Warren Buffett's Berkshire triples stake in newspaper giant

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For decades, owning a paper looked similar a losing bet.

Print circulation fell, advertisement dollars fled to Google and Meta, and plentifulness of section titles folded for good.

So erstwhile 1 of the astir respected names successful investing keeps pouring wealth into the sector, it's worthy paying attention.

That's precisely what's happening astatine Berkshire Hathaway. And the size of the determination has caught the market's eye.

Why New York Times banal is abruptly a Wall Street favorite

To recognize wherefore this matters, you person to look astatine however overmuch the concern has changed.

The New York Times isn't truly a "newspaper" institution anymore. It's a digital subscription machine.

The institution crossed 13 cardinal paid subscribers this past quarter, CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said astatine the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference connected May 19, 2026.

That puts it wrong striking region of its 15 cardinal people acceptable for the extremity of 2027.

"We've got 50 cardinal to 100 cardinal radical who are coming to our sites and apps each week, overmuch much than the 13 cardinal and alteration subscribers," Kopit Levien said. "We've got a immense trove of podcasts and e-mails that radical watch, perceive to, work connected a regular basis. And we've got implicit 150 cardinal registered users and counting."

And the maturation goes good beyond headlines.

The institution present leans connected games, cooking, sports, and merchandise reviews to support radical hooked.
Tens of millions of players occurrence up Wordle, Connections, and the remainder of the games lineup.
The Athletic runs what Kopit Levien called the largest sports journalism cognition successful the world.
The program ties it each unneurotic and gives readers capable reasons to unfastened the app, and travel backmost time aft day.

That attack has paid off.

Valued astatine a marketplace headdress of $12.2 billion, NYT banal has returned adjacent to 600% to shareholders implicit the past decade, aft adjusting for dividends.

Berkshire has sharply expanded its New York Times bet.AFP/Getty Images)

Berkshire Hathaway tripled its New York Times stake

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B) tripled its presumption successful the New York Times to 15.1 cardinal shares, according to a caller filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission reported by CNBC.

That involvement is present worthy much than $1.1 billion, which means Berkshire owns astir 9.4% of the media mogul.

The summation came during Greg Abel's archetypal 3 months arsenic Berkshire's CEO. Abel took the apical occupation successful January, ending Warren Buffett's six decades moving the company.