Warren Buffett and Greg Abel inspect Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2025.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio makeover pushed some stocks higher in early trading Monday, while others fell as investors analyzed the company’s latest bets and exits revealed in its quarterly report.
The Omaha-based conglomerate on Friday released its quarterly U.S. stock portfolio under new CEO Greg Abel, who took over the reins from legendary investor Warren Buffett at the beginning of the year.
Berkshire bought 39.8 million shares of Delta Air Lines, valued at $2.6 billion, making it the airline’s 14th largest holding at the end of March, according to the latest filing. Delta Air Lines rose 2.5% in premarket trading.
This comes after Buffett sold Berkshire’s entire multibillion-dollar portfolio of U.S. airlines, including Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, in response to changes in consumer travel behavior amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Google’s parent company Alphabet made the biggest investment with 58 million shares, an increase of 224%, making it Berkshire’s seventh largest holding. The technology giant was down 0.6% in early trading on Monday.
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Other moves include the acquisition of a new stake in Macy’s, a 35% write-down of Chevron that included the sale of $8 billion worth of stock, and the sale of Mastercard and Visa. Macy’s was last up 5% in premarket trading, while Chevron, Mastercard and Visa were trading just below flat.
Berkshire, on the other hand, completely exited its investment in Amazon, selling 2.3 million shares in the first quarter, but sold 7.7 million of its 10 million shares in the fourth quarter. Amazon fell 0.7% in premarket.
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Some of the moves are likely related to efforts to unwind positions tied to former investment manager Todd Combs, who left the firm at the end of 2025 to join JPMorgan. Mr. Combs was personally recruited by Mr. Buffett to manage Berkshire’s stock portfolio, along with Ted Weschler, who still controls 6% of the stock.
Abel has previously said he continues to consult the 95-year-old Buffett on investment decisions.
“He’s in the office every day, so when I’m in Omaha, we talk every day and we’re always connected,” Abel said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in March. “When I’m traveling, I often check in, like yesterday, to see what he’s seeing, what he’s hearing, what I’m feeling. So if not every day, then every few days.”
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