Published Wed, Feb 18, 2026 · 10:13 AM
[NEW YORK] Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway slashed its stake in Amazon.com by more than 75 per cent in the fourth quarter, while also building a stake in the New York Times, his last new bet as chief executive officer of the conglomerate.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire acquired 5.1 million shares of the media publishing company in the three months to December, a stake worth US$351.7 million at year-end, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday (Feb 17).
Berkshire first bought a stake in Amazon in 2019. Buffett said at the time that despite his historical aversion to technology stocks, he’d been “an idiot for not buying” the online retail giant’s shares sooner. It now owns roughly 2.3 million shares of the company.
Also in the fourth quarter, Berkshire continued trimming its stakes in Bank of America and Apple, bringing them to 7.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. Buffett started cutting those positions in 2024.
Berkshire Hathaway also increased its stakes in oil producer Chevron and insurance firm Chubb during the period, to 6.5 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively.
The conglomerate unveiled its initial investment in Chubb in May 2024, after secretly building it the previous year. Chubb’s shares rose roughly 11 per cent over the fourth quarter after a trade publication reported that the firm made an informal approach to buy American International Group. The company denied that any offer was made.
Buffett, who stepped down as chief executive officer last year, appeared to be back on the hunt for purchases in recent quarters, reaching a deal to buy Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemical business for US$9.7 billion and building a US$5.6 billion stake in Alphabet.
Shares of the New York Times surged more than 10 per cent in post market trading in New York. BLOOMBERG
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
