Alphabet, New York Times, Delta: what Berkshire bought in the first quarter without Buffett

Warren Buffett-founded investment firm Berkshire Hathaway sharply increased its stake in Alphabet and opened a major new position in Delta Airlines in the first quarter of 2026, according to a Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This is the first reporting period when the post of the head of Berkshire is occupied by Buffett's successor - Greg Abel. Under his leadership, the investment company remained a net seller of shares, and, in particular, completely closed 16 positions at once. At the same time, the basis of the portfolio has not changed in any way, as Abel described it: the big four Apple, American Express, Moody's and Coca-Cola.

Berkshire has tripled the number of Alphabet Class A shares and bought Class C shares for the first time. It opened a position in the technology giant back last year, then it was in tenth place in the portfolio by share size, now it has risen to seventh, taking almost 6%. At the end of March, Berkshire owned more than 52 million Google Class A shares worth $15.6 billion. It bought $1 billion worth of Class C paper.

Abel continued to build his stake in The New York Times Media Corporation, increasing it by almost 200%. This is also a relatively new company for Berkshire, its securities entered the portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2025. Quotes of The New York Times jumped after the disclosure of 2% in extended trading on May 15.

Last quarter, Berkshire opened a large position in Delta Airlines, buying 39.8 million of its securities, which were valued at $2.6 billion at the end of March. Delta shares were up 3% in the post-market. Thus, the investment company returned to the aviation industry: Berkshire previously invested in the leading American carriers and was among the largest shareholders of Delta, but during the pandemic Covid-19 in 2020 completely withdrew from the sector, recalls CNBC. Delta shares are up 1.2% this year, even as rising fuel costs due to the war with Iran pressured the airline's securities, The Wall Street Journal reported. Delta's focus on customers willing to pay more for premium service has allowed it to perform better than its competitors.

Berkshire also opened a small position in Ma's worth about $55 million. Shares of the U.S. department store chain jumped 5% in the postmarket on May 15.

According to the Form 13F, the investment firm significantly reduced its stake in Chevron after increasing it in the fourth quarter of 2025. Nevertheless, the oil giant remained in the top 5 most weighted positions in Berkshire's portfolio.

In addition, it further reduced its position in Bank of America by a small amount, by 39% in steel conglomerate Nucor, and by 95% in Constellation Brands, one of the largest alcoholic beverage makers in the U.S., which owns the Corona and Modelo brands in the U.S. market.

Berkshire completely got rid of a number of holdings last quarter, likely in an attempt to wind down investments that manager Todd Combs had been eyeing, CNBC suggests. He moved to JPMorgan at the end of 2025. WSJ wrote on April 17 that Abel was eliminating positions for which Combs was previously responsible.

Among the most notable selloffs in the row were Mastercard and Visa, the first stocks that Combs added to the portfolio after joining Berkshire. The investment firm also exited Amazon entirely after sharply reducing the position late last year. Some investors have long considered this investment a bet made at Combs' initiative, CNBC explains.

At the end of the fourth quarter, Berkshire owned $1.6 billion worth of shares of insurance company UnitedHealth; they were - surprise to the market - bought in the second quarter of 2025. Abel closed that position in the first quarter of 2026.

Berkshire also withdrew from the securities of companies such as Domino's Pizza, Formula One and Diageo.

During the quarter, the number of positions in the portfolio fell from 42 to 29, Benzinga calculated.

Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire, handing it over to Abel, late last year. But during the annual shareholder meeting in early Ma, the successor said he was "fully engaged" with the legendary financier on investments. A report published that day showed that Berkshire again sold more shares than it bought in the first quarter. And the amount of sales - $24 billion - was the largest since 2024.

Berkshire Hathaway has remained a net seller of stock for 14 consecutive quarters. Its cash cushion now exceeds $380 billion.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor