NEW YORK — Berkshire Hathaway reversed a three-and-a-half-year trend in the second quarter of 2026, becoming a net buyer of equities with $19.78 billion in net purchases and ending a 14-quarter streak in which the company sold more stocks than it acquired.
Berkshire purchased $23.47 billion in equity securities during Q2 and sold $3.69 billion, a sharp reversal from the first quarter of 2026, when it reported $8.15 billion in net equity selling.
A $10 billion private placement in Alphabet drove 42.6 percent of gross equity purchases, making it the clearest catalyst for the quarter's buying surge. Berkshire already held both Alphabet Class A and Class C shares; the private placement substantially increased that position, elevating Alphabet into the top five equity holdings. American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Alphabet now represent 66 percent of Berkshire's $323.78 billion equity-securities portfolio.
The Alphabet transaction was a large, negotiated investment in a business Berkshire already understood—not a broad market allocation. That distinction matters: it signals conviction in a specific company, not a judgment that overall stock valuations have become attractive.
Beyond Alphabet, approximately $13.47 billion of Q2 equity purchases remain unaccounted for. An increased stake in Tokio Marine is among the known additions contributing to that figure.
Despite the buying, Berkshire finished June 30 with $359.2 billion in insurance-and-other cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury bills. The company also repurchased $4.53 billion of its own shares during the quarter.
Berkshire spent recent years building one of corporate America's largest cash reserves, waiting for investments large enough to absorb meaningful capital at acceptable prices. The Q2 activity indicates Chief Executive Greg Abel found several. Alphabet shares traded at $357.52, up 0.9 percent.
