Berkshire Hathaway: Warren Buffet's Final Portfolio Moves

Berkshire Hathaway closed out 2025 with decisive portfolio changes in what marked the final quarter under outgoing and long-time CEO Warren Buffet, before he handed the reins to Greg Abel on 1 January.

According to regulatory filings released on 17 February, the Omaha-based company trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.3% to US$61.96bn. Even after the reduction, Apple remains Berkshire's largest equity holding at the end of the fourth quarter, according to InsiderScore.

The company has been trimming the position in stages since 2024, after previously slashing its stake by two-thirds that year.

The filing also disclosed a new US$351.7m stake in The New York Times Company, amounting to US$5.1m shares at year-end.

Separately, Berkshire slashed its stake in Amazon.com Inc. by more than 75% during the quarter and now owns roughly 2.3 million shares in the ecommerce giant.

At the same time, Berkshire increased its stakes in Chevron Corporation and Chubb Limited to 6.5% and 8.7% respectively

Following the investment changes, one of Berkshire's top investment managers Todd Combs resigned in December and joined JPMorgan Chase in January to become head of its new Security and Resiliency Initiative.

A planned transition

Warren, who is 95, first announced at Berkshire's annual meeting in May 2025 that he would ask the Board to appoint Abel as his successor at the end of the calendar year.

Though he has retired from the leader's seat, he remains involved in the conglomerate as Chairman of the Board.

In his farewell letter to shareholders in November 2025, Warren signalled a definite close to his six-decade tenure. He wrote that he would be "going quiet" and would no longer contribute to Berkshire's annual letter, instead continuing to communicate via an annual Thanksgiving message.

Commending Greg, he wrote that "he has more than met" the expectations he formed when he "first through he should be Berkshire's next CEO".

He added: "He is a very fast learner about matter many CEOs don't even consider. I can't think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government - you name it - that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine."

Warren also emphasised the new CEO's command of risk within Berkshire's insurance operations, stating that the incoming Chief knows "far more about the upside potential and the danger of our P/C insurance business" than many long-time executives.

Introducing a new CEO

Greg is a long-time Berkshire executive who previously served as Vice Chairman overseeing the conglomerate's non-insurance operations, managing a vast portfolio of subsidiaries and playing a central role in the day-to-day capital allocation decisions.

In his succession remarks, he pledged continuity. Addressing shareholders at the time of the succession announcement, he said he would "maintain the reputation of Berkshire" and added: "Really, it will not change. And it's the approach we'll take as we go forward."

The leadership handover formally took effect on 1 January. On the same day, Berkshire raised Greg's annual cash salary to US$25m, up from US$21m in 2024, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commision.

By contrast, Warren's own pay in his final year remained US$100,000 plus US$305,111 in other compensation.

Berkshire is set to publish its 2025 annual report on 28 February, when shareholders will see the full-year results of Warren's final year as CEO.