For decades, Berkshire Hathaway’s quarterly stock filings have been treated like a roadmap into Warren Buffett’s thinking.
However, the latest one feels very special.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) unveiled a wide-ranging portfolio overhaul in its latest 13F filing, adding a big new stake in Delta Air Lines (DAL), increasing its stake in Alphabet (GOOGL) (GOOG), and exiting a handful of household names, including Amazon (AMZN), UnitedHealth (UNH), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA).
The company bought $15.94 billion in equities but sold $24.09 billion during the first quarter.
This isn’t just ordinary portfolio upkeep.
The filing comes in the first year of Greg Abel’s stint as Berkshire CEO and could provide one of the clearest early indications yet that the company’s investing approach is starting to change.
Buffett remains the heart of Berkshire’s identity. But investors are increasingly asking what Berkshire looks like after Buffett, and the filing offers a glimpse of a response that might involve speedier portfolio reshuffling, bigger technology bets and less loyalty to smaller legacy positions.
The biggest surprise may not have been what Berkshire bought.
It may have been what Berkshire no longer wanted to own.
Berkshire Hathaway makes aggressive moves in key sectors
Wall Street quickly took note of Berkshire’s new interest in Delta Air Lines. Buffett famously soured on airline equities during the Covid epidemic.
Berkshire jettisoned billions of dollars in airline holdings in 2020 after Buffett warned the sector had fundamentally altered. Now Berkshire is back with a stake worth around $2.65 billion in Delta, Reuters said.
That alone would have been remarkable in the filing.
But Berkshire’s pivot into Alphabet may have been even more critical.
Berkshire’s holding in Google’s parent was a lot bigger as the business practically tripled its Alphabet position to roughly 58 million shares. AP pegged the stake at approximately $17 billion, but Barron’s stated it was worth closer to $23 billion,…
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