Abel Abandons Buffett's Favorites as Berkshire Cash Piles Up

Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO, Greg Abel, has made his mark on the company by selling off 15 full stock positions held by his predecessor, Warren Buffett. The list of exits includes major names like Visa, Mastercard, and Amazon, which were among the portfolio's strongest performers.

The largest sale was in Alphabet, the parent company of Google, with no dividend yield to speak of. Abel also invested heavily in Delta Air Lines, which pays a relatively low 1% dividend. This suggests that Abel is less focused on income generation than Buffett, who famously held Coca-Cola for decades.

Berkshire's cash pile grew during the quarter, rising from $373.3 billion to $397.4 billion. Some analysts believe this could mean a large acquisition is being planned, while others think it reflects caution about an overvalued stock market.