Greg Abel’s first quarter as Berkshire Hathaway chief executive began with a clean break from one of Warren Buffett’s smaller technology bets. Berkshire unloaded all of its Amazon shares in the period, closing out a position that had accounted for just under 0.2% of the portfolio, while Abel more than tripled the company’s stake in Alphabet class A shares.
By the end of the quarter, Berkshire held 54,249,798 Alphabet class A shares, equal to 5.9% of the portfolio, and 3,585,215 Alphabet class C shares, or 0.4%. It was the first clear look at how Abel is shaping the portfolio after Buffett handed him the CEO role at the start of this year, and it showed a manager willing to move faster than the man he replaced.
The shift matters because Berkshire’s first-quarter 13F was the market’s first glimpse of Abel’s investing style after succession. Buffett had bought Alphabet shares in the third quarter of last year, and Berkshire’s technology holdings have long been unusual for a chief executive who built his reputation on quality companies bought at reasonable prices and held for the long term. Even so, Buffett has rarely leaned into tech, with Amazon and Alphabet standing out as two of the exceptions.
The numbers help explain why the moves drew attention. Amazon had climbed about 160% from the end of the first quarter of 2019 through the end of last year, and it was up about 100% over the past year. That kind of run would have made an exit hard to justify for many investors, but Abel did not treat Berkshire’s stake as a sacred holdover from the Buffett era. He also opened a new position in Alphabet class C shares, adding another layer to a bet on the search and cloud giant.
The contrast with Buffett’s style is striking, but it is also measured. Berkshire’s technology exposure remains limited compared with its sprawling stakes in insurers, railroads and consumer names, and the Alphabet position still sits inside a portfolio designed around patience rather than trading. Abel’s early moves suggest he is not rewriting that identity so much as updating it, with a willingness to cut a smaller position and press harder where he sees room to build. For investors watching Berkshire’s succession, that first-quarter filing offered the clearest sign yet that the company under Greg Abel will keep Buffett’s discipline, but not necessarily his exact map.
