Berkshire is buying again: The latest portfolio moves investors should watch

Key points:

• Berkshire turned buyer again in Q2, purchasing about $23.5 billion of equities versus $3.7 billion of sales and ending 14 straight quarters as a net stock seller.
• Alphabet and Berkshire itself were key Q2 moves, while recent quarters have also brought new exposure to Delta, Macy’s, OxyChem and Taylor Morrison.
• The bigger signal is capital deployment: After years of building cash, Berkshire is increasingly finding opportunities across technology, travel, industrials and housing.

Berkshire Hathaway’s second-quarter results delivered a clear message for investors: after years of building cash, the company is starting to put more of it to work.

In Q2, Berkshire bought around $23.5 billion of equities and sold just $3.7 billion, ending 14 consecutive quarters as a net seller of stocks. Cash and Treasury holdings remain enormous at roughly $365 billion, but the direction has changed.

What changed in Q2?

Alphabet: conviction rises

Alphabet was the standout move. Berkshire invested another roughly $10 billion in Google’s parent during the quarter, taking it into Berkshire’s largest listed holdings.

The investment gives Berkshire greater exposure to digital advertising, cloud and AI, while still fitting its traditional preference for businesses with dominant market positions, strong cash flows and durable competitive advantages.

For investors, the more interesting message may be that technology increasingly fits the Berkshire playbook when quality and valuation line up.

Berkshire itself: buybacks return

Berkshire also repurchased around $4.5 billion of its own shares during Q2, followed by further purchases in July. It was Berkshire's biggest quarter of buybacks in nearly two years, and 19 times the $235 million it spent in the first quarter. 

That is an important signal: Berkshire only buys back shares when management believes they trade below conservatively estimated intrinsic value.

The bigger shift has been building

Q2 may be the clearest sign that Berkshire is deploying capital again, but the change has been building over the past few quarters.

• OxyChem: Berkshire completed its roughly $9.4 billion acquisition of Occidental Petroleum’s chemicals business in January, adding another sizeable industrial business to the group.
• Delta Air Lines: Berkshire disclosed a significant new position earlier this year, marking a notable return to airlines after exiting the sector during the pandemic.
• Macy’s: A much smaller new holding, but still an interesting value-oriented addition given the retailer’s restructuring and asset story.
• Taylor Morrison: In July, Berkshire completed its $6.8 billion acquisition of the US homebuilder, deepening its exposure to housing alongside Clayton Homes and its existing building-products businesses.

Together, the recent moves point to a broader mix of opportunities across technology, travel, industrials and housing.

Want to explore the Berkshire portfolio stocks? See our The Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio stocks shortlist for the key listed holdings.

Investor takeaway

For investors who follow Berkshire, the most useful question is no longer simply “what does Berkshire own?”

It is increasingly “where is Berkshire putting new money?”

After several years when cash accumulation dominated the story, 2026 is starting to look different. Berkshire is buying equities again, acquiring whole businesses and repurchasing its own shares.

That makes the latest portfolio changes particularly worth watching — not as trades to copy blindly, but as a source of ideas for investors looking for durable businesses, strong cash flows and long-term value.

Risk: Berkshire’s purchase prices, time horizon and ability to tolerate drawdowns can be very different from those of individual investors. Its portfolio is best used as an idea-generation watchlist rather than a blueprint to replicate.