As Warren Buffett officially steps down, Berkshire Hathaway (Berkshire Hathaway A(BRK.A.US) / Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B(BRK.B.US) ) has delivered a sharply aggressive 13F report for Q1 2026, loudly ushering in the "Greg Abel era."

In the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire made sweeping adjustments to its portfolio: on one hand, it spent approximately $2.65 billion to initiate a position in Delta Air Lines, Inc.(DAL.US), marking its first re-entry into airline stocks since liquidating its four major U.S. airline holdings during the pandemic in 2020. On the other hand, it further increased its stake in Google (Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US) / Alphabet Inc. Class C(GOOG.US) ) while completely exiting positions in Amazon.com, Inc.(AMZN.US), Visa(V.US), Mastercard(MA.US), and several other consumer and fintech stocks.

Despite the flurry of activity, Berkshire's core holdings remain rock solid. Its top ten holdings are heavily concentrated in leading tech, financial, and consumer stocks: Apple Inc.(AAPL.US), American Express Company(AXP.US), Coca-Cola Company(KO.US), Bank of America Corp(BAC.US), Chevron Corporation(CVX.US), Occidental Petroleum Corporation(OXY.US), Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US), Chubb Limited(CB.US), Moody's Corporation(MCO.US), and Kraft Heinz Company(KHC.US), with Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US) strongly breaking into the top seven.

Through this significantly reshuffled list, we break down the four core trading logics of the post-Buffett era:

I. Return to the Airline Industry After Six Years

The most market-shocking move this quarter was undoubtedly Berkshire's $2.65 billion purchase of nearly 39.8 million shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc.(DAL.US). Upon initiation, Delta immediately became the 14th largest holding.

In early 2020, Buffett decisively sold off the four major airlines. Now, six years later, re-entering the sector is not just an endorsement of Delta's fundamentals but a strong vote of confidence in the recovery of the U.S. real economy, the rebound in business travel, and the valuation recovery of cyclical stocks. Combined with the new position in Macy's, Inc.(M.US)'s, this signals a clear left-field bet on the real economy.

II. Tech Stocks: "Cutting the Weak, Keeping the Strong," Adding AI Core Assets

In the tech sector, Berkshire's moves can be described as "clear-cut":

Aggressively Buying Google: Increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US) by over 36.4 million shares, a staggering 204% quarter-over-quarter surge, propelling it to the seventh-largest holding. It also initiated a position in Alphabet Inc. Class C(GOOG.US). This indicates that the institution places a high premium on Google's infrastructure moat and cash flow conversion capabilities in the era of large AI models.

Many investors are curious why Berkshire bought both Google A and Google C shares simultaneously. Let's clarify the structure: Google A shares carry voting rights, while Google C shares do not. The reasons for buying both are threefold:

First, Berkshire's quarterly portfolio adjustments often involve tens of billions of dollars. Buying only Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US) or only Alphabet Inc. Class C(GOOG.US) would easily drain the liquidity of a single stock in the short term, creating a massive "market impact cost" that would rapidly and significantly increase the cost of building the position.

Second, because A shares have voting rights, Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US) theoretically trades at a slightly higher price than Alphabet Inc. Class C(GOOG.US) (a voting rights premium), but this spread fluctuates with market sentiment.

Third, Google's management has recently favored buying back its non-voting C shares in large-scale repurchases, providing strong price support for C shares. By allocating to C shares, the institution also benefits from the market cap appreciation driven by the company's buybacks.

Exiting Amazon: Completely sold its stake in Amazon.com, Inc.(AMZN.US), held for nearly seven years. Amazon was once seen as one of Berkshire's rare internet/e-commerce investments, but its position was never large. The full exit is interpreted by the market as Berkshire further focusing its "tech allocation," concentrating its bets on giants like Apple and Google, which possess stronger platform moats and cash flow advantages.

III. Financial & Payment Sector: A "Clean Break"

The financial sector has long been a favorite of the "Oracle of Omaha," but this quarter saw a precise "targeted slimming down."

Exiting Payment Duopoly: Completely liquidated positions in Visa(V.US) and Mastercard(MA.US).

Tweaking Bank Holdings: Slightly reduced its stake in Bank of America Corp(BAC.US).

Given the current macro interest rate environment, exiting the traditional credit card payment giants could be driven by concerns over potential consumer credit default risks or worries about the impact of emerging payment systems on their long-term profit margins.

IV. Cashing Out at Highs, Stockpiling Defensive "Ammunition"

The largest single sale in this report fell on energy giant Chevron Corporation(CVX.US).

Bloomberg reports that Chevron's stock hit an all-time high in March this year amid the U.S.-Iran conflict and surging oil prices. Berkshire initially bought Chevron for around $65 in 2020, partially sold in 2021, and then significantly added to its position around the time of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 at an average price of $124. Based on the average selling price of $182.59 for this reduction, it has recorded a book gain of approximately 47% compared to the 2022 purchase cost.

This move locked in substantial profits at the peak of oil prices and geopolitical tensions, reserving ample cash flow to navigate future market volatility.

Summary

The Berkshire of the Abel era is transitioning from a pure "buy and hold" strategy to a more aggressive "industrial trend rotation." For investors, the key to optimizing asset allocation in the next phase will be scrutinizing whether the tech stocks in their portfolios have genuine AI monetization capabilities and paying appropriate attention to undervalued cyclical value opportunities that the market may have overlooked.