Warren Buffett is rebalancing Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio as he approaches the end of his tenure as chief executive. The latest US regulatory filings, as reported by Bloomberg, reveal a familiar trend: increased selling in long-time favourites like Apple and Bank of America, alongside a notable new move - a multi-billion-dollar stake in Alphabet.
It’s a steady shift rather than a dramatic overhaul, but it hints at where Berkshire wants to place its conviction in the years ahead.
A new Google bet in the Berkshire mix
Berkshire disclosed a holding of 17.85 million Alphabet shares, worth about $4.9 billion at Friday’s close. For a company that long avoided most tech stocks, Alphabet’s addition stands out, especially as Google doubles down on AI, cloud, and data infrastructure.
The buy also lands as Buffett, 95, prepares to step down as CEO after nearly six decades, adding extra weight to every portfolio decision made in his final stretch.
Apple stake keeps shrinking, but still dominates
Alongside the Alphabet purchase, Bloomberg reported, Berkshire further reduced its Apple stake, cutting its holding from 280 million shares to 238.2 million during the quarter. This continues a multi-quarter trim that has seen Berkshire sell nearly three-quarters of the Apple shares it once owned.
Even so, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest equity investment at $60.7 billion, accounting for nearly a quarter of its entire stock portfolio.
Bank of America and D.R. Horton also see exits
Berkshire also pared back 37.2 million shares of Bank of America, lowering its stake to 7.7 percent. The lender remains its third-largest holding, but Buffett has been reducing exposure amid profitability pressures and a tougher regulatory and credit environment for US banks.
Meanwhile, Berkshire fully exited homebuilder D.R. Horton, signalling a continued pullback from housing-linked bets.
Deploying a record cash pile
Behind these moves is Berkshire’s staggering $382 billion cash reserve, the largest in its history. Buffett has been selectively deploying it in recent months, including:
- a $9.7 billion deal to acquire Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemical unit
- a $1.6 billion stake in UnitedHealth Group
The Alphabet buy fits into a pattern of measured but meaningful capital deployment, even as Berkshire keeps most of its cash unused.
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