Got an extra $1,000 you would like to put to work but don't quite know how? Don't make it complicated. Just poach a pick or two (or several) from one of the world's best-known and most-proven stock pickers.

When they do that with Warren Buffett's portfolio of stocks, owned within his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B), they'll find a collection of iconic companies. Two that present very different investment propositions today are American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX).

S&P 500 investors are playing it safer in 2025 — so Warren Buffett's careful stock-picking is in style again. Here's why I loaded up on shares of the real estate investment trust (REIT) in my retirement account.

Warren Buffett will likely go down as the greatest investor of all time -- and he recently proved just how good he is even at 94 years old. In a last-minute comeback, Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway beat the broader benchmark S&P 500 yet again in 2024.

Buffett has trimmed some stocks more than others. Integrated oil and gas company Chevron (NYSE: CVX), for example, is Berkshire's fifth-largest position, and Buffett only sold small amounts in the first and second quarters of 2024 and didn't sell any in the third quarter.

Warren Buffett stock American Express is flashing a bullish signal after breaking out, with earnings due next week. American Express stock wavered in buy range on Thursday. Also, American Express on Thursday announced it would pay a roughly $230 million settlement following a Department of Justice criminal wire fraud investigation.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has sold $133 billion worth of stocks in the first nine months of 2024. The company reduced its stakes in Apple, American Express, and Bank of America, which made up a large portion of its portfolio.