31% of Berkshire Hathaway's Portfolio Is Riding on These 2 AI Stocks Under Greg Abel

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Alphabet has put substantial amounts of its cash hoard to work in AI in recent months.

  • Recent moves by Apple may have given Greg Abel good reason to stop selling the stock.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway ›

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) is no artificial intelligence (AI) stock, but it may be closer to one than most casual observers think. The exact percentage is also very broad. Amid the higher electricity demand driven by AI, one could argue that Berkshire Hathaway Energy is an AI company.

However, that does not help average investors, who cannot invest directly in that specific part of Berkshire. Instead, we only have its stock holdings with which to contend, but even when measured by those, the AI exposure is about 31%. Here are the two stocks and their role in Berkshire's portfolio.

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AI on a smartphone.

Image source: Getty Images.

Alphabet

Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) is the growth name among the two and the largest purchase during the Greg Abel era.

The purchases began under Warren Buffett in the third quarter of 2025, but most of the buying occurred after Abel took over, albeit with Buffett's encouragement. Between its two tickers, the company has bought nearly 106 million shares, increasing its portfolio share from 0% to just under 10% in less than one year.

Admittedly, Alphabet's staggering capital expenditures (capex), which amount to between $195 billion and $205 billion this year, may seem like a cause for concern. Nonetheless, Buffett and Abel likely overlooked that outlay when seeing the results. Over the last year, yearly revenue growth for the tech stock increased from 14% to 24%. With Google Cloud, it rose from 32% to 82%.

Moreover, Alphabet can afford it. Despite the massive capital outlay, it generated $53 billion in free cash flow over the last year. Also, at a 17 P/E ratio, it has become an affordable option to deploy Berkshire's massive hoard, which still amounts to nearly $366 billion.

Considering those factors and Alphabet's AI leadership, the move is likely to generate market-beating long-term returns over time.

Apple

The stock claiming just over 20% of Berkshire's portfolio is Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). This comes after Berkshire trimmed its stake from one that was approaching 50% of the portfolio.

Berkshire bought most of its shares when the stock's P/E was under 20, making Apple Berkshire Hathaway's single largest stock position. Admittedly, at 38 times earnings, Apple is likely more of a hold than a buy right now. Additionally, considering that Apple signed a deal to build its AI foundation models on Google Gemini's platform, it looks like a less appealing AI play.

However, investors should expect that Berkshire will likely remain a major holder of Apple stock. For one, Buffett later admitted that he was too quick to sell Apple earlier in the decade. That realization is probably why the selling stopped.

Moreover, given the enduring popularity of devices such as the iPhone and MacBook laptops, Apple should remain a player in the AI space. Also, thanks to upgrade cycles, Apple grew revenue by 16% year over year in the third quarter of its fiscal 2026 (ended June 27). That is up from the 6% it reported for all of fiscal 2025, and is likely a relief to those who worried Apple was losing its relevance.

Furthermore, the weak spot of the previous CEO Tim Cook's otherwise successful tenure was probably Apple's AI. Now, with John Ternus as CEO, Apple may have the opportunity to stage a comeback in this area.

Berkshire and its AI investments

Ultimately, Berkshire's decision to invest 31% of its stock portfolio in two key AI companies should serve its investors well.

The company's position in Alphabet has allowed it to find an AI stock at a bargain, giving it the opportunity to put a large part of its massive cash hoard to work. Alphabet emerged as an AI leader while maintaining positive free cash flows. That allows Berkshire to profit from the technology while protecting its downside in a worst-case scenario.

The company has dramatically reduced the size of its Apple position in recent years, though it remains the company's largest. Today, Apple has given Berkshire the ability to profit from its upgrade cycle while buying it time to forge an improved AI strategy under a new leader.

Berkshire must also make its way under new leadership. Nonetheless, given its approach to AI, the company should continue to grow by buying great companies at fair prices and positioning itself to benefit from its investments.

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Will Healy has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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