Berkshire’s final 13F under Buffett: buys NYT, trims Apple and Amazon sharply

Berkshire Hathaway’s final 13F filing before Warren Buffett’s retirement (filed after the 2025 year-end) shows cautious portfolio adjustments: a first-time purchase of roughly 5.0657 million shares of The New York Times (≈$352M), continued modest reductions in Apple (AAPL) to ~227.9M shares (down ~4.3%, value ≈$61.96B), and a dramatic >70% cut in Amazon (AMZN) holdings from 10.0M to ~2.276M shares. Bank of America (BAC) exposure was trimmed by ~9% to ~517.3M shares, while Chevron (CVX) was increased to ~130.2M shares from ~122.1M. Core positions such as Alphabet, American Express and Coca‑Cola (4.0B shares) remain largely unchanged. The filing—submitted as Greg Abel assumes CEO duties and Buffett transitions to chairman—signals continuity in investment philosophy: selective rebalancing rather than strategic overhaul. For traders, key takeaways are sector rotation signals (media and energy up; tech and some financials down), notable profit-taking in large-cap tech (particularly Amazon), and Berkshire’s renewed bet on subscription-driven media (NYT) and commodity-exposed energy (Chevron).
Neutral
The filing signals tactical rebalancing by a major institutional investor rather than a market-moving strategic shift. Berkshire’s purchase of The New York Times and increase in Chevron suggest selective sector preference (media subscriptions and energy exposure), while trimming Apple, Amazon and Bank of America reflects profit-taking and risk management. Historically, Berkshire’s trades influence investor sentiment around the affected stocks but rarely trigger broad crypto market moves. For crypto traders: direct impact is minimal—no new crypto holdings or regulatory signals—but there are indirect macro implications. If large institutional reallocation into energy and away from some tech stocks becomes widespread, equity-focused liquidity patterns could shift, modestly affecting risk assets including crypto in the short term through sentiment and flows. Short-term: possible modest volatility in equities that may translate to correlated moves in crypto during risk-off or risk-on episodes. Long-term: reinforces that large-cap, high-liquidity assets remain prime targets for portfolio trimming by value investors; crypto’s sensitivity will depend on broader macro trends (rates, risk appetite) rather than this specific filing. Overall, classify as neutral for crypto markets.