Warren Buffett Dumped 77% of Berkshire's Amazon Stake and Opened a New Position in This Digital Media Juggernaut

By John Bromels – Apr 19, 2026 at 7:50AM ESTKey PointsIn his last quarter as CEO, Warren Buffett approved the sale of most of Berkshire's Amazon stock.Berkshire opened a new position in a digital media behemoth with a product Buffett has loved for a long time.The investing world marveled in 2019 when legendary investor Warren Buffett bought shares of Amazon (AMZN +0.26%) as part of the Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB 0.11%) portfolio. The notoriously tech-averse billionaire's only other long-term tech holding at the time was Apple (AAPL +2.65%). Now the investing world is reeling again, because shortly before Buffett stepped down as Berkshire CEO, Berkshire sold off most of its Amazon shares. But instead of buying into another tech stock, Berkshire -- where Buffett remains chairman of the board -- piled into a very different type of digital company. Here's what stock Buffett bought, and why he would have chosen it as one of the last big buys of his investing career. Image source: The Motley Fool. Buffett loves a good paper... or five Buffett was once asked in an interview about how he keeps up to date on all the things he needs to know. He responded with characteristic candor: I read and read and read. I probably read five to six hours a day. I don't read as fast now as when I was younger. But I read five daily newspapers. Those newspapers included financial publications The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, his hometown newspaper The Omaha World-Herald, USA Today, and the namesake newspaper of his most recent stock buy, The New York Times Company (NYT +1.99%). Yes, according to its most recent 13-F filing, Berkshire unloaded more than 7 million shares of Amazon.com, worth approximately $1.8 billion, and opened a new position in The New York Times Company. Berkshire scooped up more than 5 million shares at an average price of $61.09/share. Since the shares are currently trading at about $78/share, it's already proving to be a solid investment. ExpandNYSE: NYTThe New York Times Co.Today's Change(1.99%) $1.55Current Price$79.45Key Data PointsMarket Cap$13BDay's Range$75.99 - $79.5052wk Range$48.52 - $87.10Volume171KAvg Vol2.5MGross Margin47.80%Dividend Yield0.97% The paper's not on paper anymore Although we don't know whether Buffett still gets print copies of his favorite newspapers, the investment thesis of The New York Times is all about digital media. In its most recent quarter, The New York Times Company reported 12.78 million subscribers, 12.21 million of which were digital-only. That means the company's entire print subscriber base -- including those who have print and digital subscriptions --was just 570,000. Compare that to the company's net increase of 450,000 digital-only subscribers during the quarter, and you can see why investors consider The New York Times Company to be a digital media company. Nearly half of its $802.3 million in quarterly revenue -- 47.5% -- now comes from digital-only subscriptions. Image source: Getty Images. All that digital subscriber growth is fueling more digital ad revenue, which increased a staggering 24.9% year over year to $147.2 million. Add that to the digital subscription revenue, and about two-thirds of the company's revenue is coming from digital-only sources. Of course, that means that the company's print readers and advertisers are punching well above their weight when it comes to revenue generation, so I wouldn't expect the paper to go all-digital anytime soon. With more subscriber and ad revenue growth expected and a growing dividend to boot, this looks like a Buffett pick that will stand the test of time.Read NextApr 17, 2026 •By Matt Frankel, CFPS&P 500 Explained: How the Index Works and How to Invest in ItApr 17, 2026 •By Matt Frankel, CFPBest Stocks to Buy Now: Our Buy-and-Hold Picks for April 2026Apr 13, 2026 •By Keith NoonanBest Blue Chip Stocks to Buy in 2026: Should You Invest?Apr 13, 2026 •By David Jagielski, CPAWarren Buffett Reveals the Real Reason Berkshire Has Been Dumping Apple StockApr 13, 2026 •By Keith SpeightsInflation Could Hit 4.2% This Year: 3 Stocks to Buy Now to Protect Your PortfolioApr 12, 2026 •By Selena MaranjianThese 3 Stocks Could Still Be Winning Investments When You Retire.

Warren Buffett Would Likely Agree, Too.About the AuthorJohn Bromels has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst since 2012 covering information technology, communication services, industrials, energy, materials, utilities, and healthcare sectors. He finds investing to be more interesting and profitable than collectible trading card games and is an award-winning puzzle designer.TMFTruth2PowerStocks MentionedBerkshire HathawayNYSE: BRKB$474.66(-0.10%)-$0.46Berkshire HathawayNYSE: BRKA$711,558.82(-0.16%)-$1,141.18AmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$250.36(+0.26%)+$0.66AppleNASDAQ: AAPL$270.37(+2.65%)+$6.97The New York Times Co.NYSE: NYT$79.45(+1.99%)+$1.55*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.