If I Could Only Buy and Hold a Single Stock, This Would Be It.

Anders Bylund, The Motley Fool

Sat, Jun 7, 2025, 7:47 AM 7 min read

• While Netflix, Amazon, and Nvidia have delivered spectacular returns, they lack the diversification needed for a single-stock portfolio.

• Berkshire Hathaway operates like an expertly curated ETF, owning 68 distinct companies plus stakes in nearly 40 public companies.

• Despite not owning Berkshire myself, I recognize it as the safest choice for investors seeking a single long-term holding.

• 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway ›

Let's make this clear from the start: I would never recommend owning just one stock for the long haul.

A proper nest egg needs some variety, either in a carefully assembled basket of diverse stocks or focused on a broad market-tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF). For the sake of argument, however, I could imagine buying some Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) stock and just letting it roll.

I know, I know. You wanted me to double down on Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), whose stock has absolutely crushed the general market in the long run. Or I could have picked Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), the media-streaming pioneer that's created most of my wealth so far and that might join the trillion-dollar market cap club in a few years. Perhaps you expected Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), with its unmatched five-year returns and huge long-term future in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

These stocks sure tick a few of the right boxes, but none of them are as naturally diversified as Berkshire Hathaway. That's really what I'm looking for in a "single stock for all ages."

I own all three of the suggested Berkshire alternatives above, by the way.

Netflix was an early name in my portfolio, inspired by fellow Fool Rick Munarriz's in-depth analysis of the company in the mid-2000s. When Netflix went through the Qwikster-branded separation of DVD and streaming services, I doubled down on my investment at a fantastic price. That particular Netflix stake has gained 10,350% in less than 14 years.

But that's just my favorite play on the future of digital media services. I would never dare to make Netflix my only holding, just in case somebody builds a better media-streaming mousetrap.

I wish I had pounced on Amazon much earlier, like Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner did. But I dragged my feet, and watched the online bookstore become an e-commerce buffet with a highly profitable side of cloud computing services. My oldest Amazon investment is only up by 430% since January 2017.