Data is the fuel that keeps Wall Street running — and few announcements are more telling than the quarterly filing of Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A 13F provides investors with a road map of the stocks that Wall Street’s savviest money managers bought and sold in the latest quarter.
The latest round of 13Fs features the last trading activity from Berkshire Hathaway‘s (BRKA)(BRKB) Warren Buffett, who retired as CEO on Dec. 31, 2025. In his final quarter before retirement, the Oracle of Omaha dumped shares of Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Bank of America (BAC), and made a brand-new $352 million addition to Berkshire’s portfolio.
The net selling continued up until retirement
Based on Berkshire’s 13F, Buffett and his team were net sellers of stocks during the fourth quarter. This means he sold more stocks than he purchased for 13 consecutive quarters (since Oct. 1, 2022), leading up to his retirement.
During the fourth quarter, Buffett oversaw the sale of:
- 7,724,000 shares of Amazon
- 10,294,956 shares of Apple
- 50,774,078 shares of Bank of America
The sizable reduction in Amazon lowered Berkshire’s stake by 77%. Meanwhile, Buffett oversaw a 75% haircut in his company’s Apple stake since Sept. 30, 2023, and a 50% cut in the Bank of America stake since the midpoint of 2024.
While a historically low (and now-permanent) peak marginal corporate income tax rate likely incentivized some selling activity in Apple and BofA, the prevailing theme of this selling looks to be valuation.
For instance, when Buffett initially purchased Apple shares in the first quarter of 2016, the stock traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio in the low-to-mid teens. But following several years of subpar physical device growth, it now sports a trailing 12-month P/E ratio of 33.
It’s a similar story for Bank of America. When Berkshire Hathaway provided $5 billion in financial backing in the summer of 2011 in exchange for $5 billion in preferred stock, BofA common stock was trading at a 62% discount to its book value. Its shares are now valued at a 37% premium to book.
Lastly, Amazon has never been inexpensive by traditional valuation metrics. Although it’s historically cheap, relative to the consensus cash flow estimate for 2027, Berkshire’s now-retired investing legend has been leery of sky-high valuations on Wall Street.
The Oracle of Omaha goes out with a $352 million bang
Although a handful of existing holdings were added to during Buffett’s final quarter, the purchase that really stands out is The New York Times Co. (NYT). Berkshire’s 13F shows 5,065,744 shares were scooped up, worth nearly $352 million on Dec. 31.
Warren Buffett has long been a fan of brand-name companies that have built consumer trust. The New York Times brand, coupled with its modest dividend and steady stream of share buybacks, laid a solid foundation.
Furthermore, digital subscriptions for The New York Times continue to climb (12.78 million, as of Dec. 31). With strong pricing power lifting average revenue per user and double-digit growth in digital advertising providing a boost, The New York Times appear to be firing on all cylinders.
Perhaps the one question mark is valuation. Buffett, who’s demonstrated a willingness to sit on his hands until stock valuations made sense, paid an aggressive forward P/E of 24 for The New York Times stock.
— Sean Williams
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Source: The Motley Fool
