Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Started His Tenure With a Bang by Paring Down Bank of America and Making a Virtual Monopoly Berkshire's No. 3 Holding
Key Points
The Oracle of Omaha retired on Dec. 31, passing the baton and oversight of Berkshire Hathaway's $357 billion investment portfolio to Greg Abel.
Warren Buffett or Greg Abel has sold shares of Bank of America for eight consecutive quarters -- and profit-taking is likely only part of the story.
Berkshire's new boss spent $17 billion buying shares of a market leader with a well-defined sustainable moat and serious artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions during the second quarter.
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It's been a year of historic change for Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) and its shareholders. On Dec. 31, after more than half a century at the helm, Warren Buffett retired as CEO and passed the baton to his understudy, Greg Abel.
Abel hasn't wasted any time reshuffling Berkshire's $357 billion investment portfolio. The company's Form 13F filing on Aug. 14, detailing second-quarter trading activity, shows that Warren Buffett's successor pared down Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), yet again, and absolutely piled into one of Wall Street's most beloved virtual monopolies: Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG).
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Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO on Dec. 31. Image source: The Motley Fool.
Abel pared down Bank of America stock for an eighth consecutive quarter
During the first quarter, Abel exited 16 positions and slashed six others, one of which was money-center behemoth Bank of America. Though far fewer holdings were pared down in the second quarter, BofA was once again on the list, with 30,230,150 shares sold. Buffett or Abel has sold shares of BofA in each of the last eight quarters, reducing Berkshire's stake by a cumulative 53%.
Profit-taking is the most logical reason behind this selling, but it's probably not the only catalyst.
For example, Bank of America stock isn't the bargain it once was. When the Oracle of Omaha initially took a stake in BofA's preferred stock in August 2011, its common shares were trading at a 62% discount to book value. In early August 2026, it was trading at a 62% premium to its book value. Both Buffett and Abel are sticklers for value.
Furthermore, BofA is the most interest-sensitive of America's big banks. While this distinction was a massive tailwind when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates from March 2022 to July 2023, it became a drag on net interest income when the Fed cut rates from September 2024 to December 2025.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet has become one of Berkshire Hathaway's core holdings
On the other hand, Berkshire's new boss can't stop buying shares of Alphabet. Abel more than tripled Berkshire's stake in the company in the first quarter and added another $17 billion, including $10 billion via private placement, during the second quarter. It's now surpassed Coca-Cola and Bank of America to become Berkshire's third-largest holding.
Buffett, who initiated the purchases of Alphabet stock last year, and Abel both appreciate businesses with sustainable moats. According to GlobalStats, Google has maintained an 89% to 93% share of global internet search traffic over the trailing decade.
Meanwhile, YouTube, which Alphabet also owns, is the second-most-visited social site behind Google. Suffice it to say, Alphabet commands exceptional ad pricing power during long-winded economic expansions.
$GOOG Alphabet Q2 FY26:
-- App Economy Insights (@EconomyApp) July 22, 2026
• Revenue +24% Y/Y to $119.8B ($2.8B beat).
• Operating margin 34% (+2pp Y/Y).
• $98B net gains from equity investments.
☁️ Google Cloud:
• Revenue +82% Y/Y to $24.8B
• Operating margin 36% (+15pp Y/Y).
▶️ YouTube ads +13% to $11.1B pic.twitter.com/seYlITzfg6
But it's Alphabet's artificial intelligence (AI) ties that likely have Buffett and Abel excited. Since integrating generative AI and large language model capabilities into Google Cloud, the world's third-largest cloud infrastructure services platform by total spend, sales have skyrocketed. This segment, which generates substantially juicier margins than advertising, delivered 82% year-over-year sales growth in the June-ended quarter.
If Alphabet's AI ambitions are realized, it's not out of the question that it eventually unseats Apple as Berkshire Hathaway's top holding.
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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet and Bank of America. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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