End of 14 consecutive quarters of net selling! Berkshire's Q2 "spending spree": Google jumps to the third-largest holding, with heavy bets on Delta Air Lines and real estate stocks

According to the disclosure by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Berkshire Hathaway has submitted its second-quarter holdings report (13F) for the period ending June 30, 2026.

Statistics show that the total market value of Berkshire Hathaway's holdings in the second quarter was $299 billion, compared to $263 billion in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, Berkshire Hathaway added one new stock to its portfolio and increased its holdings in seven stocks. At the same time, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings in six stocks and completely sold out of one stock. Notably, the top ten holdings of Berkshire Hathaway accounted for 88.47% of the total market value.

Changes in Holdings

This marks the second full quarter since Abel took over as CEO from Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Delta Air Lines (DAL.US) by 17.5 million shares, bringing the value of its holdings to $5.37 billion as of the end of June. Additionally, Abel increased its holdings in Alphabet (GOOGL.US) by 48.1 million shares, making Alphabet the third-largest holding of Berkshire Hathaway, valued at $37.8 billion as of mid-year.

Significant Increase in Alphabet Holdings

As of the end of June, Berkshire Hathaway (currently led by CEO Greg Abel) held approximately 106 million shares of Alphabet (Class A + Class C), valued at $37.9 billion. This holding increased by 83% in the second quarter, making Alphabet the third-largest stock holding of the Omaha-based company (by market value), surpassing Coca-Cola (KO.US) and trailing only Apple (AAPL.US) and American Express (AXP.US), which account for 22.04% and 17.14% of the portfolio, respectively.

This increase was primarily driven by the $10 billion private equity acquisition announced in early June, when Alphabet sought new funding to support its massive artificial intelligence infrastructure development. This indicates that Berkshire purchased approximately $7 billion worth of Alphabet stock in the open market. Current Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett told the media that he has always been optimistic about Alphabet and has received support from Abel

Betting on Aviation and Real Estate

Secondly, Berkshire Hathaway continues to increase its investment in the aviation industry, which has always been a favorite of Buffett. The company's holdings in Delta Air Lines increased by 44% this quarter, reaching 57.3 million shares valued at approximately $5.4 billion as of the end of June. In the first quarter of 2020, due to the rampant COVID-19 pandemic and a significant reduction in air travel, Buffett sold shares of Delta Air Lines and three other airlines at a loss early in the pandemic, but soon after, he repurchased shares of Delta Air Lines.

In addition, housing is another cyclical industry that Berkshire Hathaway has increased its holdings in, with the company boosting its stake in Lennar Corporation (LEN.US) Class A shares by nearly 30% to 13.1 million shares, valued at approximately $1.19 billion; at the same time, its holdings in Class B shares also grew by 25% to about 298,000 shares. Berkshire Hathaway also disclosed a small new position in D.R. Horton (DHI.US), holding 3,600 shares valued at approximately $580,000 as of the end of June.

Berkshire Hathaway completed the acquisition of Taylor Morrison (TMHC.US), a residential builder based in Scottsdale, Arizona, for $6.8 billion during the quarter.

In terms of other new holdings, Berkshire Hathaway's stake in Macy's (M.US) increased by 142%, but due to its relatively small size, the actual increase in value was only about $100 million.

Continued Reduction in Financial Stocks

In recent quarters, Berkshire Hathaway has been reducing its holdings in financial stocks, and this trend continues. The company reduced its stake in Ally Financial (ALLY.US) by 7% and cut its holdings in Capital One (COF.US) by 58%.

The reduction in its stake in Bank of America (BAC.US) was smaller at 5.9%, but due to the large size of its holdings, this reduction resulted in a decrease in value of approximately $1.7 billion, making it the largest single reduction in value for the quarter. After eight consecutive quarters of reductions, Berkshire Hathaway has decreased its holdings in Bank of America by 53%

In addition, from the changes in holding ratios, Berkshire significantly reduced its holdings in Kroger (KR.US), Nucor (NUE.US), and DaVita (DVA.US) in the second quarter, and completely exited its position in Constellation Brands (STZ.US).

Berkshire ends net stock sales, short sellers dissatisfied with cash reserves decline

Berkshire Hathaway has ended a long-standing net stock selling situation, turning into a stock buyer in the second quarter with a net purchase of nearly $20 billion. Prior to the last three months, Berkshire Hathaway had net sold stocks for 14 consecutive quarters. As of the end of June, the conglomerate's cash reserves decreased from a record $397.4 billion three months ago to $365.5 billion, as Berkshire Hathaway began to invest more funds into operations through investments and stock buybacks.

When Berkshire Hathaway announced its second-quarter results, it stated that the company spent about $4.5 billion repurchasing its own shares during this period, while also net increasing its holdings in other stocks by nearly $20 billion.

During Buffett's tenure, trading activity has been relatively subdued, and Buffett often complains about high market valuations. Meanwhile, Abel has led several multi-billion dollar transactions during this period.

Michael Burry, the real-life inspiration for the movie "The Big Short," expressed dissatisfaction with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel's approach to reducing the company's massive cash reserves in the second quarter. Burry posted on Substack on Sunday, stating that his "biggest concern" is that Warren Buffett's successor will not have the same patience to wait for the "best pitch."

Now, he wrote, "I believe my concerns have come true. Therefore, I no longer consider Berkshire Hathaway an attractive investment for the future."

Burry acknowledged that "the cash reserves have not been consumed too much," with approximately $360 billion still being a substantial amount. However, he worries that Abel's "first step looks more like framework building rather than investment action." Burry clarified that he is not suggesting anyone short Berkshire Hathaway.

For years, the key to Buffett's investment strategy has been maintaining sufficient discipline to wait for excellent investment opportunities, just as baseball legend Ted Williams would wait for a "big pitch" that he could easily hit