Berkshire Doubles Down on Alphabet with $38 Billion Bet

Berkshire Hathaway has significantly increased its stake in Alphabet, a move that marks one of the conglomerate's largest investments in years. Under CEO Greg Abel, Berkshire boosted its holdings by 83% to about 106 million shares worth $38 billion at the end of June in Alphabet.

The private placement deal in June saw Berkshire purchase $10 billion worth of Alphabet stock at a discount, and it added another 19.6 million shares on the open market last quarter. This now makes Alphabet Berkshire's third-largest US holding, behind Apple ($66 billion) and American Express ($51 billion).

This move stands out given Warren Buffett's long-standing reluctance to invest heavily in technology stocks, with Apple being a notable exception. However, Buffett has said he personally made the call to invest in Alphabet last year, suggesting shared decision-making between the two.