Berkshire Hathaway Increases Investment in Alphabet and Homebuilders

Berkshire Hathaway is boosting its investment portfolio by increasing its stake in Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The conglomerate’s latest investment snapshot reveals this trend. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company is also enhancing its holdings in U.S. homebuilders and reducing stakes in financial firms and other stocks during the April-June quarter, as shown in a regulatory filing submitted late Friday.

CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett earlier this year, committed to a $10 billion stock investment in Alphabet this June. This move builds upon the stake Berkshire began accumulating last fall. In the second quarter, Berkshire acquired approximately 48.1 million shares in Alphabet, increasing its total to around 106 million shares. This stake was valued at $37.76 billion as of June 30. At the end of December, Berkshire had only 17.8 million Alphabet shares, worth $5.6 billion. Alphabet plans to raise $80 billion to bolster the infrastructure required for its AI initiatives.

Beyond technology investments, Berkshire is also expanding its presence in the U.S. homebuilding sector. Its stake in homebuilder Lennar grew by nearly 30% in the second quarter. Additionally, Berkshire established a new, although modest, stake in D.R. Horton, valued at $580,504 at the end of June. In July, Berkshire finalized a $6.8 billion purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison.

Berkshire also significantly increased its stakes in Delta Air Lines and Macy’s during the second quarter, with holdings valued at about $5.37 billion and $173 million, respectively, as of June 30. Concurrently, the company trimmed its investment portfolio, reducing holdings in several companies from the first quarter levels, including supermarket operator Kroger, steel manufacturer Nucor, and dialysis company DaVita. It sold all its shares—632,890 in total—in beverage company Constellation Brands. The company also reduced holdings in financial firms, cutting stakes in Bank of America and Ally Financial by approximately 6% and 6.9%, respectively. It also cut its investment in Capital One Financial by 58%.

Many investors have long followed Berkshire’s portfolio to emulate Buffett’s investment strategies. Buffett remains the chairman and largest shareholder of the company. However, Berkshire does not comment on its stock portfolio movements quarterly, as it prefers not to disclose its buying and selling strategies. Berkshire owns numerous businesses, including major insurers like Geico and BNSF railroad.