Warren Buffett made another notable portfolio move, reducing Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Amazon by more than 77% while opening a new position in the New York Times. The change shows Buffett continuing to pivot away from other big tech holdings and to be seen as a more specialized mix of media and traditional businesses.
Amazon sales are a hot topic. Berkshire reduced its holdings to about 2.3 million shares after building a position for the first time in 2019, a sharp turnaround for a company that once viewed Amazon as one of its most interesting betting plays.
According to a recent report, as reported by the Motley Fool, Berkshire reduced its Amazon position by more than 75% in the quarter, leaving the stake worth only a small part of the company’s overall portfolio. The downgrade appears to be part of a broader restructuring of Berkshire’s equity book rather than a single trade.
That’s important because Amazon represented one of Buffett’s most impressive modern investments.
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He has been saying he regrets not buying the stock earlier, so the sharp decline suggests the thesis has changed, the valuation is no longer attractive, or Berkshire is simply choosing other opportunities right now.
It also fits a wide pattern. Berkshire has been reducing other large holdings, too, including Apple and Bank of America, suggesting that Buffett has been gradually reducing concentration in some of his largest positions.
At the same time, Berkshire started a new position in The New York Times worth about $351.7 million, or about 5.1 million shares. That makes the newspaper company one of the most interesting new additions to Berkshire’s public portfolio.
The move is notable because Buffett once called the newspaper industry “toast,” noted the Motley Fool, after Berkshire left newspaper ownership years ago. Buying from the New York Times now suggests that you are seeing something different in the modern digital version of business.
That’s the real story here. Berkshire does not support the old print model; supports a company responsible for limited subscription and digital media platforms.
The numbers tell a lot of story. The New York Times ended 2025 with 12.8 million subscribers after adding 1.4 million new digital subscribers during the year, according to Yahoo Finance. That puts it on track to reach its stated goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.
Digital revenue surpasses $2 billion for the first time by 2025. Digital subscription revenue grew nearly 14% year over year, while digital advertising jumped 20%, Proactive reported.
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Adjusted operating profit grew more than 20% to $550 million, and the company generated nearly $551 million in free cash flow.
That kind of performance is important to Buffett-style investing because it shows price strength and recurring revenue.
A company that can keep growing subscribers and raise prices without destroying demand starts to look less like a dying media business and more like a durable consumer platform.
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The Times had 12.8 million subscribers by the end of 2025, up from a total of 1.4 million new digital subscribers a year, according to Proactive.
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Total digital revenue will surpass $2 billion for the first time by 2025, GuruFocus reports.
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It generated free cash flow of about $551 million by 2025, GuruFocus noted.
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Adjusted operating profit grew more than 20% to $550 million by 2025, the Times’ Q4 2025 earnings report confirmed.
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The company’s trusted brand and original journalism position it as a strong asset as AI-generated content becomes more widespread, according to the Motley Fool.
Motley Fool analysts also pointed to the Times’ growth in video journalism as another long-term draw.
CFO Will Bardeen said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that “video in particular remains an important investment area,” adding that the company is “confident in our ability to generate strong profits” as it expands that channel, the Motley Fool noted.
In that sense, Berkshire’s investment looks less like a bet on journalism itself and more like a bet on a high-quality digital subscription asset with multiple income streams and long-term cash flows.
Amazon shares remain one of the stock market’s most important long-term growth stories, but they’re also a very different asset class than the New York Times. It is larger, more complex, and more exposed to competition, transportation pressure, and changing consumer demand.
Berkshire may take advantage after a strong run. Or it may believe that the upside from Amazon is now less compelling than the upside of other names with strong cash flow or easy economics.
Either way, the reduction shows that Berkshire isn’t wedded to any single high-tech trade. Even a stock Buffett once admired enough to buy can be cut short if the set of opportunities changes.
Buffett has always been willing to change his mind when the facts change. That seems to be what’s happening here: Amazon could still be a good business, but Berkshire seems to think that other opportunities offer a better balance of risk, reward, and monetization right now.
The New York Times purchase is also a reminder that Buffett is not avoiding the media entirely. He is very interested in businesses that have proven they can survive the digital transformation and create predictable cash flow.
This is why trading is interpreted as a strategic pivot instead of a major thematic pivot. Berkshire still buys quality, in a different part of the market.
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The move comes as Berkshire has also been active elsewhere, including at Chevron and Chubb, suggesting the company is continuing to balance its portfolio across sectors rather than chasing one theme too hard.
That’s classic Buffett behavior: stay opportunistic, stay patient, and keep moving money to what appears to be the most compelling risk adjustment.
Recent filings show just how much Berkshire has become. It’s still an investment giant, but its portfolio now includes a mix of classic economic money generators, selective technology exposure, and digital businesses that would have been hard to imagine decades ago.
Buffett’s Amazon sale and New York Times purchase show that Berkshire is still willing to make sharp, logical changes when it sees a better opportunity. The message is not that Amazon is a bad company; is that Buffett no longer sees it as the best way to use Berkshire’s capital.
At the same time, the Times investment suggests that it sees value in businesses that have successfully adapted to the digital age and can still generate reliable cash flow.
That combination makes this Buffett classic. Sell where the margin of safety looks thin, buy where the business model looks strong, and keep the portfolio moving towards quality.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on April 21, 2026, where it appeared first in the investing category. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
