"The old man doesn't leave the stage. He rearranges it before he goes."
That line could be from a mob movie. But it's about Warren Buffett. Because what Berkshire Hathaway's 13-F revealed this week isn't just a portfolio rebalance — it's the investment last will and testament of a 95-year-old who knows exactly what he's doing.
Let's get to the facts before I break this thing down.
What the filing showed
Berkshire trimmed another 4.3% of its Apple position in the fourth quarter of 2025. The stake dropped to $61.96 billion — which is still, by far, the largest position in the portfolio. This after slashing two-thirds of the position in 2024 and continuing to shave it down in the second and third quarters of last year.
On top of that, Berkshire opened a brand-new position: $351.7 million in the New York Times. A relatively small bet — 29th out of 41 holdings — but one that says a lot about what's going on inside the old man's head.
And here's a detail most people aren't talking about: this was Buffett's last quarter as CEO. Greg Abel took the reins at the start of 2026. Todd Combs, the guy who was one of Berkshire's investment managers and also CEO of Geico, left in December and went to JPMorgan.
In other words: the old man literally cleaned house before handing over the keys.
Apple and the elephant in the room
Apple was up about 9% in 2025. Sounds good, right? Except the S&P 500 was up over 16%. And in 2026, the stock is down around 3%, including its worst day since April 2025.
Buffett always treated Apple as a consumer company, not a tech company. The iPhone as digital Coca-Cola — the Coke you carry in your pocket. But the old man is trimming.
And this is where the "buy and hold forever" crowd starts sweating bullets.
If the greatest buy-and-hold investor on the planet has been systematically selling Apple for over a year, maybe — just maybe — he's seeing something the herd hasn't spotted yet. Or maybe he's simply doing what a responsible person does: leaving a leaner, more manageable portfolio for his successor.
We don't know if the cuts were made directly by Buffett or by portfolio managers Combs and Weschler. But it barely matters. The direction is crystal clear: less concentration, more diversification, more cash.
Berkshire is sitting on a mountain of cash that would make any emerging-market central bank green with envy. And while Instagram gurus are telling you to go all-in on tech, the guy who literally invented value investing is doing the exact opposite.
New York Times: the bet nobody saw coming
Now, why the hell would he buy the New York Times?
First, remember that Buffett has always loved media businesses. Berkshire owned the Buffalo News, the Omaha World-Herald, dozens of local newspapers. He sold them all to Lee Enterprises in 2020, but he never hid the fact that he understood the power of an editorial brand.
The NYT isn't a newspaper anymore. It's a digital subscription platform with nearly 11 million subscribers. Recurring revenue. Predictable. Expanding margins. It's exactly the kind of business Buffett loves: strong brand, clear moat (competitive advantage), consistent cash generation.
$351 million is pocket change for Berkshire. But it's a signal. Buffett never buys just to buy. Every new position is a thesis statement.
What this means for you
The official narrative will be: "Buffett is getting more conservative." Bank analysts will talk about "defensive rotation." Influencers will post videos saying "Buffett abandoned tech!"
All of that is noise.
The truth is simpler and more brutal: Buffett is preparing Berkshire to survive without him. Less complexity, less concentration, more resilience. It's what Nassim Taleb would call making the portfolio more antifragile.
And while you're reading this, the question that should be pounding in your head isn't "should I sell Apple?"
The question is: if the guy with the most skin in the game in the history of the market is simplifying and stockpiling cash — why the hell are you doing the opposite?
