Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Dumped Amazon Earlier This Year and Has Begun Piling Into a Hot Tech IPO
Key Points
Greg Abel wasted little time overhauling Berkshire’s portfolio following Warren Buffett’s retirement as CEO at the end of last year.
Abel sent shares of Amazon packing -- and profit-taking may not tell the full story.
Warren Buffett’s successor has purchased shares of an AI-fueled IPO twice since July.
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This has been a transformative year for the trillion-dollar conglomerate that Warren Buffett helped build. The Oracle of Omaha retired as Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) CEO at the end of last year, paving the way for his understudy, Greg Abel, to oversee its day-to-day operations and closely monitored $364 billion investment portfolio.
Abel didn't waste any time leaving his mark. During the first quarter, he completely overhauled Berkshire's portfolio, dumping 16 stocks and building up a sizable position in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG). But perhaps the biggest shift under Berkshire's new boss was sending Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) packing and subsequently piling into one of Wall Street's hottest tech-driven initial public offerings (IPOs), Bending Spoons (NASDAQ:BSP).
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Greg Abel has put tech stocks on the menu at Berkshire Hathaway. Image source: Getty Images.
Abel sent Amazon packing
As recently as September 2025, Amazon was a roughly $2.2 billion position in Berkshire's portfolio. While not exactly a core position, the dual-industry leader had thrived since being added in early 2019.
Though most investors are aware of Amazon's dominance in online retail sales, they might not realize how foundational Amazon Web Services (AWS) is within the cloud infrastructure services arena. AWS accounts for more than a quarter of all cloud infrastructure services spending, with growth for this considerably higher-margin segment reaccelerating following the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model solutions.
$AMZN Amazon Q3 FY26: • Revenue +12% Y/Y to $201.9B ($0.4B miss) • Operating margin 14% (+4pp Y/Y) ☁️ AWS: • Revenue +39% Y/Y to $46.0B • Operating margin 39% (+4pp Y/Y) Q4 FY26 rev guide: +12%–16% Y/Y https://t.co/dDTsio0ktE
— App Economy Insights (@EconomyApp) October 29, 2026
So, why sell Amazon?
Profit-taking is one logical catalyst. Abel, like Buffett, believes in concentrating Berkshire's investments into his best ideas. After logging a triple-digit percentage gain on Amazon stock, ringing the register may have made sense.
However, the departure of former investing lieutenant Todd Combs to JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) may be the bigger catalyst. Several of the 16 stocks dumped in the first quarter were positions previously overseen by Combs.
Image source: Getty Images.
Tech stocks are fully on the menu under Berkshire's new boss
While all the attention has been on Google parent Alphabet becoming one of Berkshire's largest positions, perhaps the bigger story is that Abel has, on two separate occasions, purchased shares of tech-driven merger and acquisition platform, Bending Spoons.
In addition to spending $600 million on shares at its IPO, Berkshire announced three weeks ago that it would purchase 10 million shares of Bending Spoons' stock through a private placement for $330 million. As of the closing bell on Oct. 29, Berkshire's Bending Spoons stake stood at an estimated $1.4 billion.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INVESTS ANOTHER $330 MILLION IN BENDING SPOONS, LIFTING ITS STAKE TO 4% The private placement of 10 million shares at $33 each follows Berkshire's $600 million investment at Bending Spoons' July IPO, per the company https://t.co/wkg8AzIh3N
— IPO Newsroom (@IPONewsroom_) October 14, 2026
What makes Bending Spoons so attractive to Abel is its relatively low-cost, high-margin operating model. It uses developed software, along with AI, price hikes, and layoffs, to improve the operating performance of the tech-focused companies it acquires. To date, Bending Spoons' top acquisitions include AOL and Vimeo.
Bending Spoons is also profitable and growing rapidly. Though its growth is primarily dependent on executing new deals, it's tentatively projected to grow sales by 47% next year.
The key takeaway from Abel's separate purchases of Bending Spoons' stock is that tech is fully on the menu. Abel is a firm believer in AI and isn't afraid to deploy Berkshire's mammoth treasure chest to stake his company's claim to this multitrillion-dollar opportunity.
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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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