Berkshire Hathaway Loads Up on Alphabet, Airlines, and Housing
Berkshire Hathaway has significantly increased its stake in Alphabet, making it one of its top three holdings. The conglomerate's holding in Alphabet, which includes Google, grew by 83% in the second quarter to about $37.9 billion at the end of June. This is largely due to a $10 billion private stock purchase announced in early June to finance Alphabet's massive AI infrastructure buildout.
Berkshire Hathaway also increased its bets on the airline industry and housing market. The conglomerate's holding in Delta Air Lines climbed 44% during the quarter, while its stake in homebuilders such as Lennar rose by nearly 30%. Berkshire Hathaway ended a streak of 14 consecutive quarters of net stock sales, emerging as a buyer of equities in the second quarter with nearly $20 billion in net purchases.
The conglomerate's cash level fell to $365.5 billion at the end of June from a record $397.4 billion three months earlier. Berkshire Hathaway began putting more of its capital to work through investments and share repurchases, completing its acquisition of Taylor Morrison, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based homebuilder.