Greg Abel, Warren Buffett’s designated successor as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, poured roughly $17 billion into Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) during the second quarter, according to Berkshire’s Q2 2026 13F filing released last week. The disclosure, showing 24,541,369 new GOOGL shares and 23,603,218 new GOOG shares, is the clearest window yet into how Abel is deploying capital. When read alongside a Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) trim, a Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) build, and a new D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) starter, five themes emerge.
1. Alphabet Is Now a Core Berkshire Holding
The combined Alphabet stake elevated the stock into Berkshire’s top holdings. The timing fits the fundamentals. Alphabet reported Q2 2026 revenue growth of 24.2% year over year and trades at a trailing P/E of 17 with a PEG ratio of 0.937. Shares are up 68.7% over the past year and closed at $344.00 on August 17.
2. The AI Thesis Has a Cloud Backbone
Abel is underwriting Google Cloud alongside search. Google Cloud revenue grew 82% year over year to $24.77 billion in Q2, and management disclosed a cloud backlog of $514 billion. Prediction markets assign a 71.5% probability that the next Gemini Pro ships by October 31, with a 91.4% probability it debuts at an Arena score of 1480 or higher. That is the near-term catalyst set Abel is underwriting, and the same buildout story runs through the power, cooling, and networking suppliers we profiled in a free report on the AI infrastructure names that are not chipmakers.
3. Bank of America Trim Signals Selective Financials Caution
Berkshire sold 30,230,150 shares of Bank of America, yet the stake remained the fifth largest at $27.54 billion, or 9.20% of the portfolio. Bank of America stock has advanced 16.2% year to date and 36.1% over the past year. Abel is booking gains while retaining the stock as a top-five holding.
4. Airline Re-Entry via Delta
Berkshire added 17,510,544 shares of Delta Air Lines, building the position to $5.37 billion. This reverses Buffett’s 2020 exit from airlines. Delta guided FY2026 adjusted EPS to $6.50 to $7.50 with premium revenue up 17% and loyalty up 19%. Shares are up 26.2% year to date, and the stock trades at a forward P/E of 14.
5. Housing Optimism Through Homebuilders
A new starter position of 3,564 shares of D.R. Horton accompanied a 3,012,099-share increase in Lennar (NYSE: LEN), lifting that stake to $1.16 billion. Lennar is down 34.4% over the past year, and D.R. Horton trades at a forward P/E of 13 against an analyst target of $162.92. Abel is buying weakness where balance sheets are strong.
The Takeaway
For a retirement-focused investor, the Alphabet purchase is the signal worth studying. Berkshire rarely stakes $17 billion on a single quarter’s move. The entry point, roughly 17x forward earnings for a business compounding revenue in the mid-20s, resembles the Apple thesis in its early innings: dominant cash generation acquired at a market multiple. The homebuilder and airline moves are secondary bets on U.S. economic resilience. Following his lead requires accepting Abel’s holding period, which is measured in years.
Data Sources
- Berkshire Hathaway Q2 2026 13F Filing provided verified share counts, position values, and portfolio weights.
- The filing confirmed the combined Alphabet purchase as Q2’s largest active dollar move.
- The filing documented the Bank of America trim and the new D.R. Horton starter position.
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