Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel has quadrupled the company's stake in Alphabet to around 86.4 million shares worth over $30 billion（約4.8兆円）, marking a significant departure from founder Warren Buffett's value-investing approach. Alphabet's July 22 earnings report will be a crucial test of this bet, as the company's growth depends heavily on AI-driven momentum in Google Search and Google Cloud, both of which posted strong first-quarter results driven by new AI features.
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Under new CEO Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway has quadrupled its Alphabet stake to around 86.4 million shares, now worth over $30 billion（約4.8兆円） and representing almost 9% of the conglomerate's equity portfolio. Alphabet is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 22.
Why it matters
Alphabet's Google Search revenue hit a record $60.4 billion（約9.7兆円） in Q1 (up 19% year-over-year) driven by AI features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google Cloud revenue soared 63% year-over-year to $20 billion（約3.2兆円） in Q1, fueled by its expanding portfolio of AI tools and services. Abel's aggressive Alphabet buying differs from Buffett's historical preference for undervalued stocks, so investors will scrutinize whether this early-stage AI bet pays off.
What to watch
Google Cloud's order backlog nearly doubled sequentially to $462 billion（約74兆円） in Q1 as customers waited for more data center capacity. Investors will monitor whether that backlog continued to surge in Q2, which could signal even faster future cloud revenue growth. Alphabet trades at a P/E ratio of 27.3, below the Nasdaq-100 tech index's 35.2, and its 1-year forward P/E is 24.6.
Greg Abel took over as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO in early 2026 following Warren Buffett's 60-year tenure, which delivered 19.7% compound annual growth. Abel has moved decisively to build Alphabet into Berkshire's fifth-largest portfolio position by quadrupling its stake to over $30 billion（約4.8兆円）. This represents a notable shift in strategy: where Buffett historically bought undervalued stocks, Abel has been accumulating Alphabet shares even as they reached new all-time highs this year.
Alphabet faces the classic tech vulnerability of its era—the threat that generative AI chatbots could disrupt search—but the company has responded by embedding AI features directly into Google Search itself. AI Overviews now appear above traditional search results, and AI Mode opens a conversational interface, both designed to keep users within Google's ecosystem. The results are already visible: Google Search posted record Q1 revenue of $60.4 billion（約9.7兆円） with its fourth consecutive quarter of accelerating growth. Google Cloud, meanwhile, is advancing as the company's fastest-growing segment, expanding not just through cloud infrastructure rental but also by offering ready-made language models like Gemini.
The stakes for Abel's leadership hinge on whether this AI momentum continues. Google Cloud's order backlog nearly doubled to $462 billion（約74兆円） in Q1 as customers waited for data center capacity; if that backlog continues to surge in Q2, it may signal Wall Street will need to price in even faster future cloud growth. Alphabet's valuation—at a P/E ratio of 27.3 against the Nasdaq-100 tech index's 35.2—remains reasonable, leaving room for upside if AI results sustain. July 22's earnings will be the first major test of whether Abel's $30 billion（約4.8兆円） bet was well-timed.
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