Warren Buffett Says Berkshire's Surprise Alphabet Bet Was His Idea

• Buffett added that his successor and Berkshire CEO, Greg Abel, is the “decider,” while saying they both talk all the time.
• He cautioned that one of the key issues facing Alphabet and its competitors is the substantial capital investments required in the AI segment.
• Buffett added that Apple remains one of his favorite stocks, even after Tim Cook’s decision to step down as CEO of the iPhone maker.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) Chairman Warren Buffett said on Wednesday that the company’s big investment in Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) was his idea.

During an interview with CNBC, Buffett said that he was the driving force behind Berkshire investing $10 billion in Alphabet stock through a private placement.

“I initiated it,” Buffett said, while adding that the trick in investing is to find businesses that are going to earn high returns on capital for an extended period of time.

Berkshire’s Class B shares were up 0.1% in Wednesday’s pre-market trade, while Alphabet’s Class A shares were down 0.6%.

Buffett Says Greg Abel Is The ‘Decider’

Buffett added that his successor and Berkshire CEO Greg Abel is the “decider,” while saying that they both talk all the time.

“I am not doing anything that he doesn’t approve of. He’s not doing anything I don’t approve of,” he said.

Berkshire first disclosed a $4.3 billion stake in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, making it the investment giant’s 10th largest equity holding at the end of September 2025.

GOOGL Not Among Buffett’s Top 5 Favorites Despite The Investment

Buffett added that Alphabet is still not among his top five favorites despite the large investment that Berkshire made recently.

“I would say that I don’t like it as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own,” he said.

He also cautioned that one of the key issues facing Alphabet as well as its competitors is the large capital investments required in the AI segment.

“The real question with Google and all of its competitors now, because they’re all laying out hundreds of billions, and that’s real money. That’s the game they’re playing now. They weren’t playing that game with computer software,” he said.

AAPL Remains One Of Buffett’s Favorites

Buffett said that Apple Inc. (AAPL) remains one of his favorite stocks even after Tim Cook’s decision to step down as the iPhone maker’s CEO.

“I know more about Apple than I knew many years ago. If you’re Apple, you’ve got very very smart people all over the world shooting and trying to figure out how to make sure that Apple’s future, the future is as bright as the past,” he added.

John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, will take over as the CEO on Sept. 1, 2026.

Apple remains one of the largest equity holdings of Berkshire, accounting for about 22% of the company’s portfolio as of March 2026.

What Retail Traders Think Of BRKA Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Berkshire trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

BRK.B stock is down 2% year-to-date, while GOOGL stock is up 15%. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 20% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 29%.

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