Warren Buffett and Cathie Wood are like two peas in a pod. At least, that’s the case if the pod spanned millions of miles and the two famous investors were on polar ends of it.
The reality is that Buffett and Wood don’t see eye-to-eye on many stocks. However, there’s one notable exception. Here’s the only artificial intelligence (AI) stock that both Buffett and Wood own as 2024 begins.
Small positions for both famous investors
Wood’s Ark Invest portfolio is chock-full of AI stocks. That’s not surprising, considering that Wood has been a vocal proponent of AI for years. It’s a different story with Buffett. The legendary investor is well-known for focusing only on stocks that are in his circle of competence. AI definitely doesn’t fit the bill.
But there is one — and only one — AI stock that both investors own. Admittedly, though, their stakes in this stock are fairly small.
Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN) makes up 0.4% of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. While Berkshire initiated a position in Amazon in 2019, Buffett acknowledged at the time that the decision was made by one of the conglomerate’s two investment managers. Still, he likes the company and the stock, telling CNBC, “Yeah, I’ve been a fan, and I’ve been an idiot for not buying.”
Wood’s position in Amazon is even smaller. And the stock isn’t in any of her exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) that focus heavily on AI. Instead, Amazon is included in the Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF. The company’s Project Kuiper satellite broadband network apparently caught Wood’s attention.
Amazon’s AI story
Amazon isn’t a johnny-come-lately to the world of AI. The company has developed and used AI for more than two decades.
AI permeates the algorithms used on Amazon’s e-commerce platform. Every time a user sees a recommendation for a product to buy, it’s an example of the company’s AI at work. The e-commerce giant recently upped its game on this front, launching a generative AI tool to answer shoppers’ questions about products.
Amazon introduced its Alexa virtual assistant way back in 2014. Alexa is embedded in the company’s Echo, Firestick, and Kindle Fire devices.
The bigger AI opportunity for Amazon, though, is with its cloud services platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS). CEO Andy Jassy underscored why AWS could be such a big winner in AI in his comments during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. He stated, “[C]ustomers want to bring the [AI] models to their data, not the other way around. And much of the data resides in AWS as the clear market segment leader in cloud infrastructure.”
Is Amazon a smart pick for less well-known investors?
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its position a little in Amazon in the third quarter of 2023. Wood’s Ark Invest released a report several months ago that downplayed mega-cap AI stocks such as Amazon in favor of smaller up-and-comers. However, I think that there are several reasons to buy Amazon stock right now.
The company’s bottom line continues to improve significantly. Amazon’s management has focused intently on boosting profits by streamlining operations across the board. Those efforts are bearing fruit, as evidenced by earnings more than tripling year over year in 2023 Q3.
Jassy has said in the past that roughly 90% to 95% of global IT spending is still on-premises with the rest in the cloud. He believes those numbers will flip over the next 10 to 15 years. I suspect he’s right. If so, AWS should have massive growth prospects ahead.
Last, but not least, Amazon hasn’t stopped looking for ways to expand into new markets. Just last year, the company launched a supply chain management service, introduced a primary care service for Prime members, and announced that it will sell cars online. I expect more expansions in the future.
My view is that Buffett and Wood would be wise to add to their stakes in Amazon. And I think the AI stock is a smart pick for less well-known investors, too.
Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now?
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
