Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Trims Bank of America Stake in $1.6 Billion Repositioning

Berkshire Hathaway has never been known for hasty exits. For more than a decade, its Bank of America stake stood as one of the most closely watched positions in American finance — a long-running bet on the recovery of consumer banking and the resilience of the U.S. economy. So when the latest 13F filing showed a roughly $1.6 billion reduction in that position, the market took notice.

Berkshire sold approximately 30.2 million shares of Bank of America during Q2 2026, according to its quarterly 13F filing. The sale included closing out one separately managed position valued at roughly $1.377 billion and trimming another 1.99 million shares. Even after the reduction, BAC remains Berkshire's fifth-largest holding at about 9.20% of the portfolio, based on GuruFocus data. The stock was trading at $62.95, up 15.69% year to date — a slightly better performance than the S&P 500 over the same stretch.

The move is part of a broader portfolio restructuring that has unfolded since Greg Abel took over as Berkshire CEO at the start of 2026, succeeding Warren Buffett. A combined Morningstar analysis of the filing noted that Berkshire eliminated positions previously attributed to former portfolio managers Todd Combs, who left at year-end, and Ted Weschler. The firm also sold Lennar Class A shares worth an estimated $830 million, Capital One for $795 million, and Kroger for $700 million in the same quarter.

At the same time, Berkshire put fresh capital to work in technology and travel-related names. It bought an estimated $7.9 billion in Alphabet Class A and $7.6 billion in Alphabet Class C, added $1.4 billion in Delta Air Lines, and purchased $1.1 billion in Lennar Class B.

The Alphabet stake, now roughly 9.41% of the portfolio, is one of the clearest signs yet that Berkshire under Abel is willing to take on large technology positions in a way the previous era was not. The Q2 13F listed $299.25 billion in managed 13F securities, with the top 10 holdings representing 88.47% of the total, according to WhaleWisdom. Apple remained the largest position at 22.04%.

What makes the Bank of America sale look like repositioning rather than a verdict on the bank is the underlying performance. BAC's Q2 2026 results were strong across most metrics. The stock trades at 14.83 times trailing earnings and 13.89 times forward earnings, with a price-to-book ratio of 1.63, according to Yahoo Finance. The bank is generating 17% returns on tangible equity and growing earnings 27% year over year.

Those are not expensive valuations for a bank with that kind of momentum. More importantly, they suggest the Berkshire reduction is less about Bank of America's quality and more about relative opportunity. The combined Alphabet purchases in the same quarter, about $15.5 billion, dwarf the $1.6 billion raised from the BAC sale. In other words, Berkshire is funding a larger conviction idea rather than fleeing a troubled banking asset.

For Bank of America investors, the filing is worth reading carefully but not as a warning sign. Berkshire still holds about 308.8 million BAC shares after the second-quarter sales, putting it among the largest institutional shareholders in the company's history. The cut from the peak position is meaningful, but it is far from an exit.

The more accurate takeaway may be that Abel's Berkshire is becoming more concentrated and more decisive. It is willing to sell legacy holdings built over decades when more compelling uses of capital appear. That discipline is consistent with Buffett's approach, even if the destination is different. Capital is flowing toward Alphabet's AI-driven advertising and search business, not away from a struggling bank.

BAC remains a straightforward income and value investment. The Berkshire reduction is a signal about relative opportunity, not absolute quality. As long as the compounding continues, the business beneath the filing can justify the valuation on its own.

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Aug 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section.