Berkshire Hathaway Reshapes Financial and Payments Portfolio After Buffett’s Exit

Berkshire Hathaway has long made major bets on the financial sector, with large holdings in American Express and Bank of America. Greg Abel, who has a background in the energy business, succeeded Warren Buffett as chief executive on January 1, 2026. After investment manager Todd Combs left at the end of 2025, markets have been watching to see whether the new team will reduce its exposure to banks and payment companies.

In a 13F filing submitted on May 15 covering holdings as of March 31, 2026, Berkshire disclosed that it had exited positions of about 8.3 million Visa shares and 4 million Mastercard shares in the first quarter, valued at roughly $2.7 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively. It trimmed its Bank of America stake by less than 1% during the same quarter and retained its American Express holding, indicating that the changes have so far focused on payment stocks rather than a broad retreat from the financial sector.