Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA -1.96%)(BRKB -1.84%) added shares of Alphabet (GOOG +1.31%)(GOOGL +1.35%) to its stock portfolio for the first time when Warren Buffett was still CEO. Since then, it has dramatically expanded its position, and under new CEO Greg Abel's watch, it has become the third-largest (and sometimes fourth-largest, depending on daily stock price movements) position in the equity portfolio.
Let's take a look at how it fits into the company's core holdings.
Are the big three becoming the big four?
Buffett has grouped his favorite stocks into a trio that he often praises. These core holdings include Coca-Cola and American Express, his two longest-held stocks, which Berkshire started accumulating in the 1990s. Buffett has said that he would never sell these stocks, and so far Berkshire never has. The third member of that trio is the more recently added Apple, which Buffett has said will always be a big part of the portfolio. Admittedly, he did sell more than 75% of Berkshire's Apple stake in recent years after it grew so large that it accounted for more than half of the conglomerate's equity portfolio. But that doesn't mean he stopped being a fan of the stock, only that he viewed it as too high a level of concentration in one company.
Buffett, of course, is no longer making all of those calls, but he's still around as chairman, offering his advice, and Abel has reassured shareholders that he's not out to rock the boat. So the strong likelihood is that these three stocks will remain the portfolio's core holdings for the foreseeable future.
Image source: Google.
Over the past few years, Berkshire has added several other stocks in large enough amounts that looked like they could become viewed by the conglomerate as core holdings. It bought stakes in Occidental Petroleum in 2019 and Chevron in 2020, and added to each position in 2022. They're large positions, accounting for 4.5% and 4.9% of the portfolio, respectively. Buffett has also praised other stocks at times, like Moody's, which is not an insignificant slice of the portfolio at 3.2%. However, Berkshire's Alphabet position has quickly moved ahead of these.
How Alphabet fits in
Berkshire first bought Alphabet stock in the third quarter of 2025, just one year ago. It tripled its position in the first quarter of 2026, and then bought $10 billion worth of the Google parent's stock directly from the company in a private-placement deal in June. Right now, Alphabet accounts for about 10% of Berkshire's stock portfolio.
Buffett has said straight out: "I made the wrong decision on Google." He has also said in the past that he's not a tech guy, but he took note of it when insurance company Geico, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, became an early advertising customer of Google.
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However, he told CNBC's Becky Quick in July that Alphabet wasn't one of his favorite stocks: "I would say that I don't like it as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own."
He pointed to Alphabet's enormous capital expenditures, which it makes sense he would view as less than ideal based on his investing schema. Buffett particularly loves companies that don't have to spend a lot of money to make a lot of money.
However, despite his influence, Buffett is no longer CEO, and Abel might feel differently about the tech giant. Based on its current position in the portfolio, Alphabet may indeed end up as a long-term core Berkshire holding.
