Just been looking at what's still sitting in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, and honestly, there's some interesting plays worth considering right now. Warren Buffett may have stepped back from day-to-day CEO duties, but his fingerprints are all over the current holdings. If you're hunting for ideas, there's a couple worth picking up this month - and one that's probably worth sidestepping.

Let's start with American Express. This one's actually become Berkshire's second-largest position at over $47 billion, right behind Apple. The stock got hit pretty hard lately - down nearly 20% from its December peak - mainly because people are worried about consumer spending collapsing under all that debt burden. The numbers are pretty sobering: U.S. household debt just hit a record $18.8 trillion, with delinquencies sitting at their highest level in nearly a decade at 4.8%. Normally you'd think a credit card company would be crushed by this environment.

But here's the thing - Amex actually serves a different customer base than most people realize. Their cardholders skew toward higher-income folks, and luxury spending among them jumped 15% year-over-year in Q4 alone. That's almost double the 8% growth they saw in total billed business. So while the broader consumer is struggling, Amex's core demographic is still spending. That 20% pullback might be the discount you've been waiting for.

Then there's Constellation Brands. Warren Buffett's bet on this beer and spirits company hasn't exactly been a home run since late 2024 - shares are down since he started buying. On top of that, Gallup's data shows alcohol consumption in the U.S. hit a multidecade low of 54% of the population. Pretty grim on the surface.

Except the alcohol business is wildly cyclical, and right now we're just in a down phase. When consumer confidence bounces back - which it always does - demand will rebound with it. Meanwhile, Constellation's been cleaning house internally, ditching lower-margin wine brands that were just cluttering up the portfolio. New CEO Nicholas Fink coming in should bring fresh thinking too. This weakness is overdone.

Now, the one you probably want to avoid: DaVita. This is the kidney dialysis company that Berkshire has been quietly exiting for the past year or so. When Warren Buffett first invested back in 2011, the dynamics were completely different - demand was strong and insurance reimbursement was reasonable. Fast forward to now, and the whole healthcare sector is getting squeezed. DaVita's revenue grew a modest 5% year-over-year through the first three quarters of 2025, but net income actually dropped 17%. That's the canary in the coal mine right now. Even Greg Abel, the new CEO, is continuing Buffett's exit strategy. The healthcare headwinds aren't going away anytime soon, and this one's probably not worth the risk at this point.