Been looking at Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio moves from the first half of 2025, and there's actually an interesting story beneath the surface that most people miss.

Yes, technically Buffett was a net seller during that period, but that's really just two massive exits — Apple and Bank of America positions got trimmed significantly. Strip those out and what Buffett is buying tells a completely different narrative about where he's seeing value right now.

During Q2 alone, Berkshire added six brand new positions to the portfolio. That's pretty active for someone supposedly in cash-preservation mode. The scale is worth noting too — we're talking real money here, not token positions.

Let me break down what caught my attention. On the new buys side, Buffett loaded up on some interesting names. UnitedHealth Group got $1.57 billion deployed — that's the biggest new position. Nucor, the steel play, came in at $857 million. Lennar, one of the homebuilders, got $780 million. Then there's D.R. Horton, Lamar Advertising, and Allegion rounding out the new six.

The housing and infrastructure angle is pretty clear if you're watching what Buffett is buying. Two major homebuilders, plus Nucor for steel and Allegion for security solutions. That's a bet on construction and building activity.

But the real action was in positions he already owned. Chevron is the heavyweight here — $17.5 billion total position with massive Q2 additions. That's not a small adjustment, that's conviction. Constellation Brands, Domino's, Pool Corp, SiriusXM, and Heico all got topped up too.

What's interesting is the mix. You've got energy (Chevron), consumer staples (Domino's, beverages), consumer discretionary (SiriusXM), and these infrastructure-adjacent plays. It's not a concentrated bet on one narrative.

The timing question everyone asks is whether these purchases happened when markets dipped in April or after the S&P 500 ran to new highs in June. We don't know exactly, and honestly that detail matters less than the overall direction. The fact that what Buffett is buying spans defensive positions, value plays, and infrastructure exposure suggests he's not trying to time a specific moment.

One thing worth remembering — not all of these moves are necessarily Buffett himself anymore. His investment managers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs handle the smaller positions these days. But the bigger additions, especially Chevron and UnitedHealth, those have Buffett's fingerprints on them.

Looking at this activity as a whole, what Buffett is buying in 2025 paints a picture of someone finding opportunities in sectors that aren't grabbing all the headlines. Infrastructure, housing, energy, healthcare, consumer staples. Nothing sexy, but all fundamentally sound areas where he apparently sees value after the market repricing.

The net seller narrative gets all the attention, but the actual portfolio construction work happening underneath tells you more about how he's actually positioning for the next phase.