Berkshire Hathaway Increases Alphabet Stake to $36.6 Billion

Alphabet shares rose in premarket trading Thursday after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a major increase in its stake in the technology company and a federal judge issued a favorable ruling for Google in a key antitrust case. The stock traded near $337.12, up 0.63%, as investors reacted to the dual catalysts. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel confirmed in a Wednesday interview with CNBC that the conglomerate added approximately $17 billion worth of Alphabet stock during the second quarter. This purchase was the largest addition to Berkshire's portfolio during that period. The company now holds roughly 106 million shares across Alphabet's Class A and Class C stock, a position valued at approximately $36.6 billion. This makes Alphabet Berkshire's third-largest equity investment. Abel explained that the investment decision was informed by firsthand observations across Berkshire's diverse business holdings. "We have a lot of visibility from within our companies as to how we're using AI, what type of benefits it's delivering, so that brought incremental interest, and then we saw Google as a significant player," Abel told CNBC's Becky Quick.