Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B | BRK-B Price Prediction) on December 31, 2025, after six decades leading the conglomerate he transformed from a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion empire. The “Oracle of Omaha” left his successor, Greg Abel, with a highly concentrated portfolio: almost 65% of Berkshire’s $331 billion equity portfolio is invested in just six stocks. Abel, who has served as vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, officially took over as CEO on January 1, 2026. At 95 years old, Buffett isn’t fully retiring. He will remain board chair and plans to continue coming to the Omaha headquarters as much as before. However, he has stated he will be “going quiet” and leaving all decision-making to Abel.
Berkshire Hathaway has underperformed the S&P 500 by a sizable margin so far this year, and clearly, Abel was bent on adding some solid growth names to the portfolio. With the S&P 500 up 7.75% and Berkshire down about 4% in 2026, Abel has his work cut out for him if he intends to match or outperform the venerable index this year. The technology and communication services sectors have accounted for a massive chunk of the S&P 500’s total gains. The difference this year, versus decades when Berkshire Hathaway outperformed the S&P 500, is that AI-related stocks have been the core driver of the S&P 500’s gains since the start of 2026, accounting for over 80% of the upward momentum.
The good news for Berkshire investors is that Abel added some more to one of the hottest tech stocks in the portfolio, while adding back an old favorite and a retail giant. In addition, it was reported that the legendary firm also bought back $234 million of the company’s A and B shares.
Here are the stocks that were added or had their position size increased in the first quarter.
Alphabet
The mega-cap tech giant was a major addition in the first quarter, strengthening Berkshire’s growth potential. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is a holding company and pays a small 0.22% dividend. Berkshire Hathaway came in big in the first quarter, adding 36.4 million Class A shares and 3.5 million Class C shares, which tripled the existing stake. It now owns 57,835,013 shares, which is 0.9% of the float and a huge 6.9% of the portfolio.
The company’s segments include:
- Google Services, which includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.
- Google Cloud includes infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers.
- Other Bets sells healthcare-related services and Internet services.
Google Cloud provides enterprise-ready cloud services, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace. The Google Cloud Platform provides access to solutions such as:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) offerings, including its AI infrastructure
- Vertex AI platform
- Gemini for Google Cloud
- Xybersecurity, data, and analytics
Google Workspace includes cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Meet.
Delta Air Lines
Abel, likely with some encouragement from Buffett, added this legacy airline back to the portfolio, which pays a 1.05% dividend. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States and around the world. Berkshire Hathaway purchased 39,809,456 shares, representing over 6% of the float and 0.8% of the portfolio.
The company has hubs and markets in:
- Amsterdam
- Atlanta
- Bogota
- Boston
- Detroit
- Lima
- London-Heathrow
- Los Angeles
- Mexico City
- Minneapolis-St. Paul
- New York-JFK and LaGuardia
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle
- Salt Lake City
- Santiago (Chile)
- Sao Paulo
- Seattle
- Seoul-Incheon
- Tokyo
Its segments include Airline and Refinery. The former is managed as a single business unit that provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States and around the world, including its loyalty program and other ancillary businesses. Its refinery segment supports the airline segment by supplying jet fuel from its own production and through third-party agreements. The refinery’s production consists of jet fuel and non-jet fuel products.
Macy’s
The retailer has had a difficult year, but with a premium name and a 4.16% dividend, this is likely a straight value-add for Berkshire. Macy’s (NYSE: M) is an omnichannel retailer, and it was a much smaller position when Berkshire Hathaway bought just 3 million shares to start.
The company operates stores, websites, and mobile applications under three brands, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury, which sell a range of merchandise, including apparel and accessories (men’s, women’s, and kids’), cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The company has stores in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Its operations are conducted through:
- Macy’s
- Macy’s Backstage
- Macy’s small format
- Bloomingdale’s
- Bloomingdale’s The Outlet
- Bloomie’s
- Bluemercury
In addition, Bloomingdale’s in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Al Zahra, Kuwait, are operated under a license agreement with Al Tayer Insignia.
The principal private label brands offered by the company include:
- Alfani
- And Now This
- Aqua
- Bar III
- Cerulean 6
- Charter Club
- Club Room
- Epic Threads
- first impressions
- Giani Bernini
- Holiday Lane
- Home Design
- Hotel Collection
- Hudson Park
- Ideology
- I-N-C, jenni
- JM Collection
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