Berkshire’s “New King, New Era”: Reduced Retail and Oil & Gas Holdings in Q1, Increased Stake in Google, and Initiated New Positions in Airlines
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Berkshire’s “New King, New Era”: Reduced Retail and Oil & Gas Holdings in Q1, Increased Stake in Google, and Initiated New Positions in Airlines
Berkshire Hathaway’s Q1 2026 Portfolio Overhaul: $2.65 Billion Re-Entry into Aviation Stocks with a New Position in Delta Air Lines; Significant增持 of Alphabet; Full Exit from Amazon and Several Other Stocks; ~$8 Billion Profit-Taking on Chevron at Elevated Prices; Total Holdings Slashed from 42 to 29 Stocks—The “Abel Era” of Active Portfolio Rotation Begins to Take Shape.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsFollowing Warren Buffett’s retirement, Berkshire Hathaway kicked off the “Abel Era” with a highly publicized quarterly holdings report featuring significant portfolio reallocations.
The 13F filing disclosed on Friday, May 15 (Eastern Time), revealed that in Q1 2026, Berkshire executed major adjustments to its investment portfolio: it established a new position in Delta Air Lines worth approximately $2.65 billion—a first re-entry into airline stocks since selling its stakes in all four major U.S. carriers during the pandemic in 2020; simultaneously, it further increased its stake in Alphabet—the parent company of Google—while fully exiting positions in Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, and other consumer and fintech stocks.
Meanwhile, Berkshire reduced its Chevron holdings by roughly 45.78 million shares in Q1. Based on Bloomberg’s volume-weighted average price of $182.59, this sale generated approximately $8 billion in proceeds, lowering Berkshire’s ownership stake to 4.2%—still making it Chevron’s fourth-largest shareholder. Chevron’s stock hit an all-time high in March 2026 amid heightened Middle East tensions and surging oil prices, and this reduction occurred near that peak.
Overall, Berkshire significantly intensified its portfolio reshuffling in Q1. According to media estimates, Berkshire purchased around $16 billion worth of equities and sold approximately $24 billion, reducing its total number of holdings from 42 to just 29—a clear indication that the new management team is pursuing a more concentrated and decisive portfolio rebalancing strategy.
Q1 Spends $2.6 Billion to Establish Delta Air Lines Position
Among the data released this Friday, Berkshire’s re-entry into airline stocks drew the most market attention.
The 13F filing shows Berkshire acquired approximately 39.8 million shares of Delta Air Lines (DAL) in Q1, valued at nearly $2.65 billion—about 1% of Berkshire’s total equity portfolio. By market value, Delta instantly ranked as Berkshire’s 14th-largest holding upon establishment.
This move carries special significance. During the 2020 pandemic, which severely disrupted global aviation, Buffett swiftly exited all four major U.S. airlines—including Delta, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines—and publicly stated that the airline industry’s business model had undergone a fundamental change.
Now, six years later, Berkshire’s renewed bet on aviation is widely interpreted by markets as a signal that management has turned optimistic again regarding U.S. consumer demand, business travel, and corporate earnings prospects.
In addition to Delta, Berkshire also initiated a new position in Macy’s and modestly increased its stake in Alphabet Class C shares.
Alphabet Class A Stake Soars Over 200%, Rises to Seventh-Largest Holding
On the technology front, Berkshire continues to deepen its commitment to Google.
The filing reveals Berkshire added over 36.4 million shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) Class A stock in Q1—representing a 204% surge from its Q4 ending position. The stake’s market value rose to $15.6 billion, lifting its ranking among Berkshire’s top holdings from tenth place in Q4 to seventh in Q1.
Markets interpret this as growing recognition by Berkshire of the core asset value of Google in the AI era. For years, Berkshire maintained a cautious stance toward large-cap tech companies, with Apple being its only true tech heavyweight. However, as competition in generative AI intensifies and Google ramps up investments in AI infrastructure, its valuation and cash flow advantages have once again drawn Berkshire’s interest.
Notably, Alphabet is one of only a few large-cap tech firms Berkshire has consistently added to over recent quarters.
Apple remains Berkshire’s top holding—but Berkshire has sold Apple shares for three consecutive quarters since Q2 2025, halting only in Q1 2026. As of end-March, Apple accounted for approximately 22.6% of Berkshire’s U.S. equity portfolio, retaining its status as the absolute cornerstone holding.
Full Exits from Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth—Clear Portfolio “Slimming Down”
While adding to Google and airline stocks, Berkshire also conducted decisive “cut-and-discard” actions across several non-core holdings.
Per the 13F filing, Berkshire fully exited its Amazon position and also liquidated stakes in Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth Group, Domino’s Pizza, Pool Corp, and Aon.
Amazon’s complete exit is especially noteworthy—it marks the first time in nearly seven years that Berkshire holds no Amazon shares. In Q4 2025, Amazon was Berkshire’s largest single-quarter reduction, with share count dropping over 77.2% quarter-on-quarter to about 2.3 million shares.
Berkshire first bought Amazon in Q2 2019. At the time, Buffett admitted that while he’d historically been cautious about tech stocks, not buying shares of the e-commerce giant earlier had been “foolish.”
Amazon had long been viewed as one of Berkshire’s rare internet and e-commerce investments—but its position size remained relatively small. Its full exit is now widely interpreted by markets as Berkshire sharpening its “tech allocation” focus—concentrating instead on platform giants like Apple and Google, which possess stronger moats and superior cash flow generation.
In financials, Berkshire continued trimming certain banking and payment-related assets:
- Bank of America (BAC) holdings declined by ~3.67 million shares, or ~0.7% quarter-on-quarter;
- Constellation Brands (STZ), the beverage stock, was slashed by nearly 12.37 million shares—a staggering 95.1% reduction.
However, long-term core holdings—including Coca-Cola and American Express—remained largely unchanged.
Chevron Sale Generates ~$8 Billion at Peak Price; Berkshire Remains Fourth-Largest Shareholder
The Chevron divestment stands out as the single largest transaction in this holdings report.
According to Bloomberg, Berkshire sold ~45.78 million shares of Chevron at a volume-weighted average price of $182.59, generating ~$8 billion in proceeds. The stake shrank by ~35%, leaving Berkshire with a 4.2% ownership interest. Post-sale, Berkshire remains Chevron’s fourth-largest shareholder.
Bloomberg reported that Chevron’s stock reached an all-time high in March 2026 amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and soaring oil prices. Berkshire first bought into Chevron in 2020 at around $65 per share and partially trimmed its position in 2021. Ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Berkshire aggressively reloaded its Chevron stake at an average price of $124. At the current $182.59 sale price, Berkshire has locked in an approximate 47% unrealized gain relative to its 2022 cost basis.
Top Ten Holdings at End-Q1: Apple Still Dominates
As of March 31, 2026, Berkshire’s top ten holdings remain heavily concentrated in Apple, financials, and consumer leaders—all familiar names from Q4, though rankings shifted slightly. Alphabet posted the largest rank improvement, climbing three places.
Per the 13F filing, Berkshire’s top ten holdings for Q1 2026 are:
- Apple (AAPL)
- American Express (AXP)
- Coca-Cola (KO)—up from fourth to third
- Bank of America (BAC)—down from third to fourth
- Chevron (CVX)
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY)—up from seventh to sixth
- Alphabet (GOOGL)—up from tenth to seventh
- Chubb (CB)
- Moodys (MCO)—down from sixth to ninth
- Kraft Heinz (KHC)—down from ninth to tenth
Together, Apple, American Express, and Bank of America still account for over half of Berkshire’s entire equity portfolio.
Nonetheless, compared to the Buffett era, the new management team is demonstrating both higher portfolio turnover frequency and a markedly more “active rotation” style.
Market attention is now shifting to a critical question: As Buffett gradually steps back, will Berkshire—under newly appointed CEO Greg Abel—transition away from its historic “extreme long-term concentration” model toward a more flexible, industry-trend-oriented investment approach?
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