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 Instances. The shift reveals Buffett persevering with to rotate away from some massive tech holdings and into what seems like a extra selective mixture of media and conventional companies.
The Amazon sale is the headline transfer. Berkshire decreased its holdings to roughly 2.3 million shares after first constructing the place in 2019, a pointy reversal for an organization that after seen Amazon as one among its most attention-grabbing large-cap bets.
In response to the newest submitting, as reported by The Motley FoolBerkshire 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 reasonably than a one-off commerce.
That issues as a result of Amazon had represented one among Buffett’s extra shocking modern-era investments.
He had lengthy stated he regretted not shopping for the inventory earlier, so a big discount suggests the thesis has modified, the valuation has turn into much less enticing, or Berkshire merely prefers different alternatives proper now.
It additionally matches 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.
On the similar time, Berkshire initiated a brand new place in The New York Instances 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 known as the newspaper trade “toast,” The Motley Fool famous, after Berkshire exited its newspaper possession years in the past. Shopping for into The New York Instances now suggests he sees one thing completely different within the fashionable digital model of the enterprise.
That’s the actual story right here. Berkshire isn’t backing the outdated print mannequin; it’s backing an organization that has turned itself right into a scaled subscription and digital media platform.
The New York Instances generated roughly $551 million in free money stream, the sort of efficiency that issues to Warren Buffett-style investing.Blue/Getty Photographs
The numbers inform many of the story. The New York Instances ended 2025 with 12.8 million whole subscribers after including 1.4 million internet new digital subscribers in the course of the yr, in response to Yahoo Finance. That places it on tempo to hit its said aim 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.
Extra Warren Buffett:
Adjusted working revenue grew greater than 20% to $550 million, and the corporate generated roughly $551 million in free cash flow.
That sort of efficiency issues to Buffett-style investing as a result of it reveals 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 client platform.
The Instances had 12.8 million whole subscribers at year-end 2025, up by 1.4 million internet 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 stream of roughly $551 million in 2025, GuruFocus noted.
Adjusted working revenue grew greater than 20% to $550 million in 2025, The Instances’ Q4 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 Fool.
Analysts at The Motley Idiot additionally pointed to The Instances’ rising video journalism push as one other long-term draw.
CFO Will Bardeen stated in the course of the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call that “video specifically stays an vital space of strategic funding,” including that the corporate is “assured in our potential to generate sturdy returns” because it expands that channel, Motley Fool noted.
In that sense, Berkshire’s funding seems much less like a wager on journalism itself and extra like a wager on a high-quality digital subscription asset with a number of income streams and sturdy money stream.
Amazon’s inventory stays one of many market’s most vital long-term progress tales, however additionally it is a really completely different sort of asset than The New York Instances. It’s bigger, extra advanced, and extra uncovered to competitors, logistics stress, and altering client demand.
Berkshire might merely be taking earnings after a robust run. Or it might consider that the upside from Amazon is now much less compelling than the upside from different names with stronger present money stream or easier economics.
Both method, the discount reveals Berkshire isn’t married to anybody high-profile tech commerce. Even a inventory Buffett as soon as admired sufficient to purchase could be lower aggressively if the chance set modifications.
Buffett has all the time been prepared to alter his thoughts when the information change. That appears to be what is occurring right here: Amazon should still be an excellent enterprise, however Berkshire seems to suppose different alternatives supply a greater steadiness of danger, reward, and money era proper now.
The New York Instances buy can also be a reminder that Buffett doesn’t keep away from media totally. He’s merely extra inquisitive about companies which have proven they will survive the digital shift and create predictable money stream.
That’s the reason the commerce is being interpreted as a strategic rotation reasonably than a significant thematic pivot. Berkshire continues to be shopping for high quality, simply in a special a part of the market.
This transfer comes as Berkshire has additionally been energetic elsewhere, together with in Chevron and Chubb, which suggests the agency is constant to steadiness its portfolio throughout sectors reasonably than chase one theme too arduous.
That’s traditional Buffett habits: keep opportunistic, keep affected person, and preserve transferring capital towards what seems most compelling on a risk-adjusted foundation.
The most recent submitting additionally reveals how a lot Berkshire has developed. It’s nonetheless a value-investing large, however its portfolio now consists of a mixture of old-economy money mills, choose tech publicity, and digital companies that may have been arduous to think about in earlier many years.
Buffett’s Amazon sale and New York Instances buy present that Berkshire continues to be prepared to make sharp, significant modifications when it sees a greater alternative. The message isn’t that Amazon is a foul firm; it’s that Buffett now not sees it as the most effective use of Berkshire’s capital.
On the similar time, The Instances funding suggests he sees worth in companies which have efficiently tailored to the digital period and may nonetheless produce dependable money stream.
That mixture makes this submitting traditional Buffett. Promote the place the margin of safety seems thinner, purchase the place the enterprise mannequin seems sturdy, and preserve the portfolio transferring towards high quality.
