Berkshire Hathaway Returns to Airlines With $2.6 Billion Delta Stake

CNBC reported Friday that Berkshire Hathaway has quietly assembled a Berkshire Hathaway Delta stake worth more than $2.6 billion. The position makes Delta the conglomerate’s 14th-largest equity holding as of the end of March.

Berkshire Returns to a Sector It Once Abandoned

The move is a notable reversal for the Omaha-based firm. Six years ago, Berkshire sold its entire airline portfolio during the Covid-19 crisis. That included positions across Delta, United, American, and Southwest worth a combined $4 billion or more. Founder Warren Buffett argued at the time that the pandemic had permanently reshaped how people travel and spend. Friday’s regulatory disclosure signals a change of view, at least on Delta’s prospects.

Beyond the new airline position, Berkshire substantially increased its holding in Alphabet during the quarter. Google’s parent company now ranks as Berkshire’s seventh-largest position. The firm also trimmed its Chevron stake and opened a small, roughly $55 million position in Macy’s.

Unwinding a Departed Manager’s Legacy

A separate thread running through the latest 13F is the apparent dismantling of positions associated with former investment lieutenant Todd Combs. Combs departed Berkshire at the end of 2025 to join JPMorgan, capping a long tenure that included running Geico. His co-manager Ted Weschler remains at the firm, overseeing roughly 6% of the portfolio.

Berkshire exited Mastercard and Visa last quarter, both of which Combs had bought first after joining the firm and mirrored positions from his prior hedge fund. The company also fully unwound its Amazon investment after beginning to trim it late last year. Other complete or partial sales included UnitedHealth Group, Aon, Pool Corporation, Domino’s Pizza, and Charter Communications.

A Record Cash Pile and an Awkward Investing Climate

Despite the Delta purchase, Berkshire’s broader posture remains cautious. Its cash reserves have swelled to a record approaching $400 billion. Buffett, who stepped down as CEO after more than six decades but stays on as chairman and still comes into the office daily, recently acknowledged the difficulty of putting that capital to work. New CEO Greg Abel has said he consults Buffett, now 95, on major allocation decisions, including the resumption of share buybacks during the first quarter.

The Delta bet, large as it is, barely dents that cash mountain. But it signals that Berkshire sees selective value in travel infrastructure again.

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