Berkshire Hathaway boosts Alphabet to a top three holding, ups Delta and housing bets

Berkshire Hathaway sharply increased its stake in Alphabet in the second quarter, vaulting the Google parent into its three biggest stock holdings. The conglomerate also added to bets on Delta Air Lines and homebuilders.

Berkshire, now operating under CEO Greg Abel, owned about 106 million Alphabet shares worth $37.9 billion at the end of June, according to a regulatory filing released Friday. The share count jumped 83% during the quarter, making Alphabet Berkshire’s third-largest U.S.-listed equity holding by market value, behind only Apple and American Express.

The increase largely reflects a $10 billion private stock purchase announced in early June as Alphabet sought fresh capital to finance its massive AI infrastructure buildout.

Warren Buffett, now chairman at Berkshire, told CNBC he had been behind the Alphabet bullishness with Abel’s support.

Berkshire also continued to build a sizable wager on the airline industry. Its Delta Air Lines position climbed 44% during the quarter to 57.3 million shares, valued at about $5.4 billion at the end of June. Berkshire had only recently returned to Delta after famously selling its airline holdings during the early days of the pandemic.

Housing was another area where Berkshire increased its exposure. The company boosted its stake in Lennar, while disclosing a tiny new position in D.R. Horton, holding 3,600 shares at the end of June.

Berkshire broke a long-running streak of stock sales, emerging as a net buyer of equities in the second quarter with nearly $20 billion in net purchases. Berkshire had been a net seller for 14 straight quarters before the latest period.

The conglomerate’s cash level fell to $365.5 billion at the end of June from a record $397.4 billion three months earlier, as the conglomerate began putting more of its capital to work through investments and share repurchases. The quarter also included the completion of Berkshire’s acquisition of Taylor Morrison.