Omaha, May 17, 2026, 15:05 (CDT)
Berkshire Hathaway reported a big reshuffle in its first-quarter portfolio with new CEO Greg Abel in charge. The company took a $2.65 billion position in Delta Air Lines, ramped up its stake in Alphabet, and got out of Amazon, Visa, Mastercard and UnitedHealth.
Berkshire’s latest 13F filing showed it owned 39.8 million Delta shares at the end of the first quarter. It also reported about $16.6 billion in Alphabet stock, combining both Class A and Class C shares.
Abel’s new filing gives investors their most detailed look yet at how he’s handling investments since stepping in for Warren Buffett at the start of the year. Buffett is still chairman, but there’s attention on whether Berkshire’s next chapter sticks with his slow-moving approach or chooses to make more moves with its cash, which has continued to rise.
With U.S. markets shut over the weekend, investors won’t get a read until Monday’s regular hours. The New York Stock Exchange trades from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern on normal days.
Berkshire’s Q1 numbers put the spotlight on its recent moves. The insurance and other units finished March with $51.5 billion in cash and equivalents, plus $339.3 billion parked in short-term U.S. Treasurys. Cash flow showed $15.94 billion of equities bought and $24.09 billion sold during the quarter.
Berkshire made a large move into Alphabet. The firm boosted its stake to almost 58 million shares, up from 17.8 million last quarter. That puts Berkshire deeper into one of the top U.S. tech names as it exited Amazon. Apple is still Berkshire’s biggest listed holding.
Berkshire made big sales in the quarter. The company sold out of Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth, Domino’s Pizza, Aon, and Pool, and cut its Chevron holding by 35%, but Chevron is still one of Berkshire’s main positions. The filing didn’t say who made each move. Reuters said Abel told investors in February he runs 94% of the stock portfolio, with Ted Weschler managing 6%.
The Delta buy puts Berkshire back in airlines after dumping Delta and other airline stocks like American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines at the start of the pandemic. At the time, Buffett said “the world had changed” for aviation. Reuters
Delta is telling investors that the business has changed. In April, CEO Ed Bastian said “demand remains strong,” and that the airline would slow capacity growth and try to recover higher fuel costs. Chief Commercial Officer Joe Esposito said adjusted revenue hit $14.2 billion, calling it a “March quarter record.” Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines posted a 14% boost in premium revenue compared to last year, with loyalty revenue rising 13%. Maintenance, repair and overhaul services, including work for outside clients, brought in over $200 million more than a year ago. Adjusted net debt dropped to $13.5 billion.
The trade still carries risk. Delta’s outlook used an all-in fuel price around $4.30 a gallon for the second quarter, and said fuel costs would climb by more than $2 billion at the forward curve. The 13F just reports holdings as of March 31, so it’s not clear what Berkshire did after that.
Berkshire reported a Macy’s stake valued at around $55 million, and said it lifted its holding in The New York Times to 9.4%. Macy’s and Delta both climbed in post-market trade Friday following the filing. Alphabet was mostly flat.
Berkshire’s new filing doesn’t mean shareholders are seeing a total shift away from Buffett’s approach. The company still has a concentrated stock portfolio with Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, Bank of America and Chevron on top. Its businesses like Geico and BNSF railroad are unchanged. What’s different is that Abel’s first full portfolio move shows fewer older stakes, tighter cash handling, and two clear moves: big positions in Alphabet and Delta.
