Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel Dumps Amazon and Loads Up on Alphabet. Is It the Better Buy?

Berkshire Hathaway's incoming CEO Greg Abel tripled the conglomerate's Alphabet position while exiting Amazon shares in Q1, according to regulatory filings. The move marks a clear bet on GOOGL over AMZN as Abel prepares to succeed Warren Buffett.

The numbers favor Alphabet across key metrics. GOOGL posted 22% revenue growth versus Amazon's 17% in the most recent quarter. Operating margins tell a starker story: Alphabet operates at 36% compared to Amazon's 13.4%. On valuation, GOOGL trades at a P/E of 27.6 against AMZN's 28.4, offering faster growth at a lower multiple.

Amazon maintains advantages in scale and cloud dominance through AWS, but Abel's portfolio shift suggests he's prioritizing profitability and efficiency over size. The contrast in operating margins—nearly three times higher for Alphabet—reflects Google's advertising-driven model versus Amazon's lower-margin retail operations.

Berkshire's Form 13F will show the exact position sizes when fully disclosed, but the directional move is unambiguous: a concentrated bet on GOOGL's margin profile and growth trajectory.