Berkshire Hathaway disclosed portfolio moves that reshaped several high-profile holdings, including a major increase in its stake in Alphabet, new investment activity in Delta Air Lines and a smaller new position in Macy’s, the company reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The changes came as Greg Abel settled into the CEO role after taking over from Warren Buffett at the start of the year, and as Berkshire continued to keep details of its day-to-day trading largely private. Berkshire does not comment on quarter-to-quarter moves in the market because it does not want to discuss what it is buying and selling, the filing and the company’s broader posture have reflected, but its SEC disclosures still draw close attention from investors who have followed Buffett’s investing decisions for years.
By the end of March, Berkshire owned nearly 58 million shares of Alphabet, worth almost $17 billion, versus about 17.8 million shares worth $5.6 billion only three months earlier. The company’s larger Alphabet position followed a period when Buffett had historically been reluctant to invest in technology, saying he did not understand those companies well enough to predict long-term winners—though he did make an exception late in his career by buying a large Apple stake after he recognized how devoted consumers are to its iPhones and computers.
Berkshire also bought nearly 40 million shares of Delta stock during the first three months of the year, totaling more than $2.6 billion in value. The move touches on a long-running theme in Buffett’s own investing history: he has repeatedly acquired airline shares in the past and later sold them, after airlines struggled to maintain a competitive advantage, particularly since the early days of commercial aviation.
In 2008, Buffett told shareholders, “if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville