Core Insights - Berkshire Hathaway has made a significant investment in Alphabet, acquiring 17.8 million shares of its Class A stock at an average price of $209 per share, totaling $4.3 billion, which is now valued at $5.6 billion, representing 1.8% of Berkshire's portfolio [1][2] - This investment is notable as Warren Buffett has historically avoided tech stocks, only recently investing in blue-chip tech companies like Apple and Amazon [3] - The decision to invest in Alphabet comes despite Berkshire's recent trend of selling top stocks and increasing cash reserves, indicating a potential shift in strategy [4] Alphabet's Current Challenges and Opportunities - Alphabet has faced significant challenges, including declining ad sales due to a weak macro environment, competition from OpenAI's ChatGPT, and regulatory pressures from the U.S. Department of Justice [5] - A recent court ruling favored Google, allowing it to retain its Chrome browser and only imposing a lighter penalty, which positively impacted its stock price [6] - Google Cloud has shown strong performance with a 34% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 2025, attributed to the AI boom, indicating a positive trend for Alphabet's cloud services [7] Future Growth Potential - Analysts project Alphabet's revenue and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 13% and 17% from 2024 to 2027, driven by its advertising and cloud businesses [10] - The stock is considered reasonably valued at 28 times next year's earnings, suggesting potential for future appreciation [10] - Berkshire's investment may reflect a recognition of Alphabet's long-term growth potential in advertising, cloud, and AI sectors, rather than a strong bullish stance on the AI market [12][13]
Why Warren Buffett Is Quietly Increasing His Stake in Alphabet