Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Is About to Drop a Bombshell on Wall Street Later Today, Aug. 14
Key Points
Greg Abel ended Berkshire's 14-quarter streak of net stock sales by purchasing approximately $19.8 billion more in equities than were sold in the second quarter.
Form 13F filings allow investors to track which stocks Wall Street's savviest money managers have been buying and selling -- and Berkshire's will be filed after the closing bell today, Aug. 14.
Although Abel was a big-time buyer of Alphabet stock in the second quarter, there are other clues as to where he put Berkshire's capital to work.
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The trillion-dollar conglomerate that Warren Buffett built entered uncharted territory in 2026. Following the Oracle of Omaha's Dec. 31 retirement as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB), the company's day-to-day operations and the oversight of its $355 billion investment portfolio fell to his successor, Greg Abel.
Abel has wasted little time making his mark. During the first quarter, he completely revamped Berkshire's portfolio by jettisoning 16 holdings and reducing six others. But he didn't stop there.
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Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO on Dec. 31. Image source: The Motley Fool.
According to Berkshire's second-quarter operating results, released this past weekend, Abel ended a 14-quarter streak of net stock sales that began with Buffett in late 2022. The consolidated cash flow statement shows that $23.47 billion in equity securities were purchased compared to just $3.69 billion in sales.
This roughly $19.8 billion in net purchases is of massive interest to Wall Street and investors -- and in mere hours, we're going to know exactly what Warren Buffett's protégé has been buying.
Alphabet has been on the menu, but what else?
Today, Aug. 14, marks the deadline for institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management to file Form 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A 13F provides a concise snapshot of the stocks Wall Street's savviest money managers have been buying and selling. In this case, it'll cover buying and selling activity for the June-ended quarter.
Berkshire always releases its 13F after the closing bell (usually around 4:30 p.m. ET) to avoid causing a stir during normal trading hours.
One thing we know for certain is that Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG) played a meaningful role in Abel's second-quarter stock purchases.
BREAKING: Berkshire Hathaway has begun deploying the $397.4 billion cash pile that Warren Buffett accumulated for 14 consecutive quarters.
-- The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 8, 2026
Details include:
1. Instead of continuing stock sales, Berkshire was a net buyer of equities in Q2 with $19.8 billion in net purchases
2....
During the March-ended quarter, Abel more than tripled Berkshire's stake in Alphabet's Class A shares (GOOGL) and opened a new position in the Class C shares (GOOG). On June 1, Berkshire announced that it would purchase an additional $10 billion in Alphabet shares ($5 billion of each share class) via private placement. Alphabet's virtual monopoly in internet search and its leadership in the artificial intelligence applications arena are clearly exciting Abel and his investment team.
But this represents only $10 billion of the $23.47 billion that Abel deployed in the June-ended quarter, begging the question: What else has Berkshire's new boss been buying?
Historically, Warren Buffett and his team have built up core and mid-sized positions over several quarters. For instance, Berkshire has purchased shares of The New York Times Co. in each of the two previously reported quarters, as well as shares of Lennar in three of the previous five quarters (through March 31). If the past helps to predict the future, both companies are logical buy candidates.
The other clue can be seen in the breakout of Berkshire's cost basis by category. Here's a side-by-side of Berkshire's investment cost basis from the first quarter (Q1) to the second quarter (Q2) in its three reported categories:
- Banks, insurance, and finance: $14.685 billion (Q1) / $15.279 billion (Q2)
- Consumer products: $8.847 billion (Q1) / $8.65 billion (Q2)
- Commercial, industrial, and other: $61.063 billion (Q1) / $82.142 billion (Q2)
From the look of things, Abel was a seller of consumer product stocks, a modest buyer of financials, and a big-time buyer of commercial, industrial, and other companies. Tech-driven companies like Alphabet fall into the "other" category.
After the closing bell today, Berkshire's boss is primed to drop a bombshell on Wall Street.
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Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, Lennar, and The New York Times Co. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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