Berkshire Hathaway under CEO Greg Abel built Alphabet into a top-5 holding, marking the company's first major technology bet since Apple and a departure from Buffett's six-decade tech avoidance.

According to Q1 2026 13F filings, Berkshire Hathaway sold roughly 16 positions and aggressively built a stake in Alphabet (Google's parent company) that is now reportedly a top-5 holding. On March 4, 2026, Abel executed 17 separate Class A acquisitions in a price range of roughly $725,000 to $733,000 per share.

Alphabet's Q1 2026 revenue hit $109.90 billion, up 22% year over year. Google Cloud revenue grew 63% to $20.03 billion, with backlog nearly doubling quarter on quarter to over $460 billion. Gemini models are processing more than 16 billion tokens per minute via direct API, up 60% from the prior quarter, and paid subscriptions reached 350 million.

Alphabet trades at a trailing P/E near 17 with return on equity around 36% and operating margins above 32%. The stock is up 134% over one year. Abel's move signals willingness to define Berkshire's circle of competence more widely than Buffett did, with greater tolerance for high-quality compounders with growth profiles built on engineering rather than brands or balance sheets.

The question for long-term Berkshire holders is whether Abel treats Alphabet as a one-time exception or as the template for a new generation of Berkshire bets. Alphabet's 2026 capex guidance of $175 to $185 billion introduces a different risk profile than the insurance float and railroads that built Berkshire.