For decades, Berkshire HathawayQuarterly stock reports have been treated as a roadmap to Warren Buffett’s thinking.
However, the last one seems very special.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) revealed a broad overhaul of its portfolio in its latest 13F filing, adding a large new stake in Delta Air Lines (DAL), increasing its stake in Alphabet (GOOGL) (GOOG) and exiting a handful of well-known names, including Amazon (AMZN), UnitedHealth (UNH), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA).
The company bought $15.94 billion in shares but sold $24.09 billion during the first quarter.
This is not just ordinary portfolio maintenance.
The presentation occurs in the first year of Greg Abel period as Berkshire’s CEO and could provide one of the clearest early signs yet that the company’s investment approach is beginning to change.
Buffett remains the heart of Berkshire’s identity. But investors are increasingly wondering what Berkshire will look like after Buffett, and the filing offers a glimpse of an answer that could involve faster portfolio reshuffling, bigger technology bets and less loyalty to smaller legacy positions.
Perhaps the biggest surprise wasn’t what Berkshire bought.
It may have been what Berkshire no longer wanted to own.
Berkshire Hathaway Takes Aggressive Moves in Key Sectors
Wall Street quickly took note of Berkshire’s newfound interest in Delta Airlines. Buffett was sour on airline stocks during the Covid epidemic.
Berkshire dumped billions of dollars in airline holdings in 2020 after Buffett warned the sector had fundamentally changed. Now Berkshire is back with a stake valued at about $2.65 billion in Delta, Reuters said.
That alone would have been notable in the presentation.
But Berkshire’s turn toward Alphabet may have been even more critical.
Berkshire’s stake in Google’s parent company was much larger as the company nearly tripled its position in Alphabet to approximately 58 million shares. The AP pegged the stake at about $17 billion, but Barron’s said it was worth closer to $23 billion, reflecting a different timing of valuation.
Key Berkshire Hathaway 13F takeaway
Berkshire initiated a multibillion-dollar stake in Delta Air Lines.
Berkshire nearly tripled its position in Alphabet.
Berkshire exited Amazon, UnitedHealth, Visa and Mastercard.
Berkshire reduced Chevron by about 35%.
The filing is one of the first major portfolio snapshots of Greg Abel’s CEO era.
This is an important philosophical change for a company that has always been related to banks, insurers, railroads and consumer brands.
Buffett notably avoided much of the technology space for years, favoring companies he considered easier to understand and predict. That changed the story a bit, thanks to Berkshire’s huge investment in Apple (AAPL), but Alphabet appears to be another key tech holding today.
Meanwhile, Berkshire has aggressively trimmed or exited its holdings in several sectors.
The conglomerate divested its stakes in Amazon, UnitedHealth, Visa, Mastercard, Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), Pool (POOL) and Aon (AON). It also reduced its participation in Chevron (CVX) by almost 35%.
That mix of buying and selling made one thing clear: Berkshire wasn’t just tinkering on the periphery.
Greg Abel’s Berkshire may be taking shape
The broader significance of the presentation may have less to do with any particular stock and more to do with what the aggregate of moves suggests about Berkshire’s future.
Berkshire became famous for holding positions almost unlimitedly for decades. Buffett has said his favorite holding period is “forever.” The corporation established its name through patience and discipline.
That culture doesn’t seem to be disappearing.
Related: Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Makes Major Move on $2.65 Billion in Rising Stocks
Apple, Coca-cola (KO), American Express (AXP) and Moody’s (MCO) are still among Berkshire’s top holdings.
But the latest filing implies that Berkshire may be becoming more flexible under Abel.
More Warren Buffett:
Rather than maintaining a long list of smaller investments, Berkshire is more likely to dump names that no longer fit its highest-conviction themes. The corporation also appears more willing to further explore sectors related to artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.
That could matter even more as Wall Street increasingly likes companies linked to AI development.
Alphabet offers direct exposure to cloud computing, AI-based advertising and corporate software growth at a time when investors are pouring billions into AI infrastructure. At the same time, Delta offers an opportunity for a travel sector that has demonstrated resilience in the face of rising operating expenses and economic uncertainty.
The departures of Visa and Mastercard were notable as Berkshire stayed with American Express.
That could indicate that Berkshire still has a penchant for the more general payments business, but favors the closed-loop ecology and customer loyalty advantages that American Express offers over the more general transaction-based models used by Visa and Mastercard.
Chevron’s downsizing may also signal a shift in priorities.
Energy has been one of Berkshire’s biggest themes recently, but cutting Chevron while joining Alphabet could mean Berkshire sees greater long-term upside in AI infrastructure than in oil markets.
Warren Buffett attends the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting in Omaha.Photo by JOHANNES EISELE on Getty Images
Investors should be careful not to overreact to quarter-party filings. Berkshire’s portfolio decisions often unfold over years, not months.
But this 13F filing seemed too transparent.
The presentation indicated a Berkshire Hathaway that still values ​​discipline, scale and long-term investment, but that may also be approaching a new era in which capital moves faster, technology matters more and fewer jobs are secure just because they have been around for years.
And perhaps that was the most important takeaway of all for investors looking for signs about Berkshire post-Buffett.
Related: Warren Buffett doubles down on his message on the stock market by 2026
This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investments section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.
