The most lingering mystery from Berkshire Hathaway’s latest 13F filing is the sudden, sweeping portfolio overhaul under new CEO Greg Abel, which saw the exit of 16 long-held positions—including Amazon, Mastercard, Visa, and UnitedHealth—while adding a surprise ($2.65) billion stake in Delta Air Lines.
Key Lingering Mysteries.
- The Delta Reversal: Abel’s choice to re-enter airlines with a massive position in Delta Air Lines is puzzling given Warren Buffett’s historic and high-profile dumping of all major airline stocks at a massive loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Managerial Mind Behind the Trades: It remains an open question exactly which portfolio manager drove these massive changes. The trimming of the Chevron stake (35%) was too large to belong to Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, while a “tiny” Macy’s purchase had the hallmark of a manager’s bet.
- The “Tiny” Macy’s Mystery: Berkshire disclosed a newly minted Macy’s position (valued around ($63) million). This sparked debate on Wall Street over whether this was purely an opportunistic manager play or a sign of deeper retail sector exploration.
- Alphabet Overload: In stark contrast to Buffett’s traditionally selective tech allocations, Abel’s first full quarter at the helm revealed a massive (225%) accumulation in Alphabet (GOOGL).
Notable Confirmed Moves
- Ongoing DaVita Cuts: Berkshire was forced to sell nearly ($183) million of DaVita shares to remain under the mandated (45\%) ownership threshold required by a 2024 agreement.
- Japan Expansion: While US equities were aggressively pruned, Berkshire quietly continued building its massive positions in Japanese trading houses, raising its Mitsubishi stake to (11.1%) and Sumitomo to (10.3%).
For detailed insights and performance updates, review the CNBC Coverage of the latest 13F filings. Track ongoing shifts and valuations across the entire holdings list on the Valuesider Warren Buffett Portfolio database.
