Berkshire's $37.4B Alphabet Bet: Buffett Goes Big on Tech

Berkshire Hathaway has quietly assembled a $37.4 billion stake in Alphabet, Google's parent company, making it the conglomerate's third-largest equity holding. The position now accounts for just over 10% of Berkshire's $358 billion stock portfolio.

The build-up happened in stages. Berkshire first bought 17.8 million Alphabet A shares in Q3 2025 — a roughly $5 billion position that looked like a token move by one of Buffett's lieutenants. Then things changed dramatically: 36.4 million more A shares in Q1 of this year, another 24.5 million in Q2, plus 27.2 million C shares purchased this year.

The biggest surprise? This was largely Warren Buffett's idea. In a July CNBC interview, Buffett plainly stated: "I initiated it." Even after stepping down as CEO, the Oracle of Omaha personally drove the decision to make Alphabet a core Berkshire holding.

Buffett also clarified the working relationship with current CEO Greg Abel: "I am not doing anything that he doesn't approve of. He's not doing anything I don't approve of. We talk all the time, but he is the decider." So while Buffett initiated the trade, Abel signed off on it.

For decades, Buffett avoided technology stocks, arguing they were too hard to understand. Berkshire's only real tech forays were Amazon (a small position, now exited) and Apple (which became the largest holding). But both could be framed as consumer companies as much as tech names.

Alphabet is different. This is a full-throated endorsement of a pure technology giant — search, cloud, AI, advertising — by the world's most famous value investor. It signals that Buffett sees Alphabet meeting his core criterion: "businesses that are going to earn high returns on capital for an extended period of time."

That matters for Alphabet's stock because Berkshire's buying creates a durable demand floor and a powerful vote of confidence. It also matters for how the market views big tech broadly — if Buffett is willing to concentrate 10% of Berkshire's portfolio in Alphabet, the "too hard to understand" discount on tech may be fading.

For Berkshire shareholders, the move diversifies the portfolio away from its heavy Apple concentration and adds a cash-generating machine with dominant market positions. It also shows that Berkshire's post-Buffett investment philosophy remains disciplined but not rigid.

Finally, it reinforces a simple lesson for everyday investors: high returns on capital over long periods is a powerful filter. Alphabet has it. That's why Buffett bought — and why the stock deserves a closer look.