Berkshire lifts Alphabet stake 83% to third-largest holding

Berkshire Hathaway boosted its Alphabet stake 83% in the second quarter, making the Google parent its third-largest US equity holding at about $37.8 billion.

"I initiated it," Warren Buffett, chairman at Berkshire, told CNBC, confirming the Alphabet investment was his call with support from CEO Greg Abel.

Berkshire owned nearly 106 million Alphabet shares as of June 30, up from 57.8 million three months earlier, according to a regulatory filing released Friday. The increase largely reflects a $10 billion private stock purchase announced in early June as Alphabet sought fresh capital for its AI infrastructure buildout. Alphabet now trails only Apple and American Express among Berkshire's US-listed holdings, within a total equity portfolio of about $323.8 billion.

The move helped Berkshire turn net buyer of equities for the first time in 15 quarters, with nearly $20 billion in net purchases. Cash fell to $365.5 billion from a record $397.4 billion as the conglomerate put more capital to work through investments and share repurchases.

Berkshire also rebuilt a wager on airlines, lifting its Delta Air Lines position 44% to 57.3 million shares worth about $5.4 billion. The conglomerate had returned to Delta only recently after selling its airline holdings during the early days of the pandemic.

Housing was another area of increased exposure. Berkshire raised its Class A stake in Lennar nearly 30% to 13.1 million shares worth about $1.19 billion, while Class B holdings rose 25% to roughly 298,000 shares. It also disclosed a new position of 3,600 shares in D.R. Horton.

The quarter included completion of Berkshire's $6.8 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison. Berkshire spent about $4.5 billion on share repurchases, up sharply from $234 million in the first three months of 2026.

The deployment marks a shift from the record cash pile Buffett had built, and it comes as Michael Burry, the investor behind "The Big Short," has said Berkshire is no longer attractive under Abel's faster capital-allocation pace. Investors will watch the next 13F filing for how much of the remaining $365.5 billion in cash gets put to work.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.