Legendary investor Warren Buffett's ability to identify and buy the stock of up-and-coming publicly traded companies has been key to the success of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB).

Along with owning Geico, Dairy Queen, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, See's Candies and other companies, Berkshire Hathaway owns large stakes in some of the biggest and most well-known companies.

Investments have been selected by Buffett, also known as the Oracle of Omaha, along with Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, two long-time investment managers of Berkshire Hathaway.

"We own stocks based upon our expectations about their long-term business performance and not because we view them as vehicles for timely market moves," Buffett said. "On occasion, it becomes easy to buy pieces of wonderful businesses at wonderful prices."

Here is a look at the top ten stock positions owned by Berkshire Hathaway as of December 31, 2021.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Shares Owned: 907,559,761

Cost: $31.1 billion

Market Value: $161.2 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 5.6%

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)

Shares Owned: 1,032,852,006

Cost: $14.6 billion

Market Value: $46.0 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 12.8%

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Shares Owned: 151,610,700

Cost: $1.3 billion

Market Value: $24.8 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 19.9%

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)

Shares Owned: 400,000,000

Cost: $1.3 billion

Market value: $23.7 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 9.2%

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Shares Owned: 24,669,778

Cost: $248 million

Market Value: $9.6 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 13.3%

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Shares Owned: 158,824,575

Cost: $9.4 billion

Market Value: $8.3 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 3.8%

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Shares Owned: 143,456,055

Cost: $5.4 billion

Market Value: $8.1 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 9.7%

BYD Co (OTC:BYDDY)

Shares Owned: 225,000,000

Cost: $232 million

Market Value: $7.7 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 7.7%

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)

Shares Owned: 38,245,036

Cost: $3.4 billion

Market Value: $4.5 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 2.0%

Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK)

Shares Owned: 66,835,615

Cost: $2.9 billion

Market Value: $3.9 billion

Percent of Company Owned: 8.3%

Other top holdings by Berkshire Hathaway include General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), ITOCHU Corporation (OTC:ITOCY), Mitsubishi Corporation, Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) and Mitsui & Co.

Berkshire Hathaway owns 26.6% of Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC), which is recognized as equity and not by market value. The stake is worth $13.1 billion as of December 31, 2021. Berkshire Hathaway also holds a $10.7 billion investment in Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY) consisting of preferred stocks and warrants.

Berkshire Hathaway posted net earnings of $89.8 billion in fiscal 2021 compared to net earnings of $42.5 billion in fiscal 2020.

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway were up 29.6% in 2021 compared to a gain of 28.7% for the S&P 500. Berkshire Hathaway shares have gained an annual average of 20.1% versus a gain of 10.5% for the S&P 500 since 1965.

Related Link: A Highlight For Each Decade Of Warren Buffett's Life 
Photo: Courtesy of Fortune Live Media on Flickr