Everyone expected some changes at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) when Greg Abel took over as CEO in January. But one of his more surprising moves has been his aggressive investment in Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG).
Berkshire didn’t start investing in Alphabet until the third quarter of 2025, but it now owns over $23 billion in Class A GOOGL shares and another $6 billion in Class C GOOG shares.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
While Berkshire tends to let its investments speak for themselves rather than add commentary for each decision, there are three likely reasons why it’s been loading up on shares.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
1. A new CEO
Berkshire opened a position in Alphabet in the third quarter of 2025, purchasing roughly 18 million shares. While Warren Buffett was still CEO and had indicated he initiated Berkshire’s Alphabet ownership, Abel still likely had an influence on the decision based on what was to follow. In the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire purchased 40 million more shares.
Then, in June, as part of an $80 billion stock sale to fund artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments, Alphabet sold $10 billion of stock to Berkshire Hathaway in a private placement. Of that $10 billion, Berkshire purchased $5 billion in GOOGL shares at $351.81 per share and $5 billion in GOOG shares at $348.20 per share.
2. Leadership in AI
Berkshire’s investment in Alphabet is also a sign of confidence, not only in AI but also in Alphabet’s leadership. As of the first quarter of 2026, Alphabet ranked third (with a 14% market share) in the global cloud infrastructure market, which companies can use to build AI applications and AI agents.
It’s also in the chip business, building them for…
..
