Berkshire Hathaway has significantly increased its bet on Google parent Alphabet, making it the third-largest holding in the conglomerate’s equity portfolio, according to the company’s second-quarter 13F filing with the SEC.
The filing, released after Thursday’s closing bell, shows Berkshire owns nearly 106 million Alphabet Class A and Class C shares, valued at roughly $36.6 billion. That puts Alphabet about $1.5 billion ahead of Coca-Cola’s $35.1 billion stake, though still well behind Apple’s $69.7 billion and American Express’s $51.9 billion.
Berkshire added approximately 48.1 million Alphabet shares during the quarter, with about 60% of that increase coming directly from Alphabet in a $10 billion private placement announced in early June. The remaining roughly $7 billion was purchased on the open market, according to CNBC’s analysis.
Delta and other additions
While Alphabet was by far the biggest addition of the quarter, Berkshire also boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 44%, or roughly $1.6 billion. The airline stake now stands at 57.3 million shares, currently valued at $5.1 billion.
Delta first returned to Berkshire’s portfolio in the first quarter of this year, after Buffett sold all four airline stocks at a loss in early 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic crushed air travel. Buffett’s history with airlines has been rocky; in his 2007 shareholder letter, he joked that a “farsighted capitalist” at Kitty Hawk would have done future investors a favor by shooting Orville Wright down.
Other notable additions include Macy’s, where Berkshire’s holdings jumped 142% (though that only added about $100 million given the small base), and homebuilder Lennar, where the firm added around $280 million in the same quarter it announced its $6.8 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home.
Financial holdings trimmed
Berkshire continued its recent trend of reducing financial stakes. The firm cut its Ally Financial position by 7% and slashed its Capital One holding by 58%. Bank of America was trimmed by 5.9%, but given the size of that stake, the reduction cut its value by around $1.7 billion — the biggest dollar decline of the quarter. Berkshire has now cut its BofA stake by 53% after eight straight quarters of selling.
Burry criticism and market reaction
Meanwhile, investor Michael Burry has voiced concerns about Berkshire’s direction under CEO Greg Abel. In a Substack post, Burry wrote that his “biggest fear” was that Abel would lack Buffett’s “patience for the fat pitch,” and that he now believes “this fear has come true.” He said he does not find Berkshire attractive going forward, though he clarified he is not recommending a short on the stock.
Abel’s spending spree in the second quarter — which included the Alphabet purchase, the Taylor Morrison deal, and other investments — has weighed on Berkshire’s shares, with both share classes dropping more than 3% this week.
Berkshire ended the quarter with roughly $365.5 billion in cash, down 8% from March 31. Excluding rail cash and subtracting T-bills payable, the figure was $359.2 billion. The company also repurchased $4.5 billion of its own shares in Q2.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/15/berkshire-adds-17-billion-to-alphabet-stake.html
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