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Berkshire Boosts Alphabet, Cuts 15 Stocks After Underperformance

5/19/2026

Summary

Berkshire Overhauls Portfolio

Berkshire Hathaway’s equity portfolio underperformed the S&P 500 in 2026, prompting a strategic shift.
It increased its Alphabet holding by 224 percent to 58 million shares worth $16.6 billion.
It eliminated over 15 equity positions, including Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, UnitedHealth, Domino’s Pizza, and Diageo.
It repurchased $234 million of its own shares, bringing its cash to $397.4 billion as of March 31 2026.

Summary

Berkshire Embraces AI

Berkshire's Q1 filing introduced the “Indispensable Monopoly,” a little-known firm that supplies critical technology to Nvidia and Intel and is seen as a potential AI trillion-dollar company.
Berkshire added Alphabet Class A shares and a new Class C position, raising its Alphabet holding by 204% to 7% of its portfolio while representing under 1% of Alphabet shares.
The “Indispensable Monopoly” addition signals Berkshire’s shift toward AI-centric assets beyond its traditional value-investment approach.

Summary

Berkshire Buys Delta

Berkshire Hathaway bought a $2.646 billion Delta stake, its first airline investment since 2020.
The Delta purchase lifted the airline to Berkshire’s 14th-largest holding within a single quarter.
Berkshire’s core portfolio remains anchored by Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Bank of America.
It also added 3 million Macy’s shares and bought Alphabet Class A and C shares to capture voting-rights premiums and benefit from Google’s repurchase program.

Summary

Berkshire Outperforms

Berkshire delivered a 19.7% compound annual return from 1965-2025, beating the S&P 500’s 10.5% average.
A $1,000 investment in Berkshire in 1965 would be worth $48.5 million by 2025, versus $399,702 for the S&P 500.
Warren Buffett oversaw $77.8 billion of share repurchases from 2018-2024 and halted buybacks in 2025.
Greg Abel restarted buybacks in Q1 2026, authorizing $235 million after cash, equivalents and Treasury holdings topped $30 billion, reaching $397 billion.

History

Historical Context

In 2016 Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion of Apple shares, quickly expanding the stake to roughly 5% by 2017 and marking its first large bet on high-growth tech. After Buffett stepped down as CEO, new leader Greg Abel in 2026 pursued a similar pivot, enlarging positions in Alphabet and Delta while Berkshire’s cash pile sat near $382 billion, echoing the earlier Apple strategy.

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Berkshire Overhauls Portfolio

Berkshire Hathaway’s equity portfolio underperformed the S&P 500 in 2026, prompting a strategic shift.
It increased its Alphabet holding by 224 percent to 58 million shares worth $16.6 billion.
It eliminated over 15 equity positions, including Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, UnitedHealth, Domino’s Pizza, and Diageo.
It repurchased $234 million of its own shares, bringing its cash to $397.4 billion as of March 31 2026.

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