Berkshire Hathaway's "New King, New Atmosphere": Q1 reduced holdings in retail and oil & gas, increased holdings in Google, and also built a position in airlines

After Buffett stepped down, Berkshire Hathaway kicked off the “Abel Era” with a high-profile quarterly holdings report featuring significant portfolio adjustments.

The 13F filing disclosed on Friday, Eastern Time, shows that in the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire made major changes to its investment portfolio: on one hand, investing approximately $2.65 billion to establish a position in Delta Air Lines, marking Berkshire’s first re-entry into airline stocks since liquidating the four major U.S. airlines during the pandemic in 2020; on the other hand, further increasing its stake in Alphabet, Google’s parent company, while completely exiting positions in Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, and several other consumer and fintech stocks.

Meanwhile, Berkshire reduced its holdings of Chevron by about 45.78 million shares in the first quarter, with a volume-weighted average price of $182.59 according to Bloomberg data, cashing out roughly $8 billion. The stake’s proportion dropped to 4.2%, but Berkshire remains Chevron’s fourth-largest shareholder. Chevron’s stock hit a record high in March this year before pulling back; this reduction came at a high point.

Overall, Berkshire significantly intensified its portfolio rebalancing in Q1. According to media reports, Berkshire bought approximately $16 billion worth of stocks and sold about $24 billion during the quarter, with the number of holdings dropping sharply from 42 to 29, indicating that the new management team is pursuing a more concentrated and distinct rebalancing of the portfolio.

Q1 Spent $2.6 Billion to Rebuild Delta Air Lines Position

Among the most notable moves disclosed this week was Berkshire’s re-entry into airline stocks.

The 13F shows that Berkshire established a new position of about 39.8 million shares in Delta Air Lines (DAL) in the first quarter, with a market value close to $2.65 billion, accounting for about 1% of Berkshire’s holdings. In terms of market value, Delta became Berkshire’s 14th-largest holding just after the first quarter’s position was built.

This move is particularly significant. During the 2020 pandemic shock to the global airline industry, Buffett quickly liquidated his holdings in the four major U.S. airlines, including Delta, United, Southwest, and American Airlines, and publicly stated that the business models of the airline industry had fundamentally changed.

Now, after six years, Berkshire’s renewed bet on the airline industry is seen by the market as a signal that management has become more optimistic about U.S. consumer, business travel, and corporate profit prospects.

In addition to Delta, Berkshire also built a new position in Macy’s and modestly increased its holdings of Alphabet Class C shares.

Alphabet Class A Shares Surge Over 200%, Rise to Seventh Largest Holding

In the tech sector, Berkshire continues to strengthen its bet on Google.

The filing shows that in the first quarter, Berkshire increased its holdings of Alphabet (GOOGL) Class A shares by over 36.4 million, a roughly 204% increase from the end of Q4, with the position’s market value rising to $15.6 billion, moving up from tenth to seventh place among Berkshire’s main holdings.

Market analysts interpret this as a sign that Berkshire’s recognition of Google’s core asset value in the AI era is growing. Over the past few years, Berkshire has maintained a cautious stance toward large tech companies, with Apple being its only significant tech holding. But as generative AI competition heats up and Google invests heavily in AI infrastructure, its valuation and cash flow advantages are once again attracting Berkshire.

It’s noteworthy that Alphabet has been one of the few large tech companies that Berkshire has continued to add to over several quarters.

In contrast, Apple remains Berkshire’s top holding, but Berkshire has sold Apple for three consecutive quarters since Q2 2025, only stopping in the first quarter of this year. Data shows that as of the end of March, Apple accounted for about 22.6% of Berkshire’s U.S. stock portfolio, still an absolute core asset.

Clearout of Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth, “Portfolio Slimming” Evident

While increasing positions in Google and airline stocks, Berkshire also divested from several non-core assets.

The 13F shows that Berkshire has completely exited its Amazon position, along with selling out of Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth, Domino’s Pizza, Pool Corp, and Aon.

Notably, the exit from Amazon is the first time in nearly seven years that Berkshire no longer holds Amazon shares. In Q4 last year, Amazon was Berkshire’s largest reduction, with holdings decreasing by over 77.2% to about 2.3 million shares.

Berkshire first bought Amazon in Q2 2019. Buffett stated at the time that although he has generally been cautious about tech stocks, not buying Amazon earlier was “foolish.”

Amazon was once seen as one of Berkshire’s few internet e-commerce investments in recent years, but its position has always been relatively small. Now, the complete exit is interpreted by the market as Berkshire further focusing its “tech allocation,” concentrating on giants like Apple and Google that have stronger platform moats and cash flow advantages.

In the financial sector, Berkshire continued to trim some bank and payment assets:

Bank of America (BAC) holdings decreased by about 3.67 million shares, a reduction of roughly 0.7% from Q4;

Constellation Brands (STZ), a beverage stock, was reduced by nearly 12.37 million shares, a sharp drop of about 95.1%.

However, long-term core holdings like Coca-Cola and American Express remained relatively stable.

Chevron Cashes Out About $8 Billion at High Level, Still Fourth Largest Shareholder

In this holdings report, Chevron’s reduction was the largest single operation in dollar terms.

According to Bloomberg, Berkshire sold about 45.78 million shares of Chevron at a volume-weighted average price of $182.59, cashing out roughly $8 billion. The stake’s reduction was about 35%, leaving Berkshire with a 4.2% stake. After the sale, Berkshire remains Chevron’s fourth-largest shareholder.

Bloomberg reports that Chevron’s stock hit a record high in March this year amid U.S.-Iran tensions and soaring oil prices. Berkshire initially bought Chevron in the $65 range in Q2 2020, and in 2021, it partially reduced its position; before the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Berkshire increased its Chevron stake significantly at an average price of $124. Using the current sale price of $182.59, this represents an approximately 47% unrealized gain compared to the 2022 cost basis.

Top 10 Holdings as of Q1 End: Apple Still Dominates

As of the end of March 2026, Berkshire’s top ten holdings remain heavily concentrated in Apple, finance, and consumer giants—unchanged “old faces” from Q4, though specific rankings have shifted, with Alphabet climbing three spots to the seventh position, the largest gain.

According to the 13F, Berkshire’s top ten holdings in Q1 are:

Apple (AAPL)

American Express (AXP)

Coca-Cola (KO), moving up from fourth to third place

Bank of America (BAC), dropping from third to fourth

Chevron (CVX)

Occidental Petroleum (OXY), rising from seventh to sixth

Alphabet (GOOGL), climbing from tenth to seventh

Chubb (CB)

Moody’s (MCO), dropping from sixth to ninth

Kraft Heinz (KHC), falling from ninth to tenth

Among these, Apple, American Express, and Bank of America together still account for over half of the entire stock portfolio.

However, compared to Buffett’s era, the new management team is demonstrating a higher frequency of portfolio adjustments and a more active “rotation” style.

Market focus is also shifting: as Buffett gradually steps back, the question is whether the new CEO Greg Abel will lead Berkshire from a “long-term highly concentrated” model toward a more flexible, industry-trend-oriented investment style.