Berkshire's Abel Dumps Amazon, Triples Alphabet Stake in Major Shift

May 15, 2026

Bobby Quant Team

💡 Key Takeaway

Greg Abel's first major portfolio moves signal a decisive shift from Buffett's era, aggressively betting on Alphabet's AI and cloud dominance while exiting consumer and financial stalwarts.

The First Major Moves of the Abel Era

Warren Buffett has officially passed the reins of Berkshire Hathaway's massive investment portfolio to his successor, Greg Abel. The first major portfolio overhaul under Abel's leadership was revealed in a recent regulatory filing, showing a dramatic reshuffling of the conglomerate's holdings. Abel completely sold out of 16 positions, representing about a third of Berkshire's portfolio, including high-profile names like Amazon and Domino's Pizza.

Among the most notable exits were longtime holdings Visa and Mastercard, healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group, and a 35% reduction in the stake in Chevron. The sale of Domino's was particularly surprising, as Berkshire had been a consistent buyer for six consecutive quarters prior to the exit.

In contrast to the sweeping exits, Abel made a massive, concentrated bet on Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Berkshire more than tripled its existing stake in the tech giant, adding over 36 million Class A shares (GOOGL) and 3.5 million Class C shares (GOOG). This move ballooned Berkshire's total position in Alphabet to a staggering $23 billion.

The filing also revealed a few new additions, including positions in Delta Air Lines and department store Macy's, and a near-tripling of the stake in The New York Times Co. However, the sheer scale of the Alphabet purchase dwarfs all other activity, making it the clear centerpiece of Abel's new strategy.

What This Means for Me

If you hold GOOGL or GOOG, Berkshire's massive new stake acts as a strong vote of confidence and could provide a floor for the stock. Investors with exposure to the sold names like AMZN, DPZ, V, or MA should review their theses, as losing a major holder like Berkshire can be a headwind. For holders of BRK.B, this marks the beginning of a new chapter; the portfolio's future performance now hinges on Abel's picks diverging from Buffett's legendary playbook.

Why This Portfolio Shake-Up is a Big Deal

This isn't just routine portfolio management; it's a clear declaration of a new investment philosophy at one of the world's most watched financial institutions. Abel is putting his own stamp on Berkshire's portfolio, moving away from some of Buffett's classic plays and toward his own vision of value and growth.

The aggressive sale of Amazon, despite its 'wide moat,' suggests Abel is prioritizing what he sees as 'screaming fundamental bargains' over great businesses at fair prices. The exit from Domino's likely reflects concerns about consumer spending pressure from inflation, which hurt the pizza chain's recent sales growth.

The monumental bet on Alphabet is the headline. It signals Abel's strong conviction in the company's dual dominance in internet search and its rapidly growing, high-margin cloud computing business. Unlike Buffett, who famously avoided complex tech, Abel is diving in, likely attracted by Google Cloud's 63% year-over-year revenue growth and its integration of artificial intelligence.

For investors, this overhaul provides a rare and valuable roadmap to the thinking of Berkshire's new chief capital allocator. It highlights a sector rotation away from certain consumer and financial names and a massive, confidence-driven wager on the long-term profitability of a tech 'virtual monopoly.' The market will now watch to see if Abel's picks can match the legendary track record of his predecessor.

Stock to Watch

Stocks	Impact	Analysis
GOOGL	Positive	Berkshire more than tripled its stake to $23 billion, signaling immense confidence in Alphabet's dominant search business, rapidly growing AI-powered cloud segment, and overall value.
GOOG	Positive	As the other share class of Alphabet, it benefits equally from Berkshire's massive vote of confidence and the same fundamental strengths in search and cloud computing.
AMZN	Negative	Completely exited by Berkshire after a prior reduction, labeled as not a 'screaming bargain,' which could give some investors pause despite its strong business.
DPZ	Negative	Sold off after six straight quarters of buying, reflecting concerns about weak sales growth and consumer pressure, which may signal broader challenges.
V	Negative	A longtime holding that was completely exited, suggesting a loss of confidence in the payments network from Berkshire's new leadership.
MA	Negative	Fellow payments giant also shown the door, indicating a sector-wide reduction in exposure by Berkshire's portfolio managers.
UNH	Negative	Dumped from the portfolio as part of the broad overhaul, removing a major, stable institutional holder.
CVX	Negative	Stake reduced by 35%, signaling a scaled-back commitment to the energy sector under the new regime.
DAL	Positive	A new addition to the portfolio, indicating Abel sees value and a potential rebound in the airline industry.
M	Positive	Newly added, suggesting Abel's team identified a value opportunity in the beleaguered department store retailer.
NYT	Positive	Stake nearly tripled, showing increased conviction in the media company's business model and future prospects.

Source: The Motley Fool
Analysis generated by Bobby AI quantitative model, reviewed and edited by our research team. This is not financial advice. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.