Overview
- In late August filings Berkshire disclosed it owns roughly 106 million combined Class A and C Alphabet shares worth about $36–38 billion, making the stock one of its largest holdings.
- About $10 billion of that increase came from a June private placement bought directly from Alphabet at negotiated prices rather than through open-market trades.
- The company reported a net-buying quarter in Q2 after a long selling streak, deploying part of a record cash and short-term balance that reached roughly $397 billion earlier in 2026.
- Warren Buffett said he initiated the Alphabet idea but emphasized that CEO Greg Abel has final authority over capital-allocation decisions at the company.
- Alongside the tech purchase, Berkshire closed an $8.5 billion Taylor Morrison acquisition and raised stakes in Lennar and D.R. Horton, a set of moves that concentrates the portfolio and raises questions about valuation and risk exposure.