Warren Buffett Bought 8 Million Shares of This Oil Giant and $100 Oil Proves Him Right

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB +0.11%) disclosed in a 13F SEC filing that it purchased 8,091,570 shares of Chevron during Q4 2025. With WTI crude now hovering just under $100 a barrel, that bet is looking prescient.

What Berkshire Actually Bought

The Q4 2025 purchase brought Berkshire’s total Chevron (CVX +0.12%) stake to approximately 130 million shares, making CVX 7.24% of Berkshire’s entire equity portfolio and one of its top five holdings. Berkshire also holds a large stake in Occidental Petroleum (OXY +2.02%), and in January 2026, closed its acquisition of OxyChem from Occidental, deepening its energy exposure further.

This is not a passive position. Berkshire has been building energy exposure while trimming elsewhere, including reducing its Apple stake. The CVX addition signals continued conviction, not portfolio drift.

Image source: Getty Images

The Underlying Thesis

A good energy thesis today rests on three pillars: operational scale, shareholder returns, and oil price optionality. Chevron delivered on all three in 2025 despite a difficult pricing environment. The company posted record full-year production of 3,723 MBOE/d, up 12% year-over-year, hit its Permian Basin target of 1 million BOE per day, and generated record full-year operating cash flow of $33.9 billion. It returned $27.1 billion to shareholders and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.78 per share, the 39th consecutive annual raise. All of that happened when Brent averaged just $64 per barrel in Q4.

Now Brent more of less sits at $100. The operational leverage built at $64 oil looks substantially more valuable today. Chevron’s cost reduction program adds to that: $1.5 billion in structural savings achieved in 2025, with a target of $3 to $4 billion by end of 2026.

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NYSE: CVX

Chevron

Today’s Change

(0.12%) $0.24

Current Price

$201.68

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$402B

Day’s Range

$201.21 - $205.06

52wk Range

$132.04 - $205.06

Volume

591K

Avg Vol

12M

Gross Margin

14.66%

Dividend Yield

3.43%

Occidental reinforces the thesis from a different angle. The OxyChem sale to Berkshire closed January 2, 2026, enabling OXY to cut its principal debt by $5.8 billion, bringing it to $15 billion.

How the Position Looks Today

CVX has returned over 26% year-to-date, showing that once again Buffett’s insights before he stepped down as CEO were ahead of the curve. On top of that, the stock still yields 3.6% with a remarkable run of unbroken dividend growth.

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NYSE: OXY

Occidental Petroleum

Today’s Change

(2.02%) $1.21

Current Price

$60.78

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$59B

Day’s Range

$59.67 - $61.36

52wk Range

$34.78 - $61.36

Volume

976K

Avg Vol

14M

Gross Margin

31.94%

Dividend Yield

1.64%

If oil holds near $100, Chevron’s free cash flow generation and dividend coverage metrics only improve materially. If oil retreats, the 39-year dividend track record and $3 to $4 billion cost reduction target have historically supported the stock. And, recall that it performed well with oil in the $60’s already. Whether the Iran conflict goes on longer than expected or not, Chevron has the set up to continue delivering for investors. It’s just a matter of how much.