Updated on August 21st, 2023 by Nikolaos Sismanis
Bill Gates is the sixth-richest person in the world, behind only Bernard Arnault, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Warren Buffet. His net worth of ~$ 106 billion is a massive amount of money. Not surprisingly, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a huge investment portfolio above $42 billion, according to a recent 13F filing.
That kind of wealth is something the vast majority of us can only dream of. However, there is one similarity between the everyday investor and the wealthiest person on the planet.
We’re all looking for good stocks to buy and hold for the long term. That is why it is useful to review the stock holdings of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
You can download our full list of all 23 Gates Foundation stocks (along with important metrics like dividend yields and price-to-earnings ratios) by clicking on the link below:
Note: 13F filing performance is different than fund performance. See how we calculate 13F filing performance here.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation owns several highly profitable companies with sustainable competitive advantages. Many of the stocks also pay dividends to shareholders and grow their dividend payouts over time.
This article will discuss the 23 stocks held by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Table of Contents
You can skip to the analysis for each of the Gates Foundation’s 23 stock holdings, with the table of contents below. Stocks are listed in order of the portfolio’s largest positions to smallest positions.
- Microsoft (MSFT)
- Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)
- Canadian National Railway (CNI)
- Waste Management (WM)
- Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)
- Deere & Company (DE)
- Ecolab (ECL)
- Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (KOF)
- Walmart (WMT)
- FedEx Corp. (FDX)
- Waste Connections (WCN)
- Schrodinger, Inc. (SDGR)
- Coupang, Inc. (CPNG)
- Crown Castle International (CCI)
- United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS)
- Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS)
- Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD)
- Danaher Corporation (DHR)
- Kraft Heinz (KHC)
- Hormel Foods (HRL)
- Carvana Co. (CVNA)
- On Holding AG (ON)
- Vroom, Inc. (VRM)
You can also watch video analysis of Gates’ stock holdings below:
#1—Microsoft (MSFT)
Dividend Yield: 0.8%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 30.7%
Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975 and headquartered in Redmond, WA, develops, manufactures, and sells both software and hardware to businesses and consumers. Microsoft is a mega-cap stock with a market capitalization of $2.4 trillion.
Its offerings include operating systems, business software, software development tools, video games and gaming hardware, and cloud services.
In late July, Microsoft reported (7/25/23) financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 (its fiscal year ends June 30th). The company grew its revenue by 8% over last year’s quarter. Growth came from Intelligent Cloud and Productivity & Business Processes, which grew 15% and 10%, respectively. Sales of Azure, Microsoft’s high-growth cloud platform, grew 26%.
As a result, earnings-per-share grew 21%, from $2.23 to $2.69, and exceeded the analysts’ consensus by $0.14.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Microsoft (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#2—Berkshire Hathaway (BRK)
Dividend Yield: N/A (Berkshire Hathaway does not currently pay a dividend)
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 21.7%
Berkshire Hathaway stock is the third-largest individual holding of the Gates Foundation’s investment portfolio, and it is easy to see why. It’s safe to say the money is in good hands. Berkshire, under the stewardship of Warren Buffett, grew from a struggling textile manufacturer into one of the largest conglomerates in the world.
Today, Berkshire is a global giant. It owns and operates dozens of businesses, with a hand in nearly every major industry, including insurance, railroads, energy, finance, manufacturing, and retailing. It has a market capitalization above $770 billion.
Berkshire can be thought of in five parts: wholly-owned insurance subsidiaries like GEICO, General Re, and Berkshire Reinsurance; wholly-owned non-insurance subsidiaries like Dairy Queen, BNSF Railway, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, NetJets, Precision Cast Parts, and See’s Candies; shared control businesses like Kraft Heinz (KHC) and Pilot Flying J; marketable publicly-traded securities including significant stakes in companies like American Express (AXP), Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), Coca-Cola (KO) and Wells Fargo (WFC); and finally the company’s massive cash position.
In Berkshire’s annual letters to shareholders, Buffett typically evaluates the company’s performance in terms of book value. Book value is an accounting metric that measures a company’s assets minus its liabilities. The resulting difference is a company’s book value. This is a proxy for the intrinsic value of a firm, which Buffett believes to be the most important financial metric.
Berkshire doesn’t pay a dividend to shareholders. Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger have always contended that they can create wealth at a higher rate than the dividend would provide to shareholders.
While Berkshire stock may not be attractive for investors who want dividend income, there are few companies that have a track record nearly as great as Berkshire’s.
#3—Canadian National Railway (CNI)
Dividend Yield: 1.8%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 15.3%
Canadian National Railway is the only transcontinental railroad in North America. It has a network of approximately 20,000 route miles and connects three coasts: the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico. It handles over $200 billion worth of goods annually and carries over 300 million tons of cargo.
On July 25 th, 2023, Canadian National Railway announced second quarter results for the period ending June 30th, 2023. For the quarter, revenue declined 8.6% to $3.1 billion, which was $59 million less than expected. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.34 compared unfavorably to $1.50 in the prior year and was $0.02 below estimates. For the quarter, Canadian National Railway’s operating ratio was up 130 basis points to 60.6%. Revenue ton miles (RTM) decreased by 8.0%.
Revenues results amongst individual product categories were mixed, but there was strength in automotive (+13%), grain and fertilizers (+14%), metals and minerals (+7%), and coal (+6%). Intermodal (-26%), Petroleum and Chemicals (-10%), and Forest Products (-6%) were weaker for the period. Car velocity improved by 3%, and terminal dwell was better by 6%, while fuel efficiency and train length were both down by 6%.
Canadian National Railway now projects adjusted earnings-per-share will be flat to slightly negative for the year, down from a prior outlook of up mid-single-digit percentage. We have updated our forecast accordingly.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Canadian National Railway (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#4—Waste Management (WM)
Dividend Yield: 1.7%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 13.6%
Waste Management is the embodiment of a company with a wide economic “moat”, a term popularized by Warren Buffett to describe a strong competitive advantage that protects a company from the full ravages of market competition. Waste Management operates in waste removal and recycling services. This is a highly-concentrated industry, with only a few companies controlling the majority of the market.
Source: 2023 Investor Day Presentation
On July 25th, 2023, Waste Management reported second quarter 2023 results for the period ending June 30th, 2023. For the quarter, the company generated revenue of $5.12 billion, a 1.8% increase compared to Q2 2022. Adjusted net income equaled $617 million or $1.51 per share compared to $599 million or $1.44 per share in Q2 2022.
Total company volumes rose by 0.2% in Q2 compared to an increase of 1.6% in the same prior year period. During the quarter, Waste Management repurchased $270 million of common stock. The company also returned $283 million to shareholders in the form of cash dividends.
Waste Management downgraded its outlook for 2023. The company anticipates roughly 3.75% revenue growth (down 100 basis points from prior expectations) and adjusted operating EBITDA of roughly $5.825 billion.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Waste Management (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below): 
#5—Caterpillar (CAT)
Dividend Yield: 1.7%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 5.0%
Caterpillar is the global leader in heavy machinery. It has a strong brand with a dominant industry position. Caterpillar manufactures and markets heavy machinery, mostly for the construction and mining sectors.
The company operates in three primary segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation, along with ancillary financing and related services through its Financial Products segment.
Source: Latest Day Investor Presentation
On June 14th, Caterpillar raised its dividend by 8.3% to a quarterly rate of $1.30, marking its 30th annual consecutive dividend increase.
On August 1 st, 2023, Caterpillar reported its Q2 results for the period ending June 30th, 2023. For the quarter, the company generated revenues of $17.3 billion, a 21.8% increase compared to the $14.2 billion posted in the second quarter of 2022. Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation posted growth of 19%, 20%, and 27%, respectively. The increase was due to higher sales volume and favorable price realization. The increase in sales volume was driven by higher sales of equipment to end users and the impact of changes in dealer inventories.
Caterpillar’s adjusted operating profit margin was 21.3%, compared to 13.8% last year. Margin expansion combined with revenue growth resulted in adjusted earnings-per-share landing at $5.55 against $3.18 in the comparable period last year, marching toward the second half of 2023 with great momentum. A lower share count also boosted the result.
Caterpillar returned $2.0 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter, ending with $7.4 billion of enterprise cash. For FY2023, we now expect adjusted EPS of $18.00 (up from $15.95 previously).
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Caterpillar (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#6—Deere & Company (DE)
Dividend Yield: 1.1%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 4.1%
Deere & Company is the largest manufacturer of farm equipment in the world. The company also makes equipment used in construction, forestry & turf care, produces engines, and provides financial solutions to its customers. Deere was founded in 1837.
Source: Investor Fact Book
In mid-May, Deere reported (5/19/23) financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2023. The company grew its sales by 30% over the prior year’s quarter thanks to continued strong demand for farm and construction equipment. Sales grew across the board, with the Production & Precision Ag, Small Ag & Turf, and Construction & Forestry segments posting gains of 53%, 16%, and 23%, respectively.
Deere grew its earnings-per-share 42%, from $6.81 to $9.65, and beat the analysts’ consensus by a massive $1.01. Thanks to strong business momentum amid robust demand in infrastructure and positive farm fundamentals, Deere raised its guidance for this year from record earnings of $8.75-$9.25 billion to earnings of $9.25-$9.50 billion.
Nevertheless, due to slower-than-expected share repurchases and the high inventory levels of Deere, we have kept our annual forecast for earnings-per-share intact in order to be on the safe side.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Deere (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#7—Ecolab (ECL)
Dividend Yield: 1.1%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 2.3%
Ecolab was created in 1923 when its founder Merritt J. Osborn invented a new cleaning product called “Absorbit”. This product cleaned carpets without the need for businesses to shut down operations to conduct carpet cleaning. Osborn created a company revolving around the product called Economics Laboratory, or Ecolab.
Source: Investor Presentation
In early August, Ecolab reported (8/1/23) financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Organic sales grew 9% over the prior year’s quarter thanks to double-digit growth in the Industrial and Institutional segments. The company was once again affected by cost inflation, but the latter began to ease.
In addition, Ecolab greatly benefited from the material price hikes it implemented. As a result, adjusted earnings-per-share grew 13%, from $1.10 to $1.24, and exceeded the analysts’ consensus by $0.03. Moreover, thanks to strong price hikes and positive sales momentum, management provided guidance for mid-teens growth of adjusted earnings-per-share in the second half of 2023.
Given the bright outlook provided by management but also the poor business performance of Ecolab in the first quarter, we still expect earnings-per-share around $4.90 this year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Ecolab (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#8—Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB (KOF)
Dividend Yield: 3.6%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 1.2%
Coca-Cola FEMSA produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola (KO) beverages. It offers a full line of sparkling and still beverages. It sells its products through distribution centers and retailers in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and the Philippines.
Coca-Cola FEMSA is the largest franchise bottler in the world. The stock is an interesting way to gain exposure to two very attractive emerging markets: Latin America and South Asia.
#9—Walmart Inc. (WMT)
Dividend Yield: 1.4%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 1.2%
Walmart is another great example of a company with durable competitive advantages. It is the largest retailer in the U.S., with annual revenue above $600 billion. The company came to dominate the retail industry by keeping a laser-like focus on reducing costs everywhere, particularly in the supply chain and distribution.
Consumers tend to scale down to discount retail when times are tight, which is why Walmart continued to grow, even during the Great Recession. As a result, Walmart is arguably the most recession-resistant stock in the Gates Foundation’s portfolio.
This allows Walmart the ability to raise its dividend each year like clockwork, even during recessions. Walmart has raised its dividend for over 40 years in a row.
Walmart reported first-quarter earnings on May 18th, 2023, and results were much better than expected on both the top and bottom lines. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.47, which was 15 cents ahead of estimates. Revenue was up almost 8% year-over-year to $152 billion and beat estimates by more than $4 billion.
Walmart noted global advertising revenue was up over 30% year-over-year. US comparable sales were up 7.4%, while eCommerce revenue was up 27%, led by pickup and delivery. The company noted it gained market share in grocery and that it saw the largest quarterly member sign-up totals in the history of Sam’s Club US. Inventory levels declined 9% year-over-year in the US but were flat on a global basis.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Walmart (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#10—FedEx (FDX)
Dividend Yield: 1.7%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 1.0%
FedEx Corp. is a transportation and shipping company. The company offers a variety of services, including transportation, e-commerce, and business services. It operates four core segments: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services.
On April 5th, 2023, FedEx raised its dividend by 9.6% to a quarterly rate of $1.26.
On June 20th, 2023, FedEx reported its fiscal Q4 and full-year results for the period ending May 31st, 2023. For the quarter, revenues fell 10.2% to $21.9 billion against the prior-year period. Revenues were negatively affected by continued demand weakness, particularly at FedEx Express, whose results were negatively affected by lower global volumes. This effect was partially offset by improved performance at FedEx Ground, whose revenue per package increased. Still, lower package volumes in this segment also contributed to lower revenues.
Source: Investor Presentation
Further, operating income was negatively affected by the effects of global inflation, partially offset by U.S. domestic yield improvement and cost-reduction actions. It came in at $1.50 billion, lower than last year’s $1.77 billion, with the operating margin slipping to 6.9% compared to 7.9% in the prior-year period.
Adjusted earnings-per-share also declined, as a result, falling by 28.1% to $4.94. For the year, GAAP earnings-per-shares rose to $15.48, nonetheless. For fiscal 2024 management expects adjusted earnings-per-share to be between $16.50 and $18.50.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on FedEx (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#11—Waste Connections (WCN)
Dividend Yield: 0.7%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.7%
Waste Connections is a waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery business in the U.S. and Canada. It offers various recycling services, including solid waste as well as fluids used in the oil and gas drilling industry, helping to increase the sustainability of those sectors.
The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Canada, with $7.2 billion in annual revenue and a market cap of $35.5 billion.
Source: Investor presentation
As we can see, Waste Connections has set robust targets for fiscal 2023, as it is looking to increase its own sustainability, as well as those of its customers.
Waste Connections has boosted its dividend for 13 consecutive years, but the strong performance of the stock means the yield is low at just 0.7%. However, we see strong dividend growth prospects for the stock in the years to come.
#12—Schrodinger Inc. (SDGR)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.6%
Schrodinger, Inc. is a healthcare technology company. It operates a computational platform that aims to accelerate drug delivery, both for external clients and the company’s own internal drug programs. Schrodinger conducted its initial public offering in February 2020. The stock currently has a market capitalization of about$2.4 billion.
Schrodinger has exciting growth potential due to the success of its drug delivery platform and its large and diversified customer base.
Schrodinger has a long runway of growth because of the high degree of value that its products and services provide to customers. Designing drugs is extremely difficult to work which is complex, lengthy, capital-intensive, and prone to high failure rates. This means many customers will continue to outsource this work to Schrodinger.
#13—Coupang, Inc. (CPNG)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.4%
Coupang is an e-commerce platform through its mobile apps and websites, primarily in South Korea. It sells various products and services in the categories of home goods, apparel, beauty products, fresh food and groceries, sporting goods, electronics, consumables, and more.
The company has gained immense popularity nationwide due to its focus on fast and reliable delivery services. Coupang has built an extensive logistics network, including its own delivery fleet and warehouses, to ensure quick and efficient delivery to its customers. It has pioneered the concept of “rocket delivery,” promising next-day or even same-day delivery for a vast majority of its products.
Coupang has also invested heavily in technology and innovation to enhance its customer experience. Its mobile app and website provide a seamless and user-friendly interface, making it convenient for customers to browse and purchase products. The company has also implemented various features such as customer reviews, personalized recommendations, and easy returns, further enhancing its overall shopping experience.
#14—Crown Castle International (CCI)
Dividend Yield: 5.9%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.4%
Crown Castle International is structured as a real estate investment trust or REIT. You can see our full REIT list here.
Crown Castle owns cell phone towers with small cells where larger towers are not feasible and fiber connections for data transmission. The trust owns, operates, and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and 85,000 route miles of fiber across every major US market, helping it to support data infrastructure across the country.
Source: Investor Presentation
Crown Castle posted second-quarter earnings on July 19th, 2023, and results were ahead of expectations. However, guidance for the remainder of the year disappointed, and the stock fell about 5% following the report. The reduction in guidance was attributable to lower anticipated tower activity for the balance of the year. FFO and adjusted EBITDA are now set to be lower than prior guidance, while revenue remained unchanged.
Funds-from-operations totaled $2.05 per share in the second quarter, ahead of the expected $2.01. Revenue was up more than 8% year-over-year to $1.87 billion, fractionally beating estimates. Revenue was $1.87 billion, just ahead of expectations and up from $1.73 billion a year ago. Site rental revenue was $1.73 billion, up from $1.57 billion a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.19 billion, up from $1.08 billion in last year’s second quarter.
The company said 75% of its expected 5% annual tower organic revenue growth is already contracted through 2027, so the top line is all but certain to continue rising in the coming years. Even so, we’ve left our estimate of FFO-per-share unchanged at $7.70 for this year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Crown Castle International (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#15—United Parcel Service (UPS)
Dividend Yield: 3.6%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.3%
United Parcel Service is a logistics and package delivery company that offers services, including transportation, distribution, ground freight, ocean freight, insurance, and financing. Its operations are split into three segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight.
The company’s continued growth in the face of potential global economic headwinds is due largely to its competitive advantages. UPS is the largest logistics/package delivery company in the U.S.
It operates in a near duopoly, as its only major competitor to date is FedEx. To be sure, Amazon (AMZN) is expanding its own logistics business, but it still remains a customer of UPS as well.
On August 8th, 2023, UPS reported second quarter 2023 results for the period ending June 30th, 2023. For the quarter, the company generated revenue of $22.1 billion, a 10.9% year-over-year decrease. The U.S. Domestic segment (making up 65% of sales) saw a 6.9% revenue decrease, with International posting a 13% revenue decrease and Supply Chain Solutions seeing a 23% decrease. Adjusted net income equaled $2.54 per share, down 23% year-over-year.
Source: Investor Presentation
UPS cut its guidance mostly as a consequence of the impact of labor negotiations and the costs associated with its agreement with The International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Over 300,000 UPS employees are covered by the Teamsters deal, which includes contract salary increases for all workers, additional full-time positions, and several workplace safeguards and improvements.
It is a five-year agreement that is projected to cost UPS over $30 billion. UPS now expects revenue of about $93.0 billion, along with a consolidated adjusted operating margin of 11.8%. Additionally, leadership expects capex of $5.3 billion, as well as $5.4 billion in dividend payments, and $3.0 billion in share repurchases.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on UPS (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#16—Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.3%
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. is a diversified sports company. It owns multiple sports franchises, including the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. It also owns development league teams such as the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. It also owns e-sports properties, including Knicks Gaming, and a controlling interest in Counter Logic Gaming (CLG).
#17—Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD)
Anheuser-Busch InBev is a multinational beverage and brewing company headquartered in Leuven, Belgium. It is one of the largest and most prominent beer companies in the world. The company was formed through a series of mergers and acquisitions, including the merger of Anheuser-Busch and InBev in 2008.
Today, AB InBev produces, markets, and sells over 500 different beer brands around the world. The company has seven of the top ten beer brands and 18 brands with over $1B in sales. Major global brands include Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Corona. Large regional brands include Aguila, Hoegaarden, Skol, and Brahma.
AB InBev reported Q1 2023 results on May 4th, 2023. Company-wide revenue rose 13.2% to $14,213M from $13,235M as total volumes rose +0.9% and revenue per hl was up 12.4%.
Total volumes rose +0.9%, with own beer volumes up +0.4% and non-beer volumes grew +3.6%. Volumes were up in the Middle Americas (+0.1%) and Asia Pacific (+9.0%) but declined in EMEA (-1.0%), South America (-0.2%), and North America (-1.0%). Outside of their home markets, the three global brands performed well, with combined revenues increasing by 15.4%.
Normalized earnings per share increased to $0.81 from $0.05 in comparable periods, while underlying EPS rose to $0.65 from $0.60 (accounting for adjustments).
Anheuser-Busch InBev is Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s newest portfolio addition. The timing of this buy is quite interesting, as the firm is currently facing difficulties from a customer boycott of its Bud Light brand in the United States in response to a marketing campaign. Volumes are down as much as 24%, and other brands are affected too.
AB InBev’s strategy of premiumization is led by its three global brands. Premium brands continue to grow and are more profitable per hl. A second focus is Beyond Beer, which is the intersection of beer, spirits, and wine. The category is growing at 45% CAGR and will be a $58B market by 2024. Beyond Beer is more profitable per hl than beer. The company’s BEES digital platform for B2B has grown to 3.1 million users.
#18—Danaher Corporation (DHR)
Dividend Yield: 0.4%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.2%
Danaher Corporation is active in the healthcare industry and designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. The company operates through three main segments: Life & Bio Sciences (38% of annual revenue – end of 2022), Diagnostics (35% of annual revenue), and Environmental & Applied Solutions (15% of annual revenue). The company made 14 acquisitions in 2021 for a total of $11.0 billion, including the Aldevron acquisition of $9.6 billion.
On July 25 th, 2023, Danaher Corporation released its second quarter fiscal 2023 results for the period ending June 30th, 2023.
For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $7.2 billion, which represents a 7.5% decrease compared with revenue of $7.75 billion in the same quarter of 2022. This decline is mainly due to a decrease in the sale of COVID-related products.
- Revenues from the Life Sciences segment totaled $1,796 million, rising 5.5% year-over-year.
- Revenues from the Diagnostics segment grossed $2,231 million, down 13% year-over-year.
- Revenues from the Environmental & Applied Solutions segment totaled $1,245 million, up 2% year-over-year.
- Revenues from the Biotechnology segment totaled $1,885 million, down 17% year-over-year.
In the second quarter, Danaher’s cost of sales increased 2.8% to $3,116 million. Gross profit of $4,041 million fell 14.4%. The margin in the quarter was 56.5%, down 440 basis points year-over-year. Reported quarterly earnings per diluted share equaled $2.05, which represents a 25.7% decrease compared to $2.76 for the same period last year.
For the third quarter of 2023, Danaher expects adjusted base business core revenues to decline in low-single digits. The company expects low-single-digit growth in the metric for 2023, compared with mid-single-digit growth expected earlier.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Danaher (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#19—Kraft Heinz (KHC)
Dividend Yield: 4.6%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.2%
Kraft–Heinz is a processed food and beverages company that owns a product portfolio that includes food products such as condiments, sauces, cheese & dairy, frozen & chilled meals, and infant diet & nutrition. The company was created in 2015 in a merger between Kraft Food Group and H. J. Heinz Company, orchestrated by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.
The Kraft-Heinz Company reported its first-quarter earnings results on May 3. The company reported that its revenues totaled $6.5 billion during the quarter, which was up 7% compared to the revenues that Kraft-Heinz generated during the previous year’s period. This was slightly better than what the analyst community had expected. Kraft-Heinz’s organic sales were up by 9%. Organic sales growth was primarily possible thanks to price increases. Forex headwinds and portfolio changes due to divestments that Kraft-Heinz made over the last year were responsible for reported revenue is up slightly less than its organic sales, however.
Kraft-Heinz generated earnings-per-share of $0.68 during the first quarter, which easily beat the consensus estimate. Earnings-per-share were up 13% versus the previous year’s quarter, thanks primarily due to Kraft-Heinz’s compelling revenue growth. Kraft-Heinz’s management stated that they see organic net sales rising at a 4%-6% rate in 2023, while management is forecasting earnings-per-share to come in between $2.83 and $2.91 during the current year. Earnings-per-share is thus expected to grow slightly this year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Kraft-Heinz (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#20—Hormel Foods (HRL)
Dividend Yield: 2.6%
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.2%
Hormel Foods was founded in 1891. Since that time, the company has grown into a juggernaut in the food products industry with nearly $10 billion in annual revenue.
Hormel has kept with its core competency as a processor of meat products for well over a hundred years but has also grown into other business lines through acquisitions.
Hormel has a large portfolio of category-leading brands. Just a few of its top brands include Skippy, SPAM, Applegate, Justin’s, and more than 30 others.
Hormel posted second-quarter earnings on June 1st, 2023, with results coming in rather mixed. Earnings-per-share came to 40 cents, which was a penny ahead of estimates. However, revenue fell 3.2% year-over-year to $3 billion and missed estimates by $60 million.
Operating income came to $296 million, which was 9.9% of revenue. Earnings before income taxes were $279 million. Cash flow from operations came to $208 million.
Hormel guided for full-year net sales growth of 1% to 3%, and the company continues to expect $1.70 to $1.82 in earnings-per-share. We’ve left our estimate of earnings-per-share unchanged but note that sales weakness may begin to erode margins as comparables become more difficult in the coming quarters.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Hormel (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
#21—Carvana Co. (CVNA)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.1%
Carvana is an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars in the United States. The company’s platform allows customers to research, inspect, obtain financing for, and purchase vehicles from their desktop or mobile devices.
#22—On Holding AG (ON)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.04%
On Holding is based in Switzerland, and it develops and distributes sports products worldwide. It offers its products through independent retailers and distributors, online, and stores.
On has quickly gained popularity among athletes and running enthusiasts worldwide for its commitment to delivering exceptional comfort, performance, and style. The company has experienced rapid growth since its inception and has established a strong presence in the global sports market.
The product portfolio of On includes a wide range of running shoes tailored for different terrains, such as road running, trail running, and all-terrain running. They have also expanded their offerings to include apparel and accessories like jackets, shirts, shorts, socks, and backpacks, which complement their footwear line.
#23—Vroom, Inc. (VRM)
Dividend Yield: N/A
Percentage of Bill Gates’ Portfolio: 0.01%
Vroom operates as an e-commerce used automotive retailer in the United States. It operates an end-to-end e-commerce platform for buying, selling, transporting, and delivering vehicles.
Additional Resources
See the articles below for analysis on other major investment firms/asset managers/gurus:
If you are interested in finding more high-quality dividend growth stocks suitable for long-term investment, the following Sure Dividend databases will be useful:
- The Dividend Aristocrats List: a group of 65 stocks in the S&P 500 Index with 25+ years of dividend increases.
- The 20 Highest Yielding Dividend Aristocrats
- The Dividend Kings List is even more exclusive than the Dividend Aristocrats. It is comprised of 48 stocks with 50+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
- The 20 Highest Yielding Dividend Kings
- The Dividend Achievers List: a group of stocks with 10+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
- The Dividend Champions List: stocks that have increased their dividends for 25+ consecutive years.
Note: Not all Dividend Champions are Dividend Aristocrats because Dividend Aristocrats have additional requirements like being in The S&P 500. - The Dividend Contenders List: 10-24 consecutive years of dividend increases.
- The Dividend Challengers List: 5-9 consecutive years of dividend increases.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List: contains stocks that pay dividends each month, for 12 payments per year.
- The 20 Highest Yielding Monthly Dividend Stocks
- The High Dividend Stocks List: high dividend stocks are suited for investors that need income now (as opposed to growth later) by listing stocks with 5%+ dividend yields.
The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly: