Warren Buffett has made one other notable portfolio transfer, slashing Berkshire Hathaway’s Amazon stake by greater than 77% whereas additionally opening a brand new place in The New York Occasions. The shift exhibits Buffett persevering with to rotate away from some massive tech holdings and into what appears like a extra selective mixture of media and conventional companies.
- Berkshire bought most of its Amazon stake
- Berkshire’s New York Occasions guess
- Why Buffett purchased into The New York Occasions
- Why Berkshire Hathaway diminished its Amazon shares
- What swapping Amazon shares for The Occasions says about Buffett’s considering
- The larger Berkshire Hathaway portfolio image
- Buffett’s underlying funding technique
The Amazon sale is the headline transfer. Berkshire diminished its holdings to roughly 2.3 million shares after first constructing the place in 2019, a pointy reversal for a corporation that after seen Amazon as considered one of its most attention-grabbing large-cap bets.
Berkshire bought most of its Amazon stake
In response to the newest submitting, as reported by The Motley Idiot, Berkshire trimmed its Amazon place by greater than 75% within the quarter, leaving the stake value solely a small fraction of the agency’s general portfolio. The discount seems to be a part of a broader reshuffling of Berkshire’s fairness e-book somewhat than a one-off commerce.
That issues as a result of Amazon had represented considered one of Buffett’s extra stunning modern-era investments.
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He had lengthy mentioned he regretted not shopping for the inventory earlier, so a big discount suggests the thesis has modified, the valuation has develop into much less engaging, or Berkshire merely prefers different alternatives proper now.
It additionally suits a broader sample. Berkshire has been trimming different giant holdings, too, together with Apple and Financial institution of America, which suggests Buffett has been steadily lowering focus in a few of his greatest positions.
Berkshire’s New York Occasions guess
On the similar time, Berkshire initiated a brand new place in The New York Occasions value about $351.7 million, or roughly 5.1 million shares. That makes the newspaper firm one of many extra attention-grabbing new additions to Berkshire’s public portfolio.
The transfer is notable as a result of Buffett as soon as referred to as the newspaper trade “toast,” The Motley Idiot famous, after Berkshire exited its newspaper possession years in the past. Shopping for into The New York Occasions now suggests he sees one thing totally different within the trendy digital model of the enterprise.
That’s the actual story right here. Berkshire shouldn’t be backing the previous print mannequin; it’s backing an organization that has turned itself right into a scaled subscription and digital media platform.
The New York Occasions generated roughly $551 million in free money movement, the type of efficiency that issues to Warren Buffett-style investing.
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Why Buffett purchased into The New York Occasions
The numbers inform a lot of the story. The New York Occasions ended 2025 with 12.8 million whole subscribers after including 1.4 million web new digital subscribers through the yr, in response to Yahoo Finance. That places it on tempo to hit its said objective of 15 million subscribers by the top of 2027.
Digital income crossed $2 billion for the primary time in 2025. Digital subscription income grew roughly 14% for the yr, whereas digital promoting jumped 20%, Proactive reported.
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Adjusted working revenue grew greater than 20% to $550 million, and the corporate generated roughly $551 million in free money movement.
That type of efficiency issues to Buffett-style investing as a result of it exhibits pricing energy and recurring income.
An organization that may continue to grow subscribers and lift costs with out destroying demand begins to look much less like a fading media enterprise and extra like a sturdy shopper platform.
What makes The New York Occasions engaging to a worth investor:
- The Occasions had 12.8 million whole subscribers at year-end 2025, up by 1.4 million web new digital subscribers within the yr, in response to Proactive.
- Complete digital income surpassed $2 billion for the primary time in 2025, GuruFocus reported.
- It generated free money movement of roughly $551 million in 2025, GuruFocus famous.
- Adjusted working revenue grew greater than 20% to $550 million in 2025, The Occasions’ This autumn 2025 earnings report confirmed.
- The corporate’s trusted model and authentic journalism place it as a resilient asset as AI-generated content material turns into extra widespread, in response to The Motley Idiot.
Analysts at The Motley Idiot additionally pointed to The Occasions’ rising video journalism push as one other long-term draw.
CFO Will Bardeen mentioned through the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings name that “video in particular remains an important area of strategic investment,” including that the corporate is “confident in our ability to generate strong returns” because it expands that channel, Motley Idiot famous.
In that sense, Berkshire’s funding appears much less like a guess on journalism itself and extra like a guess on a high-quality digital subscription asset with a number of income streams and sturdy money movement.
Why Berkshire Hathaway diminished its Amazon shares
Amazon’s inventory stays one of many market’s most vital long-term development tales, however it is usually a really totally different type of asset than The New York Occasions. It’s bigger, extra complicated, and extra uncovered to competitors, logistics strain, and altering shopper demand.
Berkshire could merely be taking earnings after a powerful run. Or it might imagine that the upside from Amazon is now much less compelling than the upside from different names with stronger present money movement or less complicated economics.
Both means, the discount exhibits Berkshire shouldn’t be married to anyone high-profile tech commerce. Even a inventory Buffett as soon as admired sufficient to purchase will be lower aggressively if the chance set modifications.
What swapping Amazon shares for The Occasions says about Buffett’s considering
Buffett has all the time been prepared to alter his thoughts when the info change. That appears to be what is going on right here: Amazon should still be an ideal enterprise, however Berkshire seems to suppose different alternatives supply a greater stability of threat, reward, and money technology proper now.
The New York Occasions buy can also be a reminder that Buffett doesn’t keep away from media fully. He’s merely extra fascinated by companies which have proven they will survive the digital shift and create predictable money movement.
That’s the reason the commerce is being interpreted as a strategic rotation somewhat than a serious thematic pivot. Berkshire continues to be shopping for high quality, simply in a unique a part of the market.
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The larger Berkshire Hathaway portfolio image
This transfer comes as Berkshire has additionally been lively elsewhere, together with in Chevron and Chubb, which suggests the agency is constant to stability its portfolio throughout sectors somewhat than chase one theme too exhausting.
That’s traditional Buffett conduct: keep opportunistic, keep affected person, and preserve shifting capital towards what appears most compelling on a risk-adjusted foundation.
The newest submitting additionally exhibits how a lot Berkshire has advanced. It’s nonetheless a value-investing large, however its portfolio now contains a mixture of old-economy money mills, choose tech publicity, and digital companies that may have been exhausting to think about in earlier many years.
Buffett’s underlying funding technique
Buffett’s Amazon sale and New York Occasions buy present that Berkshire continues to be prepared to make sharp, significant modifications when it sees a greater alternative. The message shouldn’t be that Amazon is a foul firm; it’s that Buffett not sees it as the very best use of Berkshire’s capital.
On the similar time, The Occasions funding suggests he sees worth in companies which have efficiently tailored to the digital period and might nonetheless produce dependable money movement.
That mixture makes this submitting traditional Buffett. Promote the place the margin of security appears thinner, purchase the place the enterprise mannequin appears sturdy, and preserve the portfolio shifting towards high quality.
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