The exit was part of a broader portfolio reshuffle in the first quarter after Greg Abel succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO
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Berkshire Hathaway $BRK.B sold its entire position in UnitedHealth $UNH Group in the first quarter of 2026, according to a regulatory filing disclosed Friday, ending a bet the conglomerate made less than a year ago when the health insurer's stock was in freefall.
Greg Abel, who took over from Warren Buffett as chief executive at the beginning of the year, oversaw the broad repositioning of Berkshire's portfolio during the period. Buffett remains Berkshire's chairman. Among the other moves detailed in the filing, Berkshire exited Amazon $AMZN, Visa $V, Mastercard $MA, Domino $DPZ's Pizza, insurer Aon $AON, and pool supplies distributor Pool, put $2.65 billion into Delta Air Lines, and expanded its Alphabet $GOOGL position by more than three times.
Berkshire first disclosed the UnitedHealth position in August 2025, after the insurer's stock had fallen more than 50% over several months. The conglomerate accumulated 5 million shares. After shedding more than 30% in 2025 — a drop that left it at the bottom of the Dow Jones Industrial Average that year — UnitedHealth shares have recovered roughly 20% in the current year, according to Reuters.
UnitedHealth stock fell 3% on Monday after the filing was disclosed. Todd Combs, who left Berkshire in December to become an executive at JPMorgan $JPM Chase, is thought by many observers to have been the architect of the UnitedHealth position, according to Barron's. In February, Abel indicated that his responsibility extended to 94% of Berkshire's equity portfolio, leaving the other 6% in the hands of investment manager Ted Weschler.
"The news that Berkshire has exited its stake in UNH may take some air out of the stock near-term but does not diminish the operational turnaround that's underway," James Harlow, senior vice president at Novare Capital Management, told Reuters.
According to Reuters, Morningstar's Julie Utterback attributed the exit primarily to personnel shifts within Berkshire rather than any view on UnitedHealth's prospects, and noted that managed care companies broadly have been reporting improving results this earnings season.
Over the past year, UnitedHealth has been battered by a series of crises: the killing of CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, surging medical costs that weighed on earnings, a federal criminal investigation into potential Medicare fraud, and the unexpected departure of his successor as chief executive. Stephen Hemsley returned to lead the company and has worked to restore investor confidence.
The insurer's recovery has shown some traction. UnitedHealth reported first-quarter 2026 results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year profit forecast, as the company improved its management of medical costs. The company also announced plans to eliminate prior authorization requirements for 30% of healthcare services that currently require insurer approval, with the changes set to take effect by the end of 2026.
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