Under CEO Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway is signaling a significant shift towards tech and AI investments, maintaining Apple as its largest holding and actively increasing its stake in Alphabet.
This strategy reflects Abel’s greater comfort with the tech sector compared to his predecessor, Warren Buffett, while still adhering to Berkshire’s core value-oriented and disciplined investing philosophy.
The company sees long-term value in these global giants, leveraging Alphabet’s AI infrastructure and Apple’s ‘toll road’ approach to AI services via its vast consumer device ecosystem.
When Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, BRKB) unveiled its second-quarter results on August 8th, the investment world once again sought clues in its portfolio. True to its nature, the conglomerate offered little commentary, allowing its substantial holdings to narrate their own story.
Among Berkshire's top five stock positions, two tech titans—Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL)—are speaking volumes. Their prominent presence signals not only a notable evolution in Berkshire’s comfort with technology stocks but also offers critical insights into the investing philosophy of its new CEO, Greg Abel, particularly regarding artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
A Modern Twist on Value Investing for Tech
Under legendary CEO Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway famously adhered to a 'circle of competence,' favoring investments in traditional sectors like insurance, finance, consumer goods, and railroads. While Buffett eventually embraced Apple, which became Berkshire's largest holding, and later took an initial stake in Alphabet, technology largely remained outside the 'Oracle of Omaha's' primary focus.
Greg Abel, however, demonstrates a more pronounced comfort with tech stocks. Yet, this doesn't signify a departure from Berkshire's time-honored, disciplined investing approach. In his inaugural letter to shareholders as CEO, Abel firmly reiterated: “Berkshire’s culture and values form the basis of our operating framework, which shapes the strategy we pursue and the choices we make as we build Berkshire. As CEO, I use the framework to govern how I lead every day.”
Nonetheless, the initial half of 2026 has provided early indicators of Berkshire's future direction, hinting at a potentially deeper dive into tech investments.
Before his departure, Buffett had been gradually scaling back Berkshire's massive Apple position, offloading 10.3 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2025. In contrast, Abel has not only maintained Apple as Berkshire's dominant stock holding, but it now represents a significant 20.1% of the equity portfolio.
Furthermore, Abel strengthened Berkshire's commitment to Alphabet, purchasing additional shares in the first quarter of 2026. He also led Berkshire's participation in Alphabet’s colossal $80 billion equity offering in June, securing a $10 billion investment through a private placement. Currently, Alphabet’s Class A shares constitute 6.8% of Berkshire’s stock portfolio, with Class C shares adding another 1.8%.
Finding Value in Global Giants
It might seem counterintuitive to label Alphabet and Apple—two of the world’s most valuable companies by market capitalization—as 'undervalued.' However, Berkshire's investment philosophy has always championed a long-term perspective.
For Alphabet, the ongoing build-out of its AI data center infrastructure positions it as a market leader, leveraging its proprietary chip development and robust cloud computing business. Notably, AI powerhouse Anthropic is among the clients utilizing Alphabet's custom chips, and the company commanded a 14% share of the global cloud computing market as of May.
Apple, meanwhile, has adopted a distinct AI strategy. Rather than committing vast resources to large language models or extensive data centers, it leverages its immensely popular consumer devices as a gateway to AI technology. In 2025, generative AI applications reportedly paid Apple $900 million in fees to be featured on its App Store. While this sum is relatively modest, as consumer demand for AI chatbots and subscription services grows, Apple is poised to act as a crucial 'toll road,' collecting a substantial cut of these fees without incurring the monumental infrastructure costs of AI development.
By steadfastly retaining Apple as a top investment and incrementally expanding its Alphabet stake, Greg Abel signals a clear conviction in the long-term value of tech and AI. Crucially, he achieves this while upholding Berkshire's core investment principles, steering clear of speculative ventures into unproven companies.
