Warren Buffett Regretted Not Investing in Alphabet Earlier. New CEO Greg Abel Won't Have the Same Worry.

Even as one of the greatest investors of all time, Warren Buffett made mistakes and has regrets. One of those regrets involved Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), which may sound surprising, given that Buffett mostly shied away from tech investments.

Still, he said in an interview with CNBC that he had "made a mistake" by not investing in the tech giant sooner. Based on Greg Abel's moves thus far as the new CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB), however, he's making sure Berkshire won't miss out on any future gains from Alphabet.

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Berkshire doubles down on its Alphabet bet

Berkshire started its Alphabet position in the third quarter of 2025, purchasing roughly 18 million shares. Following that, as the new CEO, Abel added roughly 40 million shares to Berkshire's holdings in the first quarter of 2026. He then scooped up $10 billion worth of stock in a private placement deal in June, purchasing $5 billion in Class A shares and $5 billion in Class C shares.

Berkshire typically doesn't offer much commentary on its moves. But those investments, with Abel as CEO, still offer valuable insights not just about Alphabet but also about investing broadly in artificial intelligence (AI).

Validating the AI trade

The enthusiasm that defined the early stages of investing in AI has been more restrained in 2026 due to concerns about how much companies are spending. Alphabet, for example, expects its capital expenditures to fall between $195 billion and $205 billion this year.

The fear is that all the money being funneled into AI may take longer than expected to pay off or, even worse, not pay off at all. With Berkshire's investments in Alphabet, however, it's validation that AI is more than just a trend. According to forecasts from Statista, the global AI market is valued at just over $617 billion in 2026, but it is expected to jump to $1.2 trillion by 2032.

Also, an investment in Alphabet is a direct validation of the company. While Buffett may have viewed not investing in Alphabet earlier as a mistake, Berkshire's entire approach is disciplined investing. The conglomerate doesn't chase after previous opportunities it may have missed, as it takes stakes for the long haul. If it's investing in Alphabet today, it's an indication that it truly believes the investment will become more valuable over time.

Alphabet may seem like a boring investment idea, and it's fair to have some "Magnificent Seven" investing fatigue. But if it lives up to Abel's and Berkshire's vote of confidence, Alphabet could continue to meaningfully outperform the broader markets, the same as it has over the last five years. As of this writing, over the last five years, Alphabet stock is up roughly 164%, while the S&P 500 has climbed around 70% during the same time.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.