Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel cut 16 holdings and built a $29 billion Alphabet stake in Q1 2026. Here's what the filings show.
Berkshire Hathaway, the Omaha conglomerate long steered by Warren Buffett, has a new hand on the wheel, and the portfolio already looks different. Greg Abel, who became chief executive on January 1, spent his first quarter cutting the equity book from 42 holdings to 29 while pouring fresh capital into Alphabet, the parent of Google.
At a Glance
- Berkshire's Q1 2026 13F filing (May 15) shows 16 positions eliminated entirely
- Alphabet stake grew to nearly 58 million combined Class A and Class C shares, worth about $17 billion as of March 31
- Berkshire anchored an $80 billion Alphabet capital raise with a $10 billion private placement on June 1
- Total Alphabet position now tops $29 billion, ranking among Berkshire's five largest holdings
- Berkshire was a net seller of about $8 billion in stocks during the quarter
How Abel Built the Alphabet Position
The Alphabet accumulation came in two distinct moves. During the first quarter, Berkshire more than tripled its Class A share count and started a new Class C position, according to the filing. Then Alphabet turned to the market for $80 billion to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure, and Berkshire took the anchor role, committing $10 billion split evenly between $5 billion of Class A stock at $351.81 a share and $5 billion of Class C stock at $348.20 a share. That pricing came in roughly 6.5% below Alphabet's closing price that day. With open market purchases layered on top, the combined stake now exceeds $29 billion, putting Alphabet alongside Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Bank of America among Berkshire's top five holdings, a list that no longer includes Chevron.
Alphabet Valuation, Momentum and Yield
Buffett's Berkshire rarely made a single technology name this central to its equity book, and the size of the bet invites scrutiny of Alphabet on its own merits. The bull case rests on Alphabet's cash generation, its dominant search and cloud franchises, and the discount Berkshire secured on the private placement shares relative to the market price. The risk side centers on execution: an $80 billion capital raise for AI infrastructure signals enormous spending needs, and returns on that investment will take years to prove out. Regulatory pressure on Google's core search and advertising business also remains an overhang that has not gone away simply because Berkshire has become a large shareholder.
Quick Facts
- Abel became Berkshire CEO on January 1, 2026
- Berkshire purchased about $16 billion and sold about $24 billion in equities during the quarter
- Domino's, Amazon, Visa, Mastercard and UnitedHealth Group were among the 16 full exits
- Several sales trace back to portfolio manager Todd Combs, who departed for JPMorgan
The Selling Spree Behind the Buying
The Alphabet buildup happened alongside some of the heaviest portfolio pruning Berkshire has done in years. Abel exited Domino's, Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth Group and eleven other names entirely in the first quarter. The Domino's sale is notable because Buffett had built that 3.35 million share stake over six straight quarters with nothing to suggest it was a short term holding. Abel told the Wall Street Journal in April that he had sold off positions Combs previously managed, which accounts for much of the breadth in the selling. Across the quarter, Berkshire bought roughly $16 billion in stock and sold about $24 billion, leaving it a net seller of nearly $8 billion.
What the Portfolio Shift Signals
Concentrating new capital in Alphabet while clearing out sixteen other names in a single quarter is a sharper style shift than Berkshire watchers are used to seeing. Whether Abel continues trimming the roster or starts adding new names beyond Alphabet will shape how analysts read his long term approach to capital allocation at the company Buffett spent decades building.
