Berkshire buys Alphabet for 17 billion dollars and ends 14 quarters of net selling

The short version

• Berkshire Hathaway raised its Alphabet stake by around 17 billion dollars in the second quarter and now holds just under 106 million shares worth about 36.6 billion dollars.
• Net purchases of just under 20 billion dollars ended a run of 14 quarters in which the group had been a net seller of shares.
• Cash stood at around 365.5 billion dollars on 30 June, eight percent below the level at the end of March.

Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in Google parent Alphabet by around 17 billion dollars in the second quarter. Alphabet is now the third largest position in the conglomerate's equity portfolio.

The filing with the American securities regulator, published after the close on 14 August, shows that Berkshire now holds just under 106 million shares of the A and C classes. The market value is about 36.6 billion dollars.

That puts Alphabet around 1.5 billion dollars ahead of Coca Cola with 35.1 billion dollars, but still behind American Express with 51.9 billion dollars and the largest position Apple with 69.7 billion dollars.

60 percent came straight from the company

Berkshire added 48.1 million shares during the quarter. About 60 percent of them, roughly ten billion dollars, came directly from Alphabet through a private placement that both companies announced in early June. The remaining seven billion dollars or so was bought on the open market.

The placement followed an 85 billion dollar equity raise by Alphabet this year, which funds the group's build out in artificial intelligence. That issue helped push the volume of newly issued shares in the United States to a record 251 billion dollars in the first half of 2026.

First net buying in three and a half years

The move marks a turn. With net purchases of just under 20 billion dollars in the second quarter, Berkshire ended a run of 14 consecutive quarters in which it had been a net seller of shares.

The portfolio also became more concentrated. The five largest positions account for 76.5 percent of the holdings, the ten largest for 88.74 percent.

The Apple position was left unchanged after being trimmed in each of the last three quarters of 2025. At 22 percent it remains the single largest holding. Before the sales in 2024, Apple made up more than 50 percent of the listed portfolio.

Warren Buffett had claimed the Alphabet purchase for himself in July. He said in an interview that he had initiated it.

What was sold

Berkshire cut positions in Bank of America, Kroger, Capital One, Nucor, Ally Financial and DaVita. At Capital One the reduction was about 4.2 million shares, a cut of roughly 58 percent. At Kroger around eleven million shares were sold, lowering the holding by about 22 percent. The stake in Constellation Brands was closed entirely.

New or larger positions went to Delta Air Lines, Lennar, Macys and the New York Times. The Delta holding rose 44 percent, an outlay of around 1.6 billion dollars, to 57.3 million shares worth about 5.1 billion dollars. The airline only returned to the portfolio in the first quarter of this year, after Berkshire had sold its aviation holdings at a loss years earlier.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton was added as a new name. The group also took over builder Taylor Morrison for 6.8 billion dollars and bought back more than 4.5 billion dollars of its own shares.

Cash stood at around 365.5 billion dollars on 30 June, eight percent below the level at the end of March.

Observers read the moves as a sign that the new chief executive Greg Abel is tilting the portfolio further toward technology and growth. Because the filing does not cover foreign holdings, part of the portfolio stays invisible in it.

Frequently asked questions

How large is Berkshire's Alphabet position now

Berkshire Hathaway holds just under 106 million Alphabet shares of the A and C classes, according to the filing of 14 August. The market value is about 36.6 billion dollars. That makes Alphabet the third largest equity position, behind American Express with 51.9 billion dollars and Apple with 69.7 billion dollars.

Why is the Alphabet purchase a turning point

Berkshire bought a net 20 billion dollars of shares in the second quarter. Before that it had been a net seller for 14 quarters in a row. The Alphabet purchase of around 17 billion dollars is the single largest item behind that reversal.

How did Berkshire acquire the Alphabet shares

Of the 48.1 million shares added in the quarter, around 60 percent or about ten billion dollars came from a private placement directly with Alphabet, announced in early June. The remaining seven billion dollars or so was bought on the open market. Alphabet is using the proceeds in part to fund its artificial intelligence build out.

How much cash does Berkshire still hold

Cash stood at around 365.5 billion dollars on 30 June, eight percent less than at the end of March. Alongside the share purchases, 6.8 billion dollars went into the takeover of builder Taylor Morrison and more than 4.5 billion dollars into buybacks of its own stock.

This analysis is for information only and is not investment advice.