Berkshire trims Apple, buys $4.3 billion Alphabet stake in last filing before Buffett steps down
- Marijan Hassan - Tech Journalist
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
In a move that signals a strategic pivot in its massive equity portfolio, Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, has significantly reduced its stake in Apple while initiating a new, multi-billion-dollar position in Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
The changes were revealed in the company's Q3 2025 regulatory filing (Form 13F) submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, last week. The filing is particularly noteworthy as it is the final one detailing the full equity portfolio before Buffett steps down as CEO at the end of the year.
The big tech shuffle
Berkshire sold roughly 15% of its Apple holdings during the third quarter, reducing its stake from 280 million shares to approximately 238.2 million shares. Despite this reduction, Apple remains, by far, the largest single holding in Berkshire's portfolio, valued at over $60 billion.
However, the sale marks a continued trimming trend that began in late 2023, which analysts often attribute to either tax considerations or a desire to rebalance a position that has grown too large due to Apple's soaring stock price.
Simultaneously, the conglomerate disclosed a substantial new investment in Alphabet, reporting ownership of 17.85 million shares valued at approximately $4.3 billion as of September 30. This makes Alphabet Berkshire's tenth-largest U.S. stock holding.
A new tech philosophy?
The investment in Alphabet is particularly striking given Warren Buffett's long-held aversion to "pure" technology companies, which he once avoided, citing an inability to understand their competitive moats fully. He famously described Apple as a "consumer products company" due to the iPhone's dominance, which makes the new Alphabet stake - a company driven by AI, cloud computing, and digital advertising - a significant shift.
While it is unknown whether the purchase was executed by Buffett himself or by his portfolio managers, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, the move is widely seen as a nod to the growing importance of the AI sector and a sign of the investment philosophy that will guide the firm under incoming CEO Greg Abel.
