Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slashed its holding in Amazon.com Inc. by more than 75% in the fourth quarter, while also building a stake in the New York Times Co. — Warren Buffett’s last new bet as chief executive officer. The conglomerate acquired 5.1 million shares of the media publishing company in the three months through December, a stake worth $351.7 million at year-end, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. Berkshire first bought a stake in Amazon in 2019. Buffett, 95, said at the time that despite ...

Core Insights - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Amazon.com Inc. by over 75% in Q4, while acquiring a new stake in the New York Times Co. valued at $351.7 million [1][2] Investment Changes - Berkshire Hathaway's current holdings in Amazon now stand at approximately 2.3 million shares after the reduction [2] - The company also decreased its stakes in Bank of America Corp. and Apple Inc. to 7.1% and 1.5%, respectively, starting in 2024 [2] New Investments - During the same period, Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in Chevron Corp. to 6.5% and Chubb Ltd to 8.7% [3] - The initial investment in Chubb was revealed in May 2024, following a secret accumulation of shares the previous year [3] Strategic Acquisitions - Buffett has been actively pursuing new acquisitions, including a $9.7 billion deal for Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s petrochemical business and a $5.6 billion stake in Alphabet Inc. [4] - Following the announcement of the New York Times Co. investment, its shares rose over 10% in post-market trading [4]

Group 1 - Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in Amazon by over 75% in Q4, while investing $351.7 million in the New York Times Company [1][3] - The company acquired 5.1 million shares of the New York Times Company, valued at $351.7 million at year-end [3] - Berkshire continued to trim its stakes in Bank of America and Apple, reducing them to 7.1% and 1.5%, respectively [4] Group 2 - Berkshire increased its stakes in Chevron and Chubb to 6.5% and 8.7%, respectively, during the same period [5] - Chubb's shares rose approximately 11% in Q4 after reports of an informal approach to acquire American International Group Inc. [5] - Warren Buffett has been active in making purchases, including a $9.7 billion deal for Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s petrochemical business and a $5.6 billion stake in Alphabet Inc. [6]

Core Argument - The Atlantic has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging monopolization of the digital advertising market through deceptive practices and antitrust violations [1][2][9] Allegations Against Google - The lawsuit claims that Google and its parent company Alphabet have manipulated the digital advertising market via secret auction schemes and illegal tying, which have resulted in significant revenue losses for publishers [2][9] - The Atlantic alleges that Google conditioned access to its AdX ad exchange on the mandatory use of its own ad server, effectively eliminating competition and leaving publishers with no alternatives [5][7] Antitrust Violations - Central to the case is the allegation of illegal "tying," where a dominant company forces customers to use a second product they might not choose otherwise [4] - The complaint describes Google's actions as a "sophisticated, anticompetitive, and deceptive scheme" that has been ongoing for over a decade, likening it to insider trading [7] Financial Impact - The lawsuit cites an internal analysis indicating that Google's practices could depress a publisher's revenue by "upwards of 40%" [12] - The Atlantic claims that Google's actions have led to "dramatically less revenue for publishers," while Google reportedly made $30 billion in profits in 2022 [13] Legal Context - The Atlantic's lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court and follows a similar complaint from Penske Media Corporation and SheMedia, both represented by the same law firm [14][17]

Core Insights - People Inc. has signed an AI licensing deal with Microsoft, becoming a launch partner in Microsoft's publisher content marketplace, marking its second AI deal after the agreement with OpenAI last year [1][5] - The new marketplace is described as a pay-per-use model where AI companies can compensate publishers for their content on an a la carte basis, with Microsoft's Copilot being the first buyer [2][5] - People Inc. reported a significant decline in traffic from Google Search, which dropped from 54% two years ago to 24% in the last quarter, impacting the company's overall performance [4] Company Strategy - CEO Neil Vogel emphasized the importance of being compensated for content, stating that the company is satisfied with either the pay-per-use or all-you-can-eat model [5] - People Inc. has criticized AI companies for using media content without payment, specifically calling out Google for its practices [6] - The company has implemented technology from Cloudflare to block AI crawlers, which has led to more negotiations and content deals with AI companies [7][8] Financial Performance - People Inc. reported a 9% increase in digital revenue, reaching $269 million in the quarter, driven by performance marketing and licensing growth of 38% and 24%, respectively [9]

Core Insights - People Inc. has signed an AI licensing deal with Microsoft, becoming a launch partner in Microsoft's publisher content marketplace, marking its second AI deal after the agreement with OpenAI last year [1][5] - The new marketplace is described as a pay-per-use model where AI companies can compensate publishers for their content on an a la carte basis, with Microsoft's Copilot being the first buyer [2] - People Inc. reported a significant decline in traffic from Google Search, which dropped from 54% two years ago to 24% in the last quarter, impacting the company's overall performance [4] Company Strategy - CEO Neil Vogel emphasized the importance of being compensated for content, stating that the company is satisfied with either the pay-per-use or all-you-can-eat model [5] - People Inc. has criticized AI companies for using media content without payment, specifically calling out Google for its practices [6] - The company has implemented technology from Cloudflare to block AI crawlers, which has led to more negotiations and content deals with AI companies [7][8] Financial Performance - People Inc. reported a 9% growth in digital revenue, reaching $269 million in the quarter, driven by performance marketing and licensing, which grew by 38% and 24% respectively [9]

Core Viewpoint - Google is facing a lawsuit from Penske Media Corporation (PMC) for allegedly using news publishers' content to create AI summaries that harm their business models [1][2][3] Group 1: Lawsuit Details - The lawsuit is the first of its kind targeting Google and its parent company Alphabet regarding AI-generated summaries in search [2] - PMC claims that Google is leveraging its monopoly to coerce them into allowing the republishing of their content for AI Overviews, which is detrimental to their business [3] - The lawsuit states that since the launch of AI Overviews, PMC has experienced significant declines in clicks from Google searches, leading to reduced ad revenue and threatening subscription and affiliate revenue [4] Group 2: Google's Response - A Google spokesperson stated that AI Overviews enhance search utility and create new opportunities for content discovery, asserting that Google sends billions of clicks to various sites daily [4] - Google argues that the claims made by PMC are meritless and emphasizes that it has not provided credible information to counter the allegations regarding search referral traffic [4] Group 3: Industry Context - The lawsuit follows a recent federal judge ruling that found Google acted illegally to maintain its monopoly in online search, although no breakup of the company was ordered due to increasing competition in AI [4]

Core Viewpoint - Biglari reported a significant return to profitability in Q2 2025, with net earnings of $50.9 million, a turnaround from a loss of $48.2 million in the same period last year, primarily driven by investment gains of $61.4 million [1][4]. Financial Performance - Net Earnings: $50.9 million in Q2 2025 compared to a loss of $48.2 million in Q2 2024 [2]. - Pre-tax Operating Earnings: Dropped to $3.7 million from $19.7 million a year earlier, marking an 81.4% decline [4]. - Investment Gains: Reported at $61.4 million, a significant recovery from a loss of $82.6 million in the prior year [2][4]. - Steak n Shake Same-Store Sales Growth: Achieved a growth of 10.7% for both company-run and franchise locations [5]. Business Overview - Biglari operates in multiple sectors, including restaurants (Steak n Shake and Western Sizzlin), insurance focused on commercial trucking, oil and gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico, and media through the MAXIM brand [3]. Operational Insights - The management emphasized that the reported results were heavily influenced by investment gains, and ongoing operating profitability should be assessed separately [4]. - There was a lack of detailed performance information regarding other key segments such as insurance, oil and gas, and media, making it challenging to evaluate their contributions to overall results [5]. Future Outlook - Management did not provide any forward-looking financial guidance for upcoming quarters or the full year, indicating a lack of visibility into future revenue, earnings, or strategic direction [6][7].