Greg Abel Just Rewrote Berkshire’s Portfolio — Here’s What Changed
Greg Abel’s first quarter as Berkshire Hathaway CEO sent a clear message: the new era has arrived. The Q1 2026 13F filing, released May 15, reveals a sweeping portfolio reshuffle that unwound roughly $14 billion in positions and made one headline-grabbing new bet — a $2.65 billion stake in Delta Air Lines.
That last move is the most symbolic. Warren Buffett famously sold every airline stock Berkshire owned in May 2020, calling the investment a mistake and vowing to exit the sector entirely. Abel, who took the CEO chair on January 1, has now reversed that decision barely one quarter into his tenure. Berkshire acquired approximately 39.8 million Delta shares, making DAL its 14th-largest holding and giving the conglomerate a 6.1% ownership stake in the airline.
Delta was not the only portfolio pivot. Abel effectively cleaned house on the legacy book assembled by former portfolio manager Todd Combs, liquidating more than a dozen positions including Amazon, UnitedHealth Group, Visa, Mastercard, Constellation Brands, Aon, and Pool. At the same time, Berkshire tripled its position in Alphabet, growing the Google parent stake to roughly $23 billion — a meaningful vote of confidence in the company’s long-term competitive moat.
The net result: Berkshire sold $24 billion in stocks while buying $16 billion, becoming a net seller by $8 billion for the quarter. Its cash pile swelled to a record $397 billion.
For long-term investors, the real takeaway is not the Delta bet itself — it is what Abel’s moves signal about Berkshire’s evolving philosophy. The old portfolio had grown cluttered with positions that did not reflect a consistent thesis. Abel appears to be simplifying, concentrating, and making his own calls. Doubling down on Alphabet while reversing Buffett’s airline exit suggests a manager who wants cleaner, more intentional exposure to dominant franchises.
The Alphabet increase is particularly notable. The stock trades at roughly 19-20x forward earnings with double-digit revenue growth, AI monetization accelerating through search and cloud, and a balance sheet generating tens of billions in annual free cash flow. For a $397 billion cash pile looking for homes, it checks every Berkshire box: durable competitive advantage, pricing power, and the kind of compounding math that works over decades.
Long-term investors watching Berkshire as a bellwether should take note. Abel’s first quarter is a data point, not a verdict — but the direction is visible. Fewer, bigger, more deliberate bets. That is a playbook any patient investor can learn from.
