look at what Buffett held, not a live view of what he is buying and selling today.

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The List Covers Only Part of the Berkshire Picture

Berkshire's full investment footprint is wider than the 13F shows. Alongside minority equity stakes, the company owns operating businesses across insurance, energy and transportation, and it can take large positions in private transactions when buying whole companies is not possible. The US-only, long-only disclosure therefore understates the true allocation of the group's capital.

What the List Is Still Good For

For long-term investors, the quarterly filings provide a consistent, verifiable record of Berkshire's US equity thinking. The value lies not in copying individual trades but in observing broad shifts in sector exposure and position sizes over several quarters.

How to Track Berkshire's US Holdings Yourself

  • Check SEC EDGAR for Berkshire's 13F-HR filing, which must arrive no later than 45 days after the quarter ends.
  • Remember the lag: the disclosed positions are a snapshot of the prior quarter, not current holdings.
  • Focus on changes: compare one filing to the next for new, enlarged or reduced US positions.
  • Do not treat it as the full portfolio: non-US listings and wholly owned operating businesses are not covered by the 13F.