Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $17 billion increase in its Alphabet stake during the second quarter, making the Google parent its third-largest equity holding. The filing also reveals a fresh bet on Delta Air Lines and a record cash pile that shrunk from its peak.
Why Alphabet now ranks third
Berkshire owns nearly 106 million Alphabet shares, worth about $36.6 billion at the end of June. That puts the tech giant ahead of Coca-Cola's $35.1 billion position but still behind Apple ($69.7 billion) and American Express ($51.9 billion).
Roughly 60% of the new shares came from a private placement — the $10 billion deal announced in June — and the rest was bought on the open market. The purchase is the clearest sign yet that Berkshire's new CEO, Greg Abel, is willing to swing big on a single name.
Airlines and homebuilders get a second look
Berkshire increased its Delta Air Lines stake by 44%, worth about $1.6 billion. That's a sharp reversal from 2020, when the company exited all four of its airline stocks. It also lifted Macy's by 142% (roughly $100 million) and added $280 million to homebuilder Lennar.
The same quarter brought a $6.8 billion agreement to acquire Taylor Morrison, a homebuilder. Together, these moves suggest Abel is comfortable placing bets on consumer spending and housing, areas Buffett had grown cautious on.
Burry's warning about Abel's style
Michael Burry, who predicted the 2008 subprime crisis, isn't convinced. He said Abel's early moves look like “framing moves” rather than real investments, and argued the new CEO lacks Buffett's patience for the “fat pitch” — waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Burry added he's not recommending shorting the stock, but his concerns come as both Berkshire share classes fell more than 3% this week, even after the company's first major buyback in two years.
Cash pile shrinks, Alphabet pulls back
Berkshire's cash reserves hit a record $397 billion in the first quarter, then dropped to roughly $360 billion by the end of June. The spending spree accounts for some of that decline, though the buyback also took a chunk.
Alphabet shares have recently pulled back on unrelated departures in its AI division, which may have given Berkshire a cheaper entry point. But the stock's slide this week suggests investors are still weighing whether Abel's aggressive deployment makes sense.
All eyes now turn to the next quarterly filing to see if Abel keeps up this pace — or if the market's reaction cools his appetite.
