Berkshire Hathaway’s investment strategy under Greg Abel reveals a significant pivot in Q2. Abel has continued to divest from Bank of America, reducing the position by over half, while aggressively piling into Alphabet (Google). This strategic move has propelled the tech giant to become Berkshire’s third-largest holding, signaling a preference for its virtual monopoly and AI growth prospects over traditional banking.
While quarterly earnings reports often capture headlines, the financial world keenly watches 13F filings to glean insights from the trading activities of Wall Street's most astute investors, including billionaires like Warren Buffett. Among these, Berkshire Hathaway's filing is arguably the most anticipated.
Since Warren Buffett's retirement as CEO on December 31, Greg Abel has taken the reins of Berkshire's formidable $358 billion investment portfolio. The latest 13F, detailing second-quarter trading, reveals Abel's continued strategy: a significant reduction in Bank of America (BAC) holdings and a robust accumulation of shares in the virtual monopoly, Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), for the second consecutive quarter.
Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire's CEO on Dec. 31. Image source: The Motley Fool.
Berkshire's Investment Shift: Trimming Bank of America
Beyond divesting from Constellation Brands and reducing stakes in Kroger and Capital One Financial, the sale of 30,230,000 shares of Bank of America in the second quarter stands out. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter of BofA stock sales by either Buffett or Abel, slashing the total position by 53% — a reduction of nearly 549.5 million shares.
BAC Price to Book Value data by YCharts.
This persistent selling spree is likely driven by profit-taking, but not solely. Both Buffett and Abel are renowned for their value-centric approach. When Buffett initially invested in BofA's preferred stock in August 2011, its common stock was trading at a substantial 62% discount to its book value. Fast forward to August 14, BofA stock commanded a 64% premium to book value, suggesting it no longer presented the same compelling value proposition.
Furthermore, Bank of America is known to be the most interest-sensitive among major U.S. money-center banks. Historical data shows that during periods of Federal Reserve rate cuts, such as the six reductions between September 2024 and December 2025, BofA's net interest income was disproportionately impacted compared to its peers.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet Climbs to Berkshire Hathaway's Third-Largest Holding
While modest purchases were also seen in Macy's and Delta Air Lines for a second straight quarter, the real game-changer in Berkshire's 13F filing, and the move that broke a 14-quarter streak of net stock sales, was the monumental investment in Google parent, Alphabet.
Including a $10 billion private placement announced on June 1, Abel orchestrated the acquisition of 24,541,369 Class A shares (GOOGL) and 23,603,218 Class C shares (GOOG). With a combined market value nearing $36.6 billion across both share classes, Alphabet has surged past both Bank of America and Coca-Cola, becoming Berkshire's third-largest holding.
Mirroring his predecessor's philosophy, Abel appears drawn to companies with formidable and sustainable economic moats. Alphabet's dominance in internet search, commanding over 91% of global search engine traffic in July, exemplifies this. Its ownership of YouTube, the world's second-most-visited social site, further solidifies its market position.
GOOGLE'S $GOOGL Q2 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
- Google total revenue: +24% YoY
- Search & Other Ads: +17% YoY
- Google Cloud: +82% YoY, backlog now at $514B
- 1P Model APIs: ~22B tokens per minute, up from 16B+ last quarter
- YouTube Ads: +13% YoY
- Gemini App: 950M monthly active... pic.twitter.com/cUdBZI9a6C-- Evan (@StockMKTNewz) July 22, 2026
Crucially, Alphabet's aggressive pursuit of artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions seems to be a key attraction for Abel. The integration of generative AI and large language model capabilities into Google Cloud has dramatically accelerated sales growth for the world's third-largest cloud infrastructure service platform. This high-margin segment reported an impressive 82% jump in sales during the June-ended quarter.
It seems that for Greg Abel, Alphabet embodies the kind of innovative and dominant company that Apple was for Warren Buffett, marking a new chapter in Berkshire Hathaway's storied investment legacy.
