Meet the "Magnificent Seven" Stock Berkshire Hathaway and Investing Legend Warren Buffett Should Have Bought. (Hint: It's Not Apple, Amazon, or Alphabet.)

Warren Buffett, who ended his legendary tally arsenic the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway astatine the extremity of past year, looked to bargain and clasp businesses that person economical moats. This word helps to explicate durable competitory advantages that a institution has that let it to win implicit time. His doctrine worked highly well.

The tech assemblage is afloat of businesses that acceptable the criteria. After avoiding making bets successful this sector, Buffett yet expanded his absorption and bought Apple successful early 2016. Berkshire besides added Amazon successful 2019 and Alphabet successful 2025 to its portfolio. All these decisions apt had input from his concern lieutenants, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs.

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These ascendant companies surely person moats. However, there's different "Magnificent Seven" banal that should person been purchased arsenic well.

In the past decade, Apple shares person climbed 966% (as of Jan. 30). Since the extremity of the archetypal 4th of 2019, Amazon shares are up 169%. And Alphabet banal has accrued by 39% since the extremity of Q3 2025. These investments person been successful, though it's excessively aboriginal to marque immoderate judgments astir the Google genitor decision.

Either way, the "Magnificent Seven" banal that ne'er made the chopped is Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). It undoubtedly would've been a winning portfolio addition. Shares person risen 177% successful the past 5 years.

Buffett is strict connected considering lone companies that helium afloat understands. Getting to cognize its products and services, fiscal situation, manufacture layout and competition, and absorption squad is critical. After that, the Oracle of Omaha indispensable beryllium capable to forecast net powerfulness successful the future. Maybe helium conscionable didn't consciousness comfy erstwhile looking astatine Meta.

Meta's moat is strikingly obvious, though. It possesses arguably 1 of the widest economical moats connected the look of the planet. Its societal media apps payment from unthinkable web effects, a root of competitory vantage that has go much communal successful the net economy.

Those societal media apps go amended arsenic they get larger. The acquisition for users improves arsenic different users join. Combined, they had a mind-boggling 3.58 cardinal regular progressive users successful Q4 2025 (ended Dec. 31). A hypothetical competing societal level that has lone hundreds of users would beryllium useless.

Meta is besides capable to cod immense amounts of invaluable information that allows it to refine its algorithms. This leads to amended engagement from users and supports improved targeting capabilities for advertisers.