Berkshire Hathaway’s Next Chapter: Greg Abel’s Q2 Stock Buys Unveil Investment Strategy

For many investors, the quarterly disclosure of Form 13Fs is a highly anticipated event, revealing the trading activities of major money managers. While the full second-quarter 13F filings are not due until mid-August, astute observers of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, BRKB) don't have to wait to uncover the latest moves by Warren Buffett's chosen successor, Greg Abel.

Thanks to various regulatory documents, it's clear that Abel made substantial investments in four powerful companies during the second quarter: Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Mitsubishi (MTSUY), Marubeni (MARUY), and Sumitomo (SSUMY).

Warren Buffett's retirement means that Greg Abel now oversees Berkshire Hathaway's investment portfolio. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Abel Bolsters Berkshire's Stake in Tech Giant Alphabet

It's widely known that Google's parent company, Alphabet, is a favored holding of Berkshire Hathaway's new leadership. During the first quarter, Berkshire's 13F showed significant purchases: 36,403,656 Class A shares (GOOGL) and 3,585,215 Class C shares (GOOG). However, a more recent development saw Alphabet announce plans on June 1 to raise $80 billion (later increased to $84.75 billion) through an equity offering to fund its ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) data center expansion. Berkshire Hathaway committed to buying $10 billion worth ($5 billion of each share class) via a private placement. Although official confirmation of this private placement's completion is pending, it's highly probable it closed before the end of the second quarter.

Alphabet provides the kind of durable competitive advantage, or "moat," that both Warren Buffett and Greg Abel highly value. Google maintains an overwhelming dominance in global internet search traffic, holding an impressive 91% share as of June 2026. Its subsidiary, YouTube, ranks as the world's second most-visited social platform. This dual dominance grants Alphabet exceptional pricing power in the advertising market.

Beyond advertising, Alphabet's future growth narrative is heavily centered on its cloud infrastructure services platform, Google Cloud, and its aggressive integration of generative AI and large language model solutions. In the first quarter alone, Google Cloud's sales soared by 63%, a particularly significant detail given that cloud services typically yield considerably higher profit margins than advertising.

Image source: Getty Images.

Abel Continues Buffett's Enduring Fascination with Japan's Trading Houses

Before stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO, Warren Buffett famously listed eight stocks he considered "indefinite" holdings in his annual letter to shareholders. This list notably included all five members of Japan's 'sogo shosha' (trading houses): Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Sumitomo, Itochu, and Mitsui.

Greg Abel was a key architect behind Berkshire's initial foray into these sogo shosha, with the first investments commencing in the summer of 2019 and publicly disclosed in August 2020. Following Buffett's retirement, Abel has consistently increased Berkshire's stake in these diverse conglomerates. Japanese regulators reported further purchases of Mitsubishi, Marubeni, and Sumitomo between April 30 and May 12 of the second quarter.

A primary draw of Japan's five trading houses is their compelling valuations. In stark contrast to the U.S. stock market, which currently stands as the second-priciest in its history, Mitsubishi, Marubeni, and Sumitomo are trading at attractive multiples of 21, 15, and 13 times trailing 12-month earnings per share, respectively.

Furthermore, these Japanese trading houses are renowned for their robust capital-return strategies, which include generous dividends and share buybacks, coupled with conservative executive compensation. This shareholder-centric, long-term approach of the sogo shosha perfectly aligns with the core investment philosophies championed by both Warren Buffett and his successor, Greg Abel.