Berkshire's Post-Buffett 13F: What Greg Abel's First Quarter Reveals

Warren Buffett handed the reins of Berkshire Hathaway to Greg Abel on January 1, 2026. Eighteen months of speculation about what the next chapter would look like ended on May 15, when Berkshire filed its Q1 2026 13F — Abel's first full quarter running the portfolio. The numbers tell a striking story.

A Leaner, More Focused Portfolio

The most visible change is consolidation. Berkshire's equity holdings shrank from 42 positions to 29 in a single quarter. Abel has said he prefers to "concentrate capital in a few high-conviction ideas," and the Q1 filing makes that philosophy concrete. The portfolio's total market value contracted from roughly $274 billion to $263 billion, but the concentration of each remaining position increased meaningfully.

This isn't trimming at the margins — 16 companies were exited entirely.

The Exits: Paying Processors and Old Favorites

The list of complete sells is notable for what it says about where Abel sees limited upside. Visa and Mastercard — two of Buffett's longtime holdings in the payment processing space — were sold in full, representing billions in liquidated value. Also out entirely: UnitedHealth Group, Amazon, Domino's Pizza, Aon, Pool Corp., Heico, Charter Communications, Lamar Advertising, Allegro, Diageo, Liberty Media entities, Liberty Latin America, and Atlanta Braves Holdings.

Some of these were small legacy positions Buffett had held for years. Others, like UnitedHealth and Amazon, were more recent additions that Abel apparently didn't share conviction on — particularly as UnitedHealth faced significant headline risk in late 2025 and early 2026.

The Big Bet: Alphabet

The headline buy of Q1 2026 is Alphabet. Berkshire increased its Class A stake by 204% — a tripling of the position — bringing the holding to roughly 57.8 million shares worth approximately $16.6 billion at quarter-end. In his shareholder letter, Abel pointed to Alphabet's dominance in AI-powered search, cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud), and its ability to generate massive free cash flow as the rationale.

This is a marked departure from Buffett's historically cautious stance on tech. Buffett warmed slowly to Apple and resisted Alphabet for years. Abel moved fast and large.

The New Position: Delta Air Lines

Among new positions, Delta Air Lines (DAL) stands out. Berkshire purchased 39.8 million shares worth approximately $2.6 billion — making it one of the largest new holdings in the portfolio immediately. This is ironic given Buffett's famous 2020 exit from all airline stocks at a loss during the pandemic, calling it a mistake to have owned them. Abel's Delta buy suggests a different read: that the airline industry has structurally improved, with Delta in particular operating a premium-heavy model with strong loyalty revenue.

The Broader Q1 2026 Institutional Trend

Berkshire's pivot toward Alphabet wasn't unique. Across the 38 major hedge funds that filed Q1 2026 13Fs on May 15, AI infrastructure was the dominant theme. Stanley Druckenmiller's Appaloosa opened a new position in SanDisk and doubled Vistra Energy. NVIDIA nearly doubled its CoreWeave stake. The consensus among top investors: in the AI era, cash flow and compute power concentrate in mega-platforms and the infrastructure that powers them.

You can see how different top investors are positioning across AI and other sectors at InvestorLens, and track where institutional money is flowing with the Flow tool.

What This Means for Investors Watching 13Fs

Abel's first quarter sends a clear signal: Berkshire under new management is willing to make bold, concentrated bets faster than Buffett typically did. Whether this represents a permanent style shift or just initial housekeeping remains to be seen, but the direction is unmistakable — fewer positions, more tech, and a willingness to act decisively.

For investors who use 13F data to follow institutional conviction, Berkshire's Q1 filing is one of the more consequential in years. Track how Berkshire's moves overlap with other top funds using the Portfolio Overlap tool, or check the broader Macro Consensus to see how the largest institutions are collectively positioning.

The post-Buffett era is officially underway — and the portfolio shows it.

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Data sourced from public SEC 13F filings. Educational research only — not investment advice.