Berkshire Hathaway just disclosed that it dumped $1.6 billion into a sinking ship, and Wall Street instantly paid attention.
The health insurance giant UnitedHealth, which had lost nearly half its value in 2025, suddenly surged 7% on Thursday after the Securities and Exchange Commission published Berkshire’s 13F filing.
The buy included more than 5 million shares, placing UnitedHealth as the 18th largest stock holding in Berkshire’s $300 billion portfolio. That puts it right after Amazon and Constellation Brands. The trade happened during the second quarter but was only made public now.
While Warren Buffett’s name sits at the top of the company, it’s widely assumed his two deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, pulled the trigger on this one. Warren said back in 2019 that it was one of his managers who took the Amazon position. This feels similar.
Berkshire team grabs falling stock while DOJ investigation hits UnitedHealth
Before this trade surfaced, UnitedHealth was a disaster. Its stock had been obliterated, down 50% year-to-date, and its reputation had been wrecked. The Department of Justice is currently investigating how the company billed Medicare. The scrutiny comes as part of the federal crackdown on inflated claims across the health sector.
In May, CEO Andrew Witty resigned, and the company pulled its earnings guidance for the rest of the year. That move alone triggered panic selling. Then in July, UnitedHealth released a new outlook for 2025 that missed expectations. The result? The stock kept sinking. There was no recovery in sight.
The timing of the Berkshire purchase, then, was shocking. But it also fits a clear pattern: buy big names when everyone else is terrified. Warren once called the U.S. healthcare system a “tapeworm” on the economy.
Back in 2018, he even teamed up with Jeff Bezos and Jamie Dimon to try and fix it through a joint health venture for employees. That project collapsed. But now, five years later, the team at Berkshire is buying in again; not to fix the system, but to own a piece of it while it’s dirt cheap.
Other trades emerge as Apple gets sliced, markets rebound off inflation report
UnitedHealth wasn’t the only move in Berkshire’s latest disclosure. The firm also picked up new stakes in Nucor, Lamar Advertising, and Allegion. Nucor, the steel manufacturer, jumped 8% in extended trading after the news.
Homebuilders Lennar and DR Horton, both of which Berkshire had previously exited, were also back on the list. Their shares climbed 3% apiece. While all that buying was happening, there was selling too. The firm trimmed its Apple position by 7%.
Apple is still the largest stock holding in the portfolio, followed by American Express, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and Chevron. But the reduction shows that Berkshire is adjusting. It also reduced its exposure to Bank of America, tightening its grip on the financial sector.
This flurry of trades came on the same day U.S. indexes had to fight back from a brutal morning. A nasty wholesale inflation report hit just before the open. The Producer Price Index jumped 0.9% in July, smashing the 0.2% forecast. In June, the number had been flat. The spike spooked investors and instantly crushed hopes for a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both down 0.4% at their lows. The Dow dropped more than 200 points. But dip buyers showed up late in the day, dragging the S&P back up to 6,468.54, a 0.03% gain. That tiny lift was enough for the S&P to notch its third straight record close. The Nasdaq closed at 21,710.67, down 0.01%, while the Dow slipped just 11 points to finish at 44,911.26.
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