Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Jettisoned Amazon Earlier This Year and More Than 6X'd Berkshire's Stake in the "Apple" of His Eye
Key Points
Greg Abel wasted little time shaking up Berkshire’s $358 billion investment portfolio in the wake of Warren Buffett’s Dec. 31 retirement.
Berkshire’s Amazon stake was sent to the chopping block in the first quarter, and profit-taking may not tell the full story.
Meanwhile, Abel has had a voracious appetite for shares of a company with a sustainable moat and significant artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions.
- 10 stocks we like better than Amazon ›
This isn't your grandparents' Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) any longer. Following Warren Buffett's Dec. 31 retirement as CEO after more than half a century at the helm, his successor, Greg Abel, was quick to shake up Berkshire's $358 billion investment portfolio.
Buffett's protégé reduced six holdings in the first quarter and sent 16 others to the chopping block, including dual-industry leader Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). But amid this selling spree, Abel also found the new apple of his eye: Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG).
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire's CEO on Dec. 31, paving the way for Greg Abel to shake up the investment portfolio. Image source: Getty Images.
Abel sends Amazon packing
Among the 16 stocks sent packing in the March-ended quarter, arguably none was more surprising than Amazon.
Most people become familiar with Amazon due to its e-commerce dominance. Last year, its marketplace accounted for more than 40% of U.S. online retail sales, more than quadrupling its next-closest competitor, Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT).
But Amazon is also the global leader in cloud infrastructure services spend. Before artificial intelligence (AI) became the hottest thing since sliced bread, Amazon Web Services (AWS) was growing in the high teens annually. Since the integration of generative AI and large language model solutions, AWS's year-over-year sales growth surged to 37% in the June-ended quarter.
JUST IN: Amazon’s AWS revenue soars +37% to $42.2 billion, its fastest cloud growth in 18 quarters.
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) July 30, 2026
With everything going so well, you might be wondering why Abel sold. One possibility is simple profit-taking. Although Buffett and Abel are decidedly long-term investors, Amazon's shares had advanced roughly 150% to 200% since Berkshire's initial buy in the first quarter of 2019.
However, the more logical answer may be Todd Combs' departure in December for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). Combs had been a key investment manager for Berkshire alongside Ted Weschler. The positions Abel jettisoned in the first quarter were predominantly non-core holdings that Combs oversaw. Selling Amazon stock likely fell under this reasoning.
Image source: Getty Images.
Abel's Alphabet stake has grown by 550%!
On the other hand, Warren Buffett's successor appears to have found his version of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in Google parent Alphabet. Whereas the Oracle of Omaha's appetite for Apple stock was ravenous a decade ago, so is Abel's for shares of Alphabet in 2026. Between Dec. 31 and Sept. 25, Berkshire's stake in Alphabet has grown from $5.59 billion to $36.37 billion.
Just like his predecessor, Abel is a big fan of companies with sustainable moats. Google maintains a virtual monopoly, holding a greater-than-91% share of global internet search in August. When coupled with YouTube, the second-most-visited social site, it's easy to see why Alphabet's ad platforms command top-tier pricing power.
$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
However, it's Alphabet's AI ambitions that really have Abel (and Buffett) excited for the future. The integration of AI solutions into Google Cloud, the world's No. 3 cloud infrastructure services platform, has produced a parabolic increase in sales (82% in the June-ended quarter). As Google Cloud becomes a larger piece of Alphabet's sales, the company's operating cash flow can rapidly grow.
Furthermore, Alphabet is sitting on a mountain of cash to fuel its AI ambitions, and its investment portfolio is packed with truly jaw-dropping returns from the likes of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) (NASDAQ:SPCX) and Anthropic.
Should you buy stock in Amazon right now?
Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,123!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,396,103!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 933% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 212% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 1, 2026.
JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
