Berkshire Hathaway's $4.3B Alphabet (GOOGL) Investment: AI Focus Amid Valuation Concerns

Berkshire Hathaway acquired 17.85 million shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) in Q3 2025, a $4.3B stake making it the 10th largest holding (~1.4% of equity portfolio) [1][3]. Concurrently, Berkshire trimmed Apple (AAPL) by ~15% (selling ~41M shares) [4][5]. Alphabet’s Q3 results showed AI-driven growth: Google Cloud revenue up 34% YoY, AI search queries doubled [6][7]. Internal data indicates Alphabet’s net profit margin at 32.23% and ROE at35% [0].

• Berkshire’s $4.3B bet aligns with Alphabet’s AI momentum, despite its record $381.7B cash position [1].
• Alphabet’s P/E ratio (27.65x) is reasonable relative to 50.07% YTD growth [0].
• Communication Services sector (Alphabet’s home) outperformed Tech by 1.52% on Nov18 [0].

: Alphabet’s $3.5B EC fine (Q3) [6], AI competition (Microsoft Copilot, AWS AI) [7], valuation concerns (YTD 50% gain) [0].
: AI Cloud growth (>200% YoY generative AI revenue) [7], Berkshire’s endorsement driving investor sentiment [3].

• Investment size: $4.3B (17.85M shares)
• Alphabet AI metrics: Cloud up34%, AI search queries doubled
• Market impact: GOOGL +18% (Oct-Nov), sector outperformance
• Critical risks: Regulatory fines, AI competition