Berkshire Hathaway bought seven stocks in the first quarter of 2026, the first filing period after Greg Abel took over as chief executive, according to a regulatory report submitted after the market closed on May 15. The positions ranged from giant airlines to media and homebuilders, and at least four of the six purchases that added to existing holdings were expansions of names the conglomerate already knew well.
The biggest new bet was Delta Air Lines, where Berkshire bought 39.8 million shares worth $2.6 billion at the end of the quarter. It also picked up 3 million shares of Macy's, started a new position in Alphabet's Class C shares and increased its stake in Alphabet's Class A shares by 204%. After Alphabet's recent gains, the company had become Berkshire's fifth-largest holding. Berkshire also nearly tripled its position in Company and added to both the Class A and Class B shares of Lennar.
The mix matters because it shows Berkshire still hunting in areas where valuations can look appealing even as the company’s leadership changes. Macy's was trading at about nine times forward earnings, and Lennar had a 14.4 forward earnings multiple. Company said in February that digital advertising revenue soared 24.9% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, a sign that the media business had more momentum than many investors expected.
Buffett has said he remains involved in investing even after Abel became chief executive, telling CNBC's Becky Quick earlier in 2026 that he is still making investments and that he “won’t make any that Greg thinks are wrong.” That line now reads less like a farewell and more like a description of how Berkshire is operating: Buffett is still in the room, but the next chief executive is clearly shaping the pace, size and direction of the buying.
The tension for investors is not whether Berkshire is done shopping. It plainly is not. The more important question is how much of this first-quarter activity reflects Buffett's longstanding instincts, including his regret over missing Alphabet years ago, and how much reflects Abel's first real imprint on a portfolio that remains one of the market's most watched.
