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.

These three top Warren Buffett stock picks have the potential to offer passive income investors a lifetime of reliable dividends.

Warren Buffett is known for his investing success, generating market-beating returns over the long run. As chairman, he's helped Berkshire Hathaway deliver a compounded annual gain of more than 19% over 58 years -- that's as the S&P 500 posted a compounded increase of about 10% during that period.

Buffett -- as well as his late great partner Charlie Munger -- would recommend avoiding leverage at all costs in your portfolio. Why? Because when the market turns (which it will inevitably do at times), the downside can wipe you out. The levered Nasdaq ETF went into a massive drawdown in 2022, and that was just one year of bad returns.

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.

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 has been a net seller of stocks over the past eight quarters, building Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves to its highest-ever level. Apple still accounts for the largest position in the equity portfolio,

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.

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.