Buffett’s Farewell Quarter Comes With a Sell Stampede… Is That a Warning Sign?

Berkshire Hathaway closed out Warren Buffett’s final quarter as CEO in familiar fashion… by selling more stocks than it bought.

In the three months ended Dec. 31, Berkshire reduced several of its largest equity holdings, including Apple, Bank of America, and Amazon, according to its latest filing.

The continued trimming of Apple stands out. Berkshire has now sold shares of the iPhone maker in seven of the past nine quarters, cutting its stake by more than 75% since the summer of 2023. Even after that reduction, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest holding, valued at $60.3 billion based on Friday’s close.

As Apple has been pared back, American Express has narrowed the gap. The difference in market value between Berkshire’s top two holdings, once close to $150 billion, has fallen to less than $8 billion.

Bank of America has also been steadily reduced. Berkshire has now sold shares of the lender for six consecutive quarters, lowering that position by roughly 75% since mid-2024.

Amazon saw one of the sharpest cuts in the fourth quarter. Berkshire sold 7.7 million shares, shrinking the position from $2.2 billion at the end of the third quarter to $478 million. When Amazon first appeared in Berkshire’s portfolio in 2019, Buffett said publicly that the purchase was not his decision and did not represent a change in his traditional approach to technology investments.

Despite the selling, shares of Apple, Bank of America, and Amazon all ended the week higher, suggesting investors were not unsettled by Berkshire’s moves.

At the same time, Berkshire increased exposure to energy and insurance.

The company boosted its stake in Chevron by 6.6% during the quarter, adding about $1.2 billion to the position based on year-end prices. Chevron shares have risen 20.7% since the beginning of the year, lifting the value of Berkshire’s holding to nearly $24 billion. It is now the fifth-largest position in the portfolio.

Berkshire also added to Chubb, increasing its share count by 9.3%. The insurer is now valued at nearly $11.4 billion within Berkshire’s equity portfolio, ranking eighth overall.

In addition, Berkshire initiated a small position in The New York Times. The stake is valued at $395 million, up from $352 million at year-end following a 12.4% gain in the stock. The investment represents about 0.1% of Berkshire’s equity holdings and gives the company a 3.1% ownership interest.

The purchase is notable given Buffett’s long history in the newspaper business. Berkshire sold its remaining newspaper properties in 2020, including The Omaha World-Herald and The Buffalo News.

Outside the equity portfolio, Berkshire utility PacifiCorp reached a $575 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve federal wildfire damage claims related to six fires in California and Oregon in 2020 and 2022. The company said it has now settled nearly 90% of known claims, totaling more than $2.2 billion, while continuing to deny liability.

All of this that I covered paints a picture of a company in transition. Big tech and bank holdings are being scaled back, energy and insurance are getting more weight, and long-running legal issues are being pushed closer to resolution as Buffett’s era winds down.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Apple and Amazon as mentioned in the article.