Google gets ‘appreciation note’ from the world’s biggest investor, for the first time ever in 25 years

Berkshire Hathaway has taken a $4.3 billion stake in Google-parent Alphabet, lifting Alphabet’s shares nearly 7% to $293.40 in after-hours trading. The purchase makes Alphabet Berkshire’s tenth-largest U.S. stock holding and marks the conglomerate’s first-ever investment in Google since the company was founded in 1998. The move surprised investors, especially as Warren Buffett has long described Apple — Berkshire’s largest holding — as a consumer products company rather than a technology bet.

But the surprise didn’t end there. The recent 13F filing also showed that Berkshire has also slashed its holding in Apple. Berkshire’s Apple position was cut by almost 15%, or $10.6 billion, to around 238 million shares. Despite that Apple remains its biggest holding.

What made Warren Buffet finally invest in Google after 27 years

Analysts say Berkshire Hathaway’s first-ever purchase of Alphabet shares likely reflects a shift in how the company approaches technology investments as new leaders take on a larger role. According to a Reuters report, the Alphabet stake was likely selected by Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, the two investment managers who increasingly shape Berkshire’s $300 billion stock portfolio. Notably, both Combs and Weschler have previously pushed Berkshire toward tech names, including its Amazon investment in 2019.

The size of the investment suggests it had Warren Buffett’s approval, even as he prepares to step down as CEO at the end of the year.

A CNBC report quotes Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust Company, who said the Alphabet purchase may signal that Berkshire is broadening its comfort zone in technology as leadership moves to the next generation.

Analysts also point to Alphabet’s financial profile as a major factor. “We think Berkshire likely finds more comfort investing in GOOG over other tech plays given the high free cash flow potential of its core business coupled with an attractive valuation at about 22x 2027 EPS amid a healthy top-line growth trajectory,” said Angelo Zino, an Alphabet analyst at CFRA as quoted by CNBC.

Together, these factors—leadership transition, growing familiarity with the tech sector, and Alphabet’s strong cash generation and valuation—help explain why Berkshire bought Google shares for the first time in 27 years.

‘Hidden hints’ in Warren Buffet’s last letter

As Berkshire Hathaway makes rare moves into new technology holdings, Warren Buffett is simultaneously preparing shareholders for a leadership shift — but not a complete retreat. His Thanksgiving letter this year read: “I’m ‘going quiet.’” But the next line added an important nuance: “Sort of.”

Starting 2026, Greg Abel will write Berkshire’s annual shareholder letter and take questions at the company’s annual meeting. Buffett said he plans to join the directors on the arena floor rather than lead the event. Even so, he told investors he will “continue talking to you and my children about Berkshire via my annual Thanksgiving message.”

Another notable part about this year’s message was pages — it was more than a 7-page letter, double than the one in 2024. It also covered familiar Buffett themes: aging, luck, long relationships in Omaha, praise for Berkshire’s shareholders and executives, and clear confidence in Abel’s ability to run the company. He even shared a childhood memory of fingerprinting nuns while hospitalized because “someday a nun would go bad.