Overview
- Berkshire’s Q1 13F filed in mid‑May reports about $24 billion of sales and $16 billion of buys, cutting its disclosed U.S. equity holdings from 39 positions to 26 and fully exiting roughly 15 stakes including Visa and Mastercard.
- The filing shows new or enlarged U.S. positions, most notably a roughly 6% stake in Delta Air Lines valued near $2.6 billion and a small holding in Macy’s, along with a notable increase in Alphabet exposure.
- Separate foreign filings in April and May disclose larger stakes in Japanese trading houses, with Mitsubishi rising to about 11.1% and Sumitomo to about 10.3%, signaling continued buying outside U.S. markets.
- Reporters and analysts are debating who chose the trades because Berkshire’s filings do not name decision‑makers and Warren Buffett has said he is not involved in the Delta purchase, leaving attribution between new CEO Greg Abel and remaining managers unresolved.
- The moves tighten Berkshire’s portfolio and expose it again to airlines and retail, which could change the company’s risk profile and set the stage for how Abel may use Berkshire’s large cash reserves reported at year‑end.