In a recent filing with market regulators, Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO, Greg Abel, registered all 325.4 million of the conglomerate’s Kraft Heinz shares, representing roughly a 27.5% ownership stake. This marks the first formal step toward a potential divestiture of the holding that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire helped assemble in 2015 alongside 3G Capital. While the registration does not obligate an immediate sale, it grants Berkshire the flexibility to offload portions of its position at its discretion and without triggering transaction notifications beyond its quarterly 13F reports.

Since the merger that created the combined Kraft Heinz entity, the stock has suffered a cumulative decline of approximately 70%, driven by evolving consumer preferences, cost pressures and muted growth in core brands. Although Berkshire received several billion dollars in dividends over the years, the company recorded a $3.8 billion writedown on the investment last year. Buffett himself has conceded that the integration did not perform as expected, and Kraft Heinz’s planned split into a sauces-and-meals unit and a North American refrigerated business has failed to restore growth momentum.

Analysts view the registration statement as a signal of Greg Abel’s willingness to reevaluate legacy holdings and depart from Buffett’s longstanding buy-and-hold philosophy. With over $300 billion in public equities and ownership of businesses spanning insurance, railroads, utilities and manufacturing, Berkshire under Abel may undertake a broad review of assets against internal return hurdles. Market observers expect the conglomerate to update its first-quarter activity in mid-May, providing the next glimpse into whether this registration leads to actual share sales or simply establishes optionality for future capital redeployment.