Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Jettisoned Amazon Earlier This Year and More Than 6X'd Berkshire's Stake in the "Apple" of His Eye

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel is rotating the conglomerate's $358 billion portfolio out of Amazon and into Alphabet, a move that reshapes the company's largest tech exposures.

Abel sold Berkshire's Amazon stake (AMZN) in Q1 2026. The article attributes the exit to likely profit-taking and the departure of investment manager Todd Combs. Both reasons are the article's characterization, not confirmed by Berkshire.

The bigger story is Alphabet. Abel lifted Berkshire's stake from $5.59 billion in December 2025 to $36.37 billion by September 2026, a 550% increase. The article cites three drivers behind the buildup: Alphabet's dominant position in search, strength at YouTube, and AI ambitions in Google Cloud.

Alphabet trades under several tickers, including GOOG, GOOGL, GOOGM and GOOGN. Berkshire trades as BRK.A and BRK.B. Apple (AAPL) features in the article's headline framing as another core holding, though the supplied text details only the Amazon exit and Alphabet buildup.

Interpretation: a roughly $30.8 billion increase in Alphabet exposure over the period, paired with a full exit from Amazon, suggests Abel is concentrating conviction rather than diversifying across mega-cap tech. The Combs departure may also mean fewer voices shaping portfolio decisions.