Berkshire Hathaway returns to airlines with $2.6 billion stake in Delta Air Lines

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Warren Buffett and Greg Abel during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 4, 2024.

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Berkshire Hathaway added a sizeable stake in Delta Air Lines, marking the conglomerate’s return to the airline industry after exiting the sector entirely during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Omaha-based company built a position worth more than $2.6 billion, making Delta Berkshire’s 14th-largest holding at the end of March, according to a new regulatory filing.

Warren Buffett stunned investors six years ago when he sold Berkshire’s entire equity portfolio of U.S. airlines, including stakes worth more than $4 billion across United, American, Southwest and Delta Air Lines. Buffett said at the time that the pandemic had fundamentally altered consumer behavior and travel patterns.

Among Berkshire’s largest holdings, the firm trimmed its stake in Chevron during the quarter while significantly increasing its relatively new position in Alphabet. The Google parent is now Berkshire’s seventh-largest holding.

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Berkshire also initiated a small position in Macy’s, valued at roughly $55 million at the end of the first quarter.

Unwinding Todd Combs positions

Meanwhile, the conglomerate sold a slew of stocks last quarter, likely as part of an effort to unwind positions tied to departed lieutenant Todd Combs.

The longtime investment manager and Geico chief left for JPMorgan at the end of 2025. Combs had been one of two portfolio managers recruited by Buffett to help oversee Berkshire’s equity portfolio. Ted Weschler, the other investment manager, continues to oversee about 6% of the holdings.

Among the most notable sales were Mastercard and Visa, the first stocks Combs purchased after joining Berkshire and positions that mirrored major holdings from his former hedge fund, Castle Point Capital.

The conglomerate also fully exited Amazon after trimming the position late last year. The investment had long been viewed by some investors as a Combs-driven bet.

Other stocks Berkshire sold included UnitedHealth Group, Aon, Pool Corporation, Domino’s Pizza and Charter Communications.

Not ideal environment

Buffett, who stepped down as CEO after more than six decades at the helm, remains chairman of the Omaha, Nebraska-based company and continues to come into the office five days a week.

New CEO Greg Abel has said he consults Buffett, 95, on investments and capital allocation, including the recent resumption of buybacks in the first quarter.

Buffett recently acknowledged displeasure with the investing backdrop as Berkshire’s cash hoard swells to a record nearing $400 billion.

“It isn’t our ideal surrounding area — or environment, I should say — in terms of deploying cash for Berkshire,” the former CEO said.

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