Berkshire Hathaway has returned to the airline industry with a multibillion-dollar investment in Delta Air Lines, marking a striking reversal from Warren Buffett’s decision during the COVID-19 pandemic to completely abandon the sector after warning that air travel had been permanently altered.
According to a new regulatory filing, the Omaha-based conglomerate built a Delta stake worth more than $2.6 billion by the end of March, making the airline Berkshire’s 14th-largest equity holding.
The investment represents one of the clearest signs yet that Berkshire’s portfolio strategy is evolving following Buffett’s decision to step down as chief executive after more than six decades leading the company. It also suggests Berkshire now sees renewed long-term value in the airline sector after years of avoiding an industry Buffett once famously criticized for destroying shareholder capital.
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The move is especially notable because Buffett stunned investors in 2020 when Berkshire sold its entire U.S. airline portfolio at the height of the pandemic. At the time, Berkshire liquidated stakes worth more than $4 billion across Delta, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines after the collapse in global travel demand.
Buffett argued then that the pandemic had fundamentally changed consumer behavior and raised deep uncertainty about the future economics of the airline business. The abrupt exit was viewed as one of the most dramatic reversals of Buffett’s career because Berkshire had only recently embraced airlines after decades of skepticism toward the industry.
Now, six years later, Berkshire is returning through Delta, widely viewed as one of the strongest U.S. carriers because of its premium customer base, operational reliability, and higher-margin corporate travel exposure.
Berkshire Repositions for a New Era
The Delta investment comes during a broader reshaping of Berkshire’s sprawling equity portfolio as leadership transitions toward new CEO Greg Abel and the company adjusts to a changing investment environment.
Buffett remains chairman and continues to play an active advisory role, with Abel saying he still consults Buffett on investment decisions and capital allocation. Yet Berkshire’s latest filing suggests the company is entering a period of strategic recalibration. Alongside the Delta purchase, Berkshire significantly increased its position in Alphabet, making the Google parent its seventh-largest holding. The move deepens Berkshire’s growing exposure to artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure at a time when technology companies are increasingly dominating global capital markets.
Berkshire also initiated a smaller new position in Macy’s valued at approximately $55 million at the end of the first quarter. Meanwhile, the conglomerate trimmed its stake in Chevron, continuing a gradual reduction in one of Berkshire’s largest energy investments even as oil prices remain elevated amid geopolitical tensions.
The changes collectively indicate a portfolio becoming more concentrated around dominant technology and consumer franchises while selectively re-entering cyclical industries viewed as undervalued.
Todd Combs’ Departure Still Reshaping the Portfolio
A major portion of Berkshire’s recent trading activity also appears linked to the departure of longtime investment manager Todd Combs. Combs, who also served as chief executive of Berkshire-owned insurer Geico, left the company at the end of 2025 to join JPMorgan Chase.
He had been one of the two portfolio managers recruited by Buffett to help oversee Berkshire’s massive equity investments alongside Ted Weschler.
The latest filing strongly indicates Berkshire has begun unwinding several positions associated with Combs’ investment style. Among the most prominent sales were Mastercard and Visa, which were among the earliest stocks Combs purchased after joining Berkshire and closely resembled holdings from his former hedge fund, Castle Point Capital.
Berkshire also fully exited Amazon after reducing the position late last year. The Amazon investment had long been viewed by investors as another Combs-driven trade that reflected a more technology-oriented approach than Buffett had historically preferred.
Additional sales included positions in UnitedHealth Group, Aon, Pool Corporation, Domino’s Pizza, and Charter Communications. The broad reduction in those holdings indicates Berkshire may be simplifying the portfolio while consolidating capital into larger, higher-conviction investments.
Berkshire’s Cash Mountain Nears $400 Billion
The portfolio adjustments come as Berkshire continues struggling with one of the company’s biggest long-term challenges: finding attractive opportunities large enough to deploy its enormous cash reserves.
Berkshire’s cash pile has ballooned to nearly $400 billion, a record level that increasingly reflects Buffett’s cautious view of market valuations and acquisition opportunities.
Speaking recently about the investment environment, Buffett acknowledged frustration with the limited availability of compelling deals.
“It isn’t our ideal surrounding area — or environment, I should say — in terms of deploying cash for Berkshire,” Buffett said.
The comment underpinned Berkshire’s longstanding difficulty in deploying massive amounts of capital efficiently as the company’s size continues to expand. At nearly $1 trillion in market value, Berkshire has become so large that only a relatively small universe of investments can materially impact overall performance.
That reality partly explains why Berkshire has increasingly focused on major publicly traded companies with dominant market positions and durable cash flows.
The Delta investment, therefore, carries a heavier weight beyond airlines alone. It suggests Berkshire may be becoming more willing to revisit sectors it once abandoned if valuations become attractive enough relative to long-term earnings potential.
Why Delta May Appeal to Berkshire Again
Delta’s business profile aligns with several characteristics Berkshire traditionally favors. The airline has historically generated stronger margins than many competitors, benefited from a premium customer mix, and maintained one of the industry’s more disciplined operational models.
The carrier also emerged from the pandemic with stronger pricing power as travel demand recovered sharply and capacity constraints helped support higher fares.
Corporate travel, international routes, and premium seating categories have all rebounded more strongly than many analysts initially expected. At the same time, the airline industry itself has become structurally different from the era that Buffett long criticized.
Years of consolidation reduced excessive competition among major U.S. carriers, while improved capacity discipline and ancillary revenue streams strengthened profitability. The post-pandemic environment has also produced periods of unusually strong pricing power for airlines due to constrained aircraft supply and rising travel demand.
Berkshire may therefore view Delta less as a speculative cyclical bet and more as a mature transportation franchise with stronger economics than the industry historically delivered.
A Symbolic Shift Beyond Buffett
The latest filing also reflects how Berkshire is evolving beyond the classic Buffett-era investment playbook.
For decades, Buffett largely avoided technology investments and maintained deep skepticism toward industries requiring heavy capital expenditure, including airlines. Now Berkshire is increasing exposure to AI-linked technology companies, re-entering aviation, and restructuring positions tied to younger investment managers.
The transformation does not necessarily mean Berkshire is abandoning Buffett’s philosophy of investing in durable businesses with strong competitive advantages. Rather, it suggests the definition of those advantages is evolving in an economy increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and shifting consumer behavior.
The Delta purchase may ultimately prove less important for its size than for what it signals about Berkshire’s next chapter. Under Abel and Berkshire’s newer generation of investment leadership, the conglomerate appears increasingly willing to revisit old assumptions, rotate into sectors once considered untouchable, and adapt its portfolio to a rapidly changing economic landscape.