Greg Abel has started his run as Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive with a clear change in capital allocation. The company bought more stocks than it sold for the first time in 14 quarters. Berkshire Hathaway's cash and Treasury bills fell to $365 billion at the end of June from $380 billion at the end of March, excluding Treasury payables.
The reduction came after the company opened its coffers in the second quarter and bought $23.5 billion of stocks, while selling only $3.7 billion. That left Berkshire with nearly $20 billion of net equity purchases during the quarter. It was the company's first quarter as a net buyer of stocks in more than three years. The last time Berkshire had a larger net outlay on stocks was in the first quarter of 2022.
The buying came under Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as Berkshire's CEO at the start of this year. Berkshire also stepped up buybacks, repurchasing $4.5 billion of its own shares in the second quarter, compared with $235 million in the first quarter.
The new activity comes after a long period of caution. Between 2022 and 2024, Berkshire sold $172.9 billion more in stocks than it bought. The selling continued into Abel's early period as chief executive before the second-quarter shift.
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Alphabet has emerged as the most watched addition to Berkshire's portfolio. Berkshire revealed a $10 billion investment in the Google parent earlier this year, linked to Alphabet's artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.
The position grew fast, rising 224% in one quarter from 17.8 million shares at the end of 2025 to nearly 58 million shares in the first quarter, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Alphabet now makes up 8.8% of Berkshire's listed stock portfolio, making it the company's fifth-largest equity holding, according to Yahoo Finance.
Apple remains the largest holding, but its dominance has reduced sharply. The stock once accounted for more than half of Berkshire's equity portfolio. It now represents 20% of the $355 billion portfolio, according to Yahoo Finance.
American Express is the second-largest holding at 14.9%, followed by Coca-Cola at 9.8%, according to Yahoo Finance. Bank of America, once one of Berkshire's largest positions, has also been cut down. Berkshire has sold about 519 million shares of the bank since mid-2024, reducing the position by nearly half. Bank of America now accounts for 9.1% of the portfolio, making it the fourth-largest holding, according to Yahoo Finance.
The portfolio still carries a strong Buffett imprint. Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Bank of America remain among the top holdings. But Alphabet's rise into the top five shows where new money is moving under Abel.
Buffett has said he personally initiated the Alphabet position. Abel, however, is now running Berkshire's capital allocation decisions, and the size of the holding shows the company is willing to build a large position in a business tied to artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure.
Berkshire is still sitting on $365 billion in cash and Treasury bills. The company has enough room to keep buying stocks, repurchase more of its own shares or wait for lower prices.
