Berkshire 13F: What to expect from Buffett successor’s latest moves

Berkshire Hathaway's second-quarter 13F filing, due on Friday, is expected to offer investors a clearer picture of how CEO Greg Abel is reshaping the conglomerate's equity portfolio after taking over from Warren Buffett.

The filing marks only the second quarterly portfolio disclosure under Abel's leadership and follows an active first quarter in which Berkshire became a net buyer of equities for the first time in years.

While Berkshire has already revealed in its quarterly report that it purchased more than $23 billion of stocks during the second quarter, the upcoming 13F will disclose where much of that capital was deployed.

Alphabet stake likely to grow further

The biggest confirmed investment during the quarter was Berkshire's purchase of at least $10 billion worth of Alphabet stock as part of the Google parent's equity fundraising tied to its AI infrastructure spending.

According to Barron's estimates, Berkshire had already accumulated roughly 58 million Alphabet shares before the latest purchase.

The additional investment increased that holding to about 86 million shares, while further buying during the quarter could have pushed the stake close to 100 million shares by the end of June.

If that estimate proves accurate, Alphabet would be worth nearly $35 billion within Berkshire's portfolio, placing it alongside Coca-Cola as one of the conglomerate's largest equity holdings behind Apple and American Express.

Beyond Alphabet, Berkshire disclosed purchases of nearly $2 billion in Japanese insurer Tokio Marine and more than $1 billion of additional investments in the Japanese trading companies in which it already owns significant stakes.

Berkshire's second-quarter filing also showed more than $23 billion of equity purchases overall, leaving roughly $7 billion of investments yet to be identified in the upcoming 13F filing.

Could Greg Abel unveil new positions?

Investors will also be watching for entirely new positions after Berkshire initiated stakes in Delta Air Lines, Macy's and Alphabet during the first quarter, the first major portfolio additions under Abel's leadership.

Speculation has centered on whether Berkshire could have initiated a position in Microsoft after the stock weakened during the second quarter.

Barron's noted that Berkshire's undisclosed purchases are likely concentrated within what the company classifies as commercial, industrial, and other businesses, based on changes disclosed in its quarterly report.

Portfolio reshaping expected to continue

Although Berkshire sold more than $3 billion of stocks during the second quarter, that represented a much slower pace than the more than $24 billion sold in the first quarter.

Investors will be looking closely at whether Abel continued trimming legacy holdings.

Kraft Heinz remains one of the most closely watched positions after Abel acknowledged in his shareholder letter that "our investment in Kraft Heinz has been disappointing." He added that "our return has been well short of adequate," signaling that further reductions remain possible.

Constellation Brands is another holding that could disappear entirely after Berkshire cut roughly 95% of its position during the previous quarter.

Smaller holdings such as Jefferies Financial could also face additional reductions.

At the same time, Abel has emphasized Berkshire's long-term conviction in several core investments.

In his shareholder letter, he wrote that "Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody's" are businesses Berkshire understands well, respects for their leadership and expects "will compound over decades."