Berkshire triples – Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel has reshaped the conglomerate’s stock portfolio in the first quarter of the year, tripling its Alphabet stake and building a new $2.6 billion position in Delta Air Lines—moves that mark a sharp shift from the outlook Warr
When Greg Abel stepped in as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO on January 1, the portfolio changes began right away—and the latest regulatory filing shows the new boss is willing to make bold, sometimes surprising bets.
In the quarter ending March 31, Berkshire built a fresh stake in Delta Air Lines worth $2.6 billion, a return to owning airline stocks after years away. At the same time, it more than tripled its holding in Alphabet, extending Berkshire’s exposure to the company at the center of the AI boom.
The moves reflect how quickly Berkshire’s investment direction has shifted since Abel took over.. Berkshire had bought nearly 18 million shares of Alphabet in the third quarter of last year. and it didn’t touch the position in Buffett’s final quarter as CEO.. Then, last quarter, Abel and his team ramped up the investment to almost 58 million shares, worth around $17 billion by March 31.
The filing also shows Berkshire was active beyond tech and aviation.. Abel appeared to reduce holdings that had been built by Todd Combs, previously one of Buffett’s two investment managers.. Buffett announced in December that Combs had resigned to join Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan.. During the period covered by the filing. Berkshire exited positions in Visa. Mastercard. UnitedHealth. Domino’s Pizza. Amazon. Charter. Diageo. and several other companies. trimming its total number of holdings to around two dozen.
Berkshire also pared other investments, including Chevron, Nucor, and Constellation Brands.. Still, the company added Macy’s to its portfolio.. It also roughly tripled the size of its New York Times stake established in the prior quarter. pushing it to around 15 million shares valued at around $1.3 billion on March 31.
The scale of this reshuffling aligns with what Berkshire said earlier this month in its first-quarter earnings. The report showed Berkshire sold about $24 billion worth of stocks and bought around $16 billion worth—evidence of a portfolio reset rather than a quiet holding pattern.
For long-time followers, the Delta bet is the standout.. Buffett famously sold Berkshire’s stakes in the “big four” US airlines in April 2020. later calling it a “mistake.” In his 2007 shareholder letter. he described the airline business as a “bottomless pit” and added a biting quip: “Indeed. if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk. he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down.”
With Abel now at the helm, Berkshire’s latest moves suggest a willingness to revisit ideas Buffett once rejected outright—turning what was once a clear line in the sand into a new, $2.6 billion wager on Delta’s future.
Berkshire Hathaway Greg Abel Alphabet Delta Air Lines Warren Buffett Todd Combs portfolio reshuffle stock holdings