Alphabet Becomes Berkshire Hathaway’s Third-Largest Stock Investment

Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its investment in Alphabet during the second quarter of 2026, making the Google parent company its third-largest stock holding. The move reflects a major shift in Berkshire’s investment portfolio as the company begins deploying more of the substantial cash reserves accumulated under former CEO Warren Buffett.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, August 14, Berkshire Hathaway reported that it held nearly 106 million shares of Alphabet as of June 30. The position was valued at approximately $37.8 billion. That compares with 57.8 million shares held three months earlier, representing an increase of about 83%.

The Alphabet investment included a $10 billion purchase announced in June. Alphabet had planned the investment as part of efforts to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure, an area that has required significant capital spending as technology companies compete to build advanced AI systems and computing capacity.

Alphabet now ranks behind only Apple and American Express among Berkshire Hathaway’s stock investments. Apple remained the company’s largest holding at the end of June, valued at $66 billion. American Express was second at $51.3 billion. Coca-Cola ranked fourth, followed by Bank of America in fifth place.

The changes came as Berkshire made a broader shift in its investment activity during the second quarter. The company purchased $23.5 billion worth of stocks and sold $3.7 billion, ending a 14-quarter period in which it had been a net seller of equities.

The increased stock purchases also coincided with a reduction in Berkshire’s enormous cash holdings. Cash and cash equivalents declined to $364.7 billion on June 30 from $380.2 billion at the end of March. The decrease was partly influenced by $4.5 billion spent on share buybacks.

Greg Abel, who succeeded Buffett as Berkshire’s chief executive at the end of 2025, has started putting more of the company’s financial resources to work. Buffett continues to serve as Berkshire’s chairman and said last month that the decision to invest in Alphabet was his idea. Berkshire first began building its Alphabet position during the third quarter of 2025.

Buffett also said that he and Abel continue to consult with each other on Berkshire’s capital allocation decisions. Abel previously said that he was responsible for 94% of Berkshire’s stock holdings, while investment manager Ted Weschler managed the remaining 6%. The latest filing, however, did not identify which executive was responsible for individual purchases or sales.

Berkshire also made several smaller adjustments to its portfolio during the quarter. Its investment in Delta Air Lines increased by 44% to 57.3 million shares, worth nearly $5.4 billion at the end of June. The company also more than doubled its Macy’s position to approximately 7.3 million shares, valued at $173 million.

At the same time, Berkshire completely exited its investment in beverage company Constellation Brands. The position had been established about a year and a half earlier.

The conglomerate increased its holdings in homebuilder Lennar and disclosed a small $580,000 investment in another homebuilder, D.R. Horton. It reduced positions in Ally Financial, Bank of America, Capital One, kidney dialysis provider DaVita, grocery chain Kroger and steelmaker Nucor.

The disclosed stock holdings represented most of Berkshire’s $323.8 billion equity portfolio invested in U.S.-listed companies as of June 30. The portfolio changes provide an indication of how Berkshire is adjusting its investment strategy under Abel while Buffett remains involved as chairman.

Beyond its publicly traded investments, Berkshire Hathaway owns a wide range of operating businesses. These include BNSF railroad, Geico car insurance, energy and manufacturing operations, as well as consumer brands such as Brooks, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and See’s.

The stronger position in Alphabet marks one of Berkshire’s most significant recent investments and places the technology company among the conglomerate’s most important publicly traded assets.