Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Just Bought $4.5 Billion of the Oracle of Omaha's Favorite Stock (No, Not Alphabet!)

Aside from artificial intelligence juggernaut Nvidia, no company garners more attention during earnings season than Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB). The trillion-dollar conglomerate that now-retired CEO Warren Buffett helped build is closely watched by value seekers and long-term investors.

While most of Wall Street has homed in on CEO Greg Abel ending a 14-quarter streak of net stock sales that began in the fourth quarter of 2022, the bigger story from the latest quarterly report is what, specifically, Berkshire's new boss has been buying.

Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO on Dec. 31. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Berkshire's new boss just piled into the Oracle of Omaha's favorite stock

According to regulatory filings, no stock has been purchased more aggressively since Abel took the reins than Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG). After Buffett initiated this position last year, Abel more than tripled Berkshire's stake in Alphabet during the first quarter and added another $10 billion via private placement in the second quarter. It's now Berkshire's No. 5 holding.

But this isn't the stock that should have investors buzzing.

During the second quarter, Abel piled into the stock that Warren Buffett has consistently held nearest and dearest to his heart... Berkshire Hathaway.

BERKSHIRE IS BUYING STOCKS AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2022:

- Bought $25B of stock, sold $3.7B

- Bought Taylor Morrison Home for $6.8B

- Invested $10B in Alphabet $GOOGL during Q2, now a top 5 holding

- Even bought $4.5B of their own stock back

berkshire's back

-- amit (@amitisinvesting) August 8, 2026

On the final page of Berkshire's latest quarterly report, before the executive certifications, you'll find a detailed monthly record of share buyback activity. Although no shares were repurchased in April, Abel stepped on the accelerator in May and June. In aggregate, approximately $4.53 billion in Berkshire's Class A (BRKA) and Class B (BRKB) shares were bought back last quarter.

This marks the largest quarterly buyback total for Berkshire in five years and brings the total amount spent on buybacks since Berkshire's board amended the repurchasing rules in mid-2018 to more than $82 billion.

Image source: Getty Images.

Berkshire's more than $82 billion in buybacks serves several purposes

For those of you wondering why Berkshire's former and current bosses have spent in excess of $82 billion repurchasing their company's shares, it boils down to three factors.

To begin with, Berkshire Hathaway doesn't pay a dividend. This makes a steady diet of share buybacks, when prudent, the most logical way to reward shareholders. Reducing the company's outstanding share count over time can incrementally increase the ownership stakes of Berkshire's shareholders. In other words, it incentivizes a long-term mindset, thereby reducing volatility.

Secondly, share repurchases can increase earnings per share (EPS) for companies with steady or growing net income, such as Berkshire Hathaway. Buybacks can help Berkshire stand out to fundamentally focused value investors.

But most importantly, Berkshire's more than $82 billion in share repurchases since July 2018 is akin to its former and current bosses betting on themselves and the future of their company. Buffett designed Berkshire to be cyclical and take advantage of long-winded periods of economic growth. With Abel sharing a similar value-focused, long-term approach to Berkshire's owned assets and investment portfolio, these buybacks are the ultimate vote of confidence.

As long as Berkshire Hathaway stock hovers around or below a 50% premium to its book value, Abel will likely be a buyer.

Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.