When did Berkshire first start buying Alphabet stock?

Berkshire first disclosed a stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025, acquiring 17.8 million shares. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the position had grown to roughly 54 million shares.

What makes Alphabet a candidate for being a forever holding?

Alphabet has a near-monopoly position in online search, a diverse business model spanning search, YouTube, Android, cloud computing, and AI, meaningful footholds in both consumer and enterprise markets, and pays a modest dividend—all characteristics Berkshire has historically valued in permanent holdings.

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Berkshire Buys $10B of Alphabet Shares, Signals Long-Term Bet

Yahoo Finance AI2h ago5 min read

Key takeaway

Berkshire Hathaway is committing $10 billion（約1.6兆円） to purchase new Alphabet shares through a private placement, marking the latest in a series of growing purchases that suggest the conglomerate views Alphabet as a potential permanent holding. The deal reflects confidence in Alphabet's business diversity—spanning search, video, cloud, and AI—and its structural competitive advantages, qualities that have historically attracted Berkshire to forever stocks like Coca-Cola.

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3 Key Points

What happened
Berkshire Hathaway agreed to purchase $10 billion（約1.6兆円） of new Alphabet shares through a private placement, split evenly at $5 billion（約8000億円） across both Class A and Class C shares. This follows earlier purchases that grew Berkshire's stake from 17.8 million shares in Q3 2025 to roughly 54 million by Q1 2026.
Why it matters
The repeated and growing purchases suggest Berkshire sees Alphabet as a potential forever holding — a company it intends to own indefinitely. Alphabet's diverse business (search, YouTube, cloud, AI, autonomous driving), near-monopoly in search, and modest dividend align with the qualities Berkshire has historically favored in permanent positions like Coca-Cola and American Express.
What to watch
The $10 billion（約1.6兆円） private placement deal came after Alphabet announced plans to raise $80 billion（約13兆円） total in equity to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure. Berkshire's willingness to back this AI spending even as leadership transitioned shows continued conviction in Alphabet's long-term trajectory.

FAQ

When did Berkshire first start buying Alphabet stock?: Berkshire first disclosed a stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025, acquiring 17.8 million shares. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the position had grown to roughly 54 million shares.
What makes Alphabet a candidate for being a forever holding?: Alphabet has a near-monopoly position in online search, a diverse business model spanning search, YouTube, Android, cloud computing, and AI, meaningful footholds in both consumer and enterprise markets, and pays a modest dividend—all characteristics Berkshire has historically valued in permanent holdings.

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