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 seems to be like a extra selective mixture of media and conventional companies.
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 fascinating large-cap bets.
In keeping with the most recent 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 total portfolio. The discount seems to be a part of a broader reshuffling of Berkshire’s fairness ebook quite than a one-off commerce.
That issues as a result of Amazon had represented considered one of Buffett’s extra stunning modern-era investments.
He had lengthy mentioned he regretted not shopping for the inventory earlier, so a big discount suggests the thesis has modified, the valuation has turn out to be 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 decreasing focus in a few of his largest positions.
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 fascinating 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 completely different within the fashionable digital model of the enterprise.
That’s the actual story right here. Berkshire is just not 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 stream, the type of efficiency that issues to Warren Buffett-style investing.Blue/Getty Pictures
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 in the course of the 12 months, in response to Yahoo Finance. That places it on tempo to hit its said aim of 15 million subscribers by the tip of 2027.
Digital income crossed $2 billion for the primary time in 2025. Digital subscription income grew roughly 14% for the 12 months, 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 stream.
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.
The Occasions had 12.8 million whole subscribers at year-end 2025, up by 1.4 million web new digital subscribers within the 12 months, in response to Proactive.
Whole 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 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 in the course of the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings name that “video particularly stays an vital space of strategic funding,” including that the corporate is “assured in our capability to generate robust returns” because it expands that channel, Motley Idiot famous.
In that sense, Berkshire’s funding seems to be 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 type of asset than The New York Occasions. It’s bigger, extra complicated, and extra uncovered to competitors, logistics stress, and altering shopper demand.
Berkshire might merely be taking income after a robust run. Or it could consider that the upside from Amazon is now much less compelling than the upside from different names with stronger present money stream or less complicated economics.
Both method, the discount exhibits Berkshire is just not married to anyone high-profile tech commerce. Even a inventory Buffett as soon as admired sufficient to purchase will be minimize aggressively if the chance set modifications.
Buffett has all the time been prepared to vary 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 assume different alternatives provide a greater stability of threat, reward, and money era proper now.
The New York Occasions buy can be a reminder that Buffett doesn’t keep away from media completely. He’s merely extra concerned with companies which have proven they’ll survive the digital shift and create predictable money stream.
That’s the reason the commerce is being interpreted as a strategic rotation quite than a significant thematic pivot. Berkshire remains to be shopping for high quality, simply in a distinct 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 stability its portfolio throughout sectors quite than chase one theme too onerous.
That’s traditional Buffett conduct: keep opportunistic, keep affected person, and hold transferring capital towards what seems to be 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 consists of a mixture of old-economy money turbines, choose tech publicity, and digital companies that might have been onerous to think about in earlier a long time.
Buffett’s Amazon sale and New York Occasions buy present that Berkshire remains to be prepared to make sharp, significant modifications when it sees a greater alternative. The message is just not that Amazon is a nasty 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 stream.
That mixture makes this submitting traditional Buffett. Promote the place the margin of security seems to be thinner, purchase the place the enterprise mannequin seems to be sturdy, and hold the portfolio transferring towards high quality.
