Abel Ditches Amazon, Buys More of Google as Berkshire's New Leader Takes the Helm

In the wake of Warren Buffett's retirement as CEO on Dec. 31, his successor Greg Abel wasted little time shaking up Berkshire Hathaway's $358 billion investment portfolio.

Abel reduced six holdings in the first quarter and sent 16 others to the chopping block, including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), a stock that had advanced roughly 150% to 200% since Berkshire's initial buy in the first quarter of 2019.

The move may not have been purely driven by profit-taking, however, as Todd Combs' departure in December for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) likely played a role in Abel's decision-making process. Combs had overseen non-core holdings that were predominantly sold off in the first quarter.

In contrast to Amazon, Berkshire's stake in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), parent company of Google, has grown by 550% since Dec. 31, from $5.59 billion to $36.37 billion as of Sept. 25.