The 3 Best Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

Key Points

• Warren Buffett owns around 40 stocks through his company, Berkshire Hathaway.

• Some of his these are solid buys given their leadership positions and growth catalysts.

• One of the stocks is a recent addition, and it's from an industry not many investors pay attention to.

• 10 stocks we like better than Chevron ›

Warren Buffett is among the world's most famous investors. It's not just his net worth -- around $150 billion, as of this writing -- that makes him great. It's Buffett's investing philosophy and the massive empire that he built out of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) that makes him the man every investor can learn something from.

Buffett's investing philosophy shines through the stocks he owns through Berkshire Hathaway, many of which are part of the portfolio for decades. Of the nearly 40 Buffett stocks, here are three top stocks to buy if you have some money to spare. $1,000 is a good number to kick of your investing journey with.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Image source: Getty Images.

This new Buffett stock is flying under the radar

Nucor (NYSE: NUE) is a recent addition to Warren Buffett's portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway first revealed a stake in the steel giant in its August 14 regulatory filing, disclosing a purchase of 6.6 million shares valued at $857 million at the end of the second quarter.

Buffett typically looks for high-quality businesses with wide economic moats, and which are available at attractive prices. Nucor checks all three boxes. Nucor is the largest and most diversified steel producer in North America, uses cost-effective and flexible electric arc furnaces instead of traditional blast furnaces to manufacture steel, and uses scrap as the primary raw material. That makes Nucor a low-cost, vertically integrated industry leader that enjoys huge economies of scale. Nucor is also a financially strong company and a Dividend King, having increased its dividend for at least 50 consecutive years.

NUE data by YCharts

Nucor's stock has fallen of late partly because of a muted guidance for the third quarter. That's exactly the kind of situation you should take advantage of.

Nucor is not facing a volume or pricing pressure. Far from it. In fact, it recently raised prices and its steel mills backlog surged 30% year over year in Q3. Nucor's margins are under a bit of pressure because of a lag in the realization of higher prices and a modest impact of tariffs. It's a short-term blip in what remains a compelling long-term growth story, driven by rising spends on infrastructure, especially in industries like data centers, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, and defense.

A wealth-compounding Buffett stock

Visa (NYSE: V) is another wide-moat stock from Buffett's portfolio. If you check the credit and debit cards in your wallet, chances are at least one of them carries the Visa logo. That's how deeply embedded Visa is, and it's not just the U.S. Visa is the largest payments processing company in the world, with 4.7 billion credentials (credit, debit, and digital cards) in fiscal year 2024.

V data by YCharts

Visa doesn't issue these cards but only processes payments made through them. It's a high-volume, high-profit business. Last fiscal year, it processed transactions worth nearly $15.7 trillion over its network, driving its revenue up 10% to almost $36 billion. Visa earned an operating margin of 65% in the year. Margins north of 60% are normal for Visa. It generated $22 billion in free cash flows in the past twelve months.

Visa has massive growth opportunities ahead. While its core card-based consumer payments business can benefit from secular trends like digitalization and e-commerce, expansion into non-card payments, commercial and money movement, and value-added services like risk management and advisory solutions should fuel the next leg of growth. Visa has been a constant in Buffett's portfolio since 2011. It should find a place in your portfolio too.

A big acquisition puts this Buffett stock on the growth track

Buffett wasn't always enthusiastic about energy stocks. He first bought shares in Chevron (NYSE: CVX) came in late 2020. While his position in Chevron has fluctuated since with multiple purchase and sell transactions, the stock remains a core Berkshire Hathaway holding. As of June 30, 2025, Chevron was the fifth- largest stock in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.

Chevron is among the world's largest integrated energy companies and a prominent oil and gas producer. It's a volatile business, but Chevron's financial fortitude helped it weather cycles. Buffett likes industry leaders that are also financially strong, but the stock's dividend record record is another compelling factor. Chevron has increased its dividend in each of the past 38 years.

Chevron has just acquired Hess in a $60-billion deal that could be a game-changer. The acquisition has added oil-rich assets in Guyana to Chevron's prolific asset base and is expected to drive significant production and cash-flow growth through 2030. For now, Chevron expects to generate incremental free cash flows worth $12.5 billion by 2026 off a 2024 base, which should support bigger dividends and share buybacks. In the long term, all of it should pay off as solid returns for inevstors.

Should you invest $1,000 in Chevron right now?

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Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.