Six years after selling all of the group's newspapers and saying that, for most of the industry, the future would be one of "endless" decline, Berkshire Hathaway has returned to investing in journalism. In Warren Buffett's last quarter as CEO, the conglomerate revealed a new position of approximately US$351.7 million in The New York Times Company, owner of The New York Times newspaper.

The investment, of approximately 5.07 million shares, about 3% of the company's capital, appeared in the 13F form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The document also showed that the company reduced its stake in Apple , energy, and banks. And it leaves open the question that succession inevitably raises: "who is signing off on these decisions now?".

When Buffett divested himself, in 2020, of dozens of regional newspapers that Berkshire had accumulated over the years, he declared that the industry “was over.” The word became code for the capitulation of an investor who, for decades, defended local publications as businesses with barriers to entry and community influence.

But there was a caveat even back then: national brands, with the strength of a subscription-based business and the ability to transform into a digital product, could escape the fate of print. And it is in this exception that Berkshire now enters. Instead of buying a newspaper chain, it invested a relatively small stake in a group that repositioned itself as a subscription platform.

The New York Times maintains its newspaper roots, but today it is a "living" digital business, driven by products like Wordle, the sports platform The Athletic, and a base of more than 12 million digital subscribers.

The market, as it usually does when Berkshire appears in someone's shareholder portfolio, tried to interpret the move as a "vote of confidence" in the company's value. Shares of The New York Times rose about 1% in trading on Wednesday, February 18th. In 12 months, the stock has appreciated by 52%.

Within Berkshire's own portfolio, the position in The New York Times ... It's modest: it's only the 29th largest allocation out of 41 positions. It's the type of investment that doesn't change the holding company's axis, indicating no intention to manage the company, but it does change the story told about it, especially since the quarter in question was the last with Buffett "in charge" as CEO.

But it's unclear whether Buffett himself built the position or if it was his successor. Berkshire had two prominent managers overseeing portions of the portfolio: Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.

Greg Abel took over as CEO in early 2026 (Buffett remains as chairman). And, in the midst of this reshuffle, Combs left in December and joined JPMorgan Chase in January to lead an investment arm linked to the bank's "security and resiliency" initiative.

Apple shrinks again.

The same 13F brought continuity to a process that has become a hallmark of "Buffett in recent years": gradual adjustments, cutting excess, and less tolerance for extreme concentration.

Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in Apple by 4.3% to $61.96 billion, based on InsiderScore data. Even after the cut, Apple remains by far the conglomerate's largest equity holding.

And recent history helps to provide context for the cut: Berkshire had already sharply reduced its Apple stake in 2024 (a two-thirds cut that year), reduced it again in the second quarter of 2025, and in the third quarter, cut Apple again and initiated a position in Alphabet.

In 2025, Apple's stock rose about 9% — the third consecutive year of gains — but lagged behind the S&P 500, which gained more than 16%. By 2026, the stock had accumulated a decline of about 3%.

Furthermore, Buffett has always described Apple less as "pure tech" and more as a consumer products company with an ecosystem and loyalty. Market analysts interpret this cut as part of an effort to leave a more manageable portfolio for his successor.

On the sales side, Berkshire continued to reduce its stake in Bank of America . Approximately 50 million shares were sold in the quarter, although the holding company still maintained a significant stake at the end of the year.

Among the acquisitions, Berkshire increased its position in Chevron : it bought approximately 8 million additional shares in the quarter, bringing the total to over 130 million shares.

The timing was noteworthy because, at the beginning of 2026, Chevron experienced a sharp increase of almost 19%, following news involving Venezuela and the Donald Trump administration.