Berkshire Hathaway is expanding its investment in Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and increasing its stakes in homebuilders, based on the company’s latest investment portfolio. The Omaha-based conglomerate also reduced its holdings in financial companies and several other stocks during the April to June quarter, as detailed in a recent regulatory filing.
Greg Abel, who took over as CEO from Warren Buffett at the start of the year, committed to a $10 billion investment in Alphabet in June. This move builds on the stake Berkshire began accumulating last fall. In the second quarter, Berkshire acquired about 48.1 million shares of Alphabet, raising its total holdings to approximately 106 million shares. This investment was valued at about $37.76 billion by the end of June. Back in December, Berkshire’s holdings included only 17.8 million Alphabet shares, valued at $5.6 billion. Alphabet plans to fund $80 billion for computing infrastructure needed for its AI initiatives.
Beyond technology, Berkshire continued to strengthen its investments in the U.S. homebuilding market. Its share in Lennar grew nearly 30% during the second quarter. Additionally, Berkshire introduced a new investment in D.R. Horton, valued at $580,504 as of the end of June. In July, Berkshire finalized a $6.8 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison.
Berkshire also significantly increased its stakes in Delta Air Lines and Macy’s during the second quarter, with the investments valued at about $5.37 billion and $173 million, respectively, by June 30.
In the second quarter, Berkshire trimmed its investment portfolio by decreasing stakes in companies like Kroger, Nucor, and DaVita. The company completely divested its 632,890 shares in Constellation Brands. It also reduced its shares in financial companies, cutting its stakes in Bank of America and Ally Financial by around 6% each and slashing its shares in Capital One Financial by 58%.
Many investors track Berkshire’s portfolio closely to emulate Buffett’s strategies. He remains the chairman and largest shareholder of the company. However, Berkshire, known for owning businesses like Geico and BNSF railroad, does not publicly discuss its quarterly stock moves to avoid revealing its buying and selling strategies.
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