Berkshire Just Dumped $24 Billion in Stocks and Triples Alphabet Stake

TLDR

• Berkshire bought $16B and sold $24B in stocks in Q1 2026, its most active quarter in recent memory
• New CEO Greg Abel exited 16 positions including Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, and UnitedHealth Group
• Berkshire tripled its Alphabet stake to 58 million shares, now worth ~$23B and a top-5 holding
• The sales are linked to the exit of former manager Todd Combs, who left for JPMorgan Chase in December
• Buffett may have made a small personal bet on Macy’s, buying a 1% stake worth ~$55M

Under new CEO Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway had one of its busiest quarters for stock activity in recent history. The company bought $16 billion in stocks and sold $24 billion in Q1 2026, leaving its equity portfolio worth more than $300 billion.

Abel took over as CEO on January 1, 2026, after Warren Buffett retired from the role. Buffett remains chairman and still plays a role in investment decisions.

The most eye-catching move was Berkshire tripling its stake in Alphabet. The company increased its holdings from 18 million shares to 58 million shares, making it Berkshire’s fifth-largest holding at roughly $23 billion. Alphabet stock is up 25% this year.

Alphabet Inc., GOOGL

Alphabet holds between 89% and 93% of global internet search traffic over the past decade. Its cloud division, Google Cloud, has also been growing fast, with revenue up 63% year-over-year and cloud margins sitting at 33%.

Why Berkshire Sold So Many Stocks

Abel completely exited 16 positions during the quarter. The list includes Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, Domino’s Pizza, UnitedHealth Group, Constellation Brands, Aon, and Pool, among others.

A large portion of the sales are tied to the departure of Todd Combs, a longtime Berkshire investment manager who left in December to join JPMorgan Chase. Barron’s estimates the liquidated Combs positions totaled around $14 billion, roughly 5% of the portfolio he oversaw.

Some investors have criticized the decision to sell those positions, pointing out that companies like Visa and Mastercard are solid businesses with strong outlooks. Others argue it made little sense to hold stocks without the manager who originally picked them.

The $24 billion in total sales came with a tax bill of around $2 billion for the quarter.

Berkshire’s Market View and Remaining Holdings

Berkshire has now been a net seller of stocks for 14 consecutive quarters, totaling roughly $195 billion in net sales. The Buffett Indicator, which measures market cap relative to GDP, recently hit a record 235%, up from a long-term average of 88%.

Ted Weschler, Berkshire’s other investment manager, now oversees about 6% of the portfolio. His likely holdings include Davita, Sirius XM, Kroger, and Capital One. The new $3 billion Delta Air Lines position is believed to be a Weschler pick, matching the size of his increased investment authority this year.

Berkshire also bought a small stake in Macy’s, picking up three million shares for about $55 million. In a March 31 CNBC interview, Buffett hinted he had made “one tiny purchase,” which may have been the Macy’s investment. The retailer’s real estate holdings could be the draw.

Berkshire’s cash pile currently stands at $380 billion.

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