The Devil’s Portfolio: A Skeptical Look at Buffett’s Darlings

Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, still sits enthroned atop Berkshire Hathaway, though his reign inches ever closer to its twilight. The man who turned patience into a superpower has left behind a legacy as monumental as it is inscrutable. Yet, even gods age, and their oracles sometimes falter. In one of his final acts as commander-in-chief of capital, Buffett made few changes to Berkshire’s equity portfolio-perhaps out of wisdom, perhaps out of weariness. Among these holdings are names like Amazon, American Express, and Domino’s Pizza. To the credulous, they shimmer with promise; to the skeptic, they whisper warnings.

1. Amazon: The Leviathan That Eats Tomorrow

Behold Amazon, that colossus straddling continents and industries, a creature so vast that its shadow darkens half the marketplace. Its tentacles reach into e-commerce, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, advertising, streaming-and who knows what else? It looms close to becoming the largest company in the world by sales, a title it seems destined to claim if only because no competitor dares challenge it openly.

Yet for all its might, there is something grotesque about this beast. E-commerce sales grew 11% year over year in the second quarter of 2025-a figure modest compared to its ambitions but impressive given the specter of tariffs haunting global trade. Consumers, fearing future price hikes, have been stockpiling goods like villagers before a siege. How long can such panic-driven demand sustain itself? And what of China, whose suppliers feed Amazon’s maw? Should tariffs bite deeply enough, will the giant stumble?

Then there is AI, that seductive siren promising untold riches. Amazon claims its robots now travel 10% more efficiently thanks to machine learning-a marvel until you consider the cost of maintaining such an empire of automation. Meanwhile, AWS, the crown jewel of Amazon’s dominion, races to fortify its lead in cloud services with new chips and tools designed to lure developers deeper into its labyrinthine ecosystem. But beware: every step forward invites scrutiny, regulation, rebellion. Progress, after all, is not without consequence.

Advertising, streaming, logistics-the list of ventures stretches endlessly onward. Is Amazon a no-brainer stock? Perhaps. Or perhaps it is merely the latest idol erected by those desperate to believe in perpetual growth. Only time will tell whether this leviathan devours tomorrow-or itself.

2. American Express: The Alchemy of Affluence

American Express operates under a peculiar alchemy: take affluent customers, add fees, and transmute them into gold. This model has proven resilient even as the broader economy wobbles like a drunkard on cobblestones. Revenue rose 9% year over year in Q2, fueled by record cardmember spending and an influx of new accounts, many from younger generations eager to join the gilded ranks of AmEx holders.

But let us pause to admire the absurdity of it all. Here is a company whose success hinges upon convincing people to pay for the privilege of borrowing money-a concept so audacious it borders on sorcery. Sixty-three percent of new cardholders belong to the millennial and Gen Z cohorts, those digital natives raised on instant gratification and debt. They flock to premium cards bearing annual fees, creating recurring revenue streams that swell AmEx’s coffers. Fee revenue alone surged 20% in Q2, accounting for nearly 14% of total income.

And yet, beneath this glittering facade lies a darker truth. AmEx’s closed-loop system grants it control over credit issuance and banking services, granting it immense liquidity to invest and reinvest. Net interest income climbed 12% year over year, a testament to the power of leverage. But leverage is a double-edged sword, and should the winds shift, those same young borrowers may find themselves drowning in obligations they cannot repay.

Buffett holds American Express dear, making it the second-largest position in Berkshire’s portfolio. One wonders: does he see a fortress or a mirage? Either way, the devil himself might applaud the audacity of charging fees to lend money back to those who already possess too little.

3. Domino’s: Feeding the Masses, Fattening the Few

Pizza, that humble disc of dough and cheese, has become a battleground for corporate empires. At the helm stands Domino’s, slinging slices faster and farther than any rival. Warren Buffett, ever the pragmatist, appreciates the simplicity of this dominance. After all, when you sell something everyone craves, your moat widens naturally.

CEO Russell Weiner boasts of “best-in-class unit economics,” a robust supply chain, and a rewards program that lures customers back like moths to flame. Indeed, Domino’s added 178 net new stores in Q2 alone, bringing its global count to over 21,000. Advertising campaigns swell its coffers while inflation allows it to raise prices without losing patrons. Cheap food, it turns out, remains recession-proof.

But what of the human cost? Behind each delivery driver racing through rain-slicked streets lies a story of exploitation and exhaustion. Domino’s profits soar while its workers scrape by, tethered to gig-economy apps that offer neither stability nor dignity. Such is the paradox of modern capitalism: abundance for the few, austerity for the many.

Will Domino’s continue to thrive? Almost certainly. Will it enrich shareholders? Without question. But as we feast on discounted pepperoni pies, let us remember the hands that baked them-and ask ourselves whether convenience justifies complicity.

In the end, the market is less a temple of reason than a carnival of illusions, where fortunes rise and fall on whispers and whims. So tread carefully, dear reader, lest you find yourself dancing with shadows 👻.

2025-08-17 21:13

1. Amazon: The Leviathan That Eats Tomorrow

2. American Express: The Alchemy of Affluence

3. Domino’s: Feeding the Masses, Fattening the Few

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