SEOUL, Feb 18 (Yonhap) – Berkshire Hathaway, long steered by veteran investor Warren Buffett, slashed its holdings in Amazon.com and Apple while building a new stake in The New York Times Co in the final quarter before Buffett’s retirement from day‑to‑day management, according to a regulatory filing released on Monday.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 13F report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire said it sold about 77% of its roughly 10 million Amazon shares, leaving about 2.3 million at year-end. The conglomerate also cut its Apple position by about 4%, to around 228 million shares.
Berkshire first bought Amazon in 2019, a move Buffett later described as belated, saying he had been “a fool” for not investing earlier in the e‑commerce giant.
Markets focused on Berkshire’s move back into the newspaper business with the purchase of about 5.07 million New York Times shares, a stake valued at $351.7 million as of the filing date. It is Berkshire’s first re-entry into the sector since it sold all 31 of its U.S. newspaper properties to Lee Enterprises in 2020.
Buffett, who delivered newspapers as a teenager and has called himself a “newspaper addict,” was historically reluctant to sell newspaper assets. In a 2018 letter to shareholders, he argued that only a handful of major titles such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post had strong enough digital businesses to offset shrinking print circulation and advertising, and said those brands would endure.
The filing did not clarify whether the latest portfolio shifts were directed personally by Buffett. He has typically overseen investments of $1 billion or more, leaving smaller positions to lieutenants, making it unclear if the Times stake reflects his direct judgment.
Even so, Reuters noted that Wall Street often treats any new Berkshire holding as an implicit Buffett endorsement, a perception that has frequently fueled share price gains after disclosures. New York Times shares rose about 4% in after-hours trading to $76.99 following news of Berkshire’s position.
The filing also showed Berkshire cut its stake in Bank of America to 7.1% while increasing its holding in oil major Chevron to 6.5%, signaling continued exposure to U.S. financials and energy even as it pares back some large technology bets.
Buffett announced at Berkshire’s annual meeting last May that he would retire from frontline management at the end of 2025. He stepped down as chief executive on Jan. 1, handing the role to long‑time heir apparent Greg Abel, though he is expected to retain significant influence as a major shareholder and board member.
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