Alphabet shares climbed on Monday after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new multibillion dollar position in the Google parent, signaling one of the conglomerate’s most notable moves into technology in recent years.
The stock rose 3.1 percent, outperforming a weak start for the broader tech sector.
A quarterly 13F filing showed Berkshire held about 4.3 billion dollars worth of Alphabet as of Sept. 30, making it the company’s tenth largest equity position. The disclosure surprised many long time observers because Warren Buffett has historically avoided high growth tech groups, often describing Apple, Berkshire’s largest holding, as a consumer products company rather than a tech firm.
The Alphabet purchase was likely driven by investment managers Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, who have played an increasingly prominent role in Berkshire’s 300 billion dollar stock portfolio. The size of the acquisition suggests it had Buffett’s approval as he prepares to step down as CEO at year end. The duo has previously led several tech leaning investments, including Berkshire’s Amazon stake first initiated in 2019. Berkshire still owns 2.2 billion dollars of Amazon shares.
Alphabet has been one of the strongest performers in the market this year, advancing 46 percent on growing enthusiasm for its artificial intelligence programs and improved profitability at Google Cloud. Once a drag on earnings, the cloud unit has become a major contributor to revenue growth.
Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust Company, said the move may reflect the evolving strategy of Berkshire as leadership prepares for succession. “Perhaps the purchase of Alphabet signals a widening of the circle of competence into technology,” Stone said.
Greg Abel, a longtime deputy, will become CEO in January as the 95 year old Buffett shifts to a chairman role.
Despite its rally in 2025, Alphabet still trades at a lower valuation than many other AI focused megacap companies. Shares change hands at 26.9 times projected 2026 earnings, compared with valuation multiples of 31.8 for Microsoft, 40.7 for Broadcom and 31.8 for Nvidia, according to FactSet.
Analysts say that discount, along with Alphabet’s large cash reserves and dominant digital ecosystem, likely helped draw Berkshire’s interest. “We think Berkshire likely finds more comfort investing in GOOG over other tech plays given the high free cash flow potential of its core business coupled with an attractive valuation at about 22x 2027 EPS amid a healthy top line growth trajectory,” Angelo Zino of CFRA wrote in a client note.
Buffett has previously called his decision not to invest in Google one of his biggest mistakes. Geico, Berkshire’s insurance unit, had been one of Google’s earliest major advertisers and paid about 10 dollars per click in the early days of search marketing.
“I had seen the product work, and I knew the kind of margins [they had],” Buffett said in 2018. “I didn’t know enough about technology to know whether this really was the one that would stop the competitive race.”
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