Berkshire Hathaway’s final public filing while Warren Buffett was still CEO shows a clear re‑weighting of one of the market’s most watched portfolios. The firm’s 13F for the fourth quarter of 2025, filed after US markets closed on February 17, reveals a dramatic cut to Amazon holdings—down more than 77% quarter‑on‑quarter—continued trimming of Apple and another large sale of Bank of America, alongside an otherwise quiet quarter punctuated by one notable new purchase: The New York Times.
The details are stark. Berkshire sold roughly 2.3 million Amazon shares in the quarter, reducing the company’s weight in the portfolio from 0.82% to 0.19%, while trimming Apple by about 10.29 million shares and lowering its Apple position by 4.3% from the prior quarter. Bank of America was sold more aggressively over time—Berkshire offloaded nearly 50.8 million shares in Q4, cutting its stake to just under 7% and roughly halving its position since mid‑2024. Despite the reductions, Apple remained Berkshire’s largest holding by value at the quarter end.
Perhaps the most intriguing move was the sole new equity in the quarter: Berkshire bought 5.067 million shares of The New York Times, a stake worth about $352 million that represents roughly 3.1% of the paper. The market reacted: NYT stock spiked more than 10% in after‑hours trading before settling to a smaller gain. At 0.13% of Berkshire’s portfolio, the position is modest by size but notable as a symbolic return to media investments for the conglomerate.
Other adjustments point to a modest rotation rather than a wholesale overhaul. Berkshire increased its stakes in Chevron and Chubb—adding about 8.09 million Chevron shares and nearly 2.92 million Chubb shares—while also boosting Pizza Hut operator Domino’s by roughly 368,000 shares. Kraft Heinz remained unchanged, though regulatory filings have flagged that Berkshire could be a potential seller of most of its KHC stake, a development that management has previously stated it does not support.
Context matters. This filing is the last 13F reflecting the period when Buffett still held the CEO title; Greg Abel took over on January 1, 2026, and will issue his first shareholder letter on February 28 alongside Berkshire’s full annual results. Market participants interpret 13Fs carefully because they offer a delayed, partial view—omitting short positions, derivatives and non‑US holdings—but Berkshire’s moves are still read as a barometer of long‑term value judgments from the company’s investment desk.
The cuts to Amazon and sustained trimming of Apple and Bank of America invite several possible readings. Amazon has suffered notable price weakness in 2026 amid investor pushback over enormous AI‑related capital spending plans—management disclosed an estimated $200 billion of 2026 capital expenditures—making the stock’s valuation and near‑term returns more uncertain. Trimming Apple—which remains Berkshire’s largest position—appears more like portfolio rebalancing than repudiation: the company still occupies a dominant share of the portfolio. The new New York Times position signals selective appetite for resilient, subscription‑driven media franchises even as Berkshire pares some of its largest tech and financial bets.
For markets the implications are both symbolic and practical. Berkshire’s moves under Buffett’s watch will be dissected for signs of a strategic handover in asset allocation to Abel. A tilt toward energy and insurance (Chevron and Chubb) alongside opportunistic purchases in undervalued or cash‑generative businesses suggests continuity with Berkshire’s value investing ethos, even as the firm reduces concentrated exposure in a few mega‑cap technology and banking names. Investors should watch the February 28 shareholder letter and the next 13F for confirmation of whether this quarter was a one‑off rebalance or the start of a broader reallocation.