Greg Abel Pared Down Bank of America and Piled Into Alphabet

Greg Abel Breaks a 14-Quarter Selling Streak With Alphabet and Taylor Morrison

Berkshire Hathaway ended June with roughly $365 billion in cash and U.S. Treasury bills, down from the $380.2 billion three months earlier, according to the company’s latest regulatory filings. While the massive war chest remains formidable, the company has signaled a definitive shift in deployment speed. During the second quarter, Berkshire became a net buyer of stocks for the first time in 14 quarters, purchasing nearly $20 billion more in equities than it sold.

The catalyst for that pivot was a massive accumulation of shares in Google parent Alphabet. Abel oversaw the purchase of 24,541,369 Class A shares (GOOGL) and 23,603,218 Class C shares (GOOG), a transaction bolstered by a June 1-announced $10 billion private placement with the tech giant. With a combined market value approaching $36.6 billion, Alphabet has quickly leapfrogged Bank of America and Coca-Cola to claim the spot as Berkshire’s third-largest holding.

Why Alphabet and Artificial Intelligence Attracted Berkshire’s New Chief

The attraction to Alphabet mirrors the philosophy of his predecessor, specifically targeting companies with sustainable moats. Alphabet holds a virtual monopoly on internet search, capturing over 91% of global search engine traffic in July, alongside its ownership of YouTube, the second-most-visited social site on the planet.

Beyond traditional advertising dominance, Alphabet’s artificial intelligence initiatives served as a primary draw for Abel. Integrating generative AI and large language model capabilities into Google Cloud has rapidly accelerated sales growth, pushing high-margin sales in that segment up 82% in the June-ended quarter. For Abel, Alphabet appears to represent the sort of generational technology asset that Apple was for his predecessor.

Paring Down Bank of America While Continuing Buybacks and Acquisitions

Even as Berkshire expanded its tech footprint, the conglomerate continued to systematically reduce its exposure to traditional finance. Abel sold 30,230,000 shares of Bank of America in the second quarter, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of reductions that have cut the total position by 53%, or nearly 549.5 million shares.

Profit-taking and valuation shifts drove part of the divestment. When Buffett initially purchased a stake in Bank of America’s preferred stock in August 2011, common stock traded at a 62% discount to its book value. By August 14, that same stock commanded a 64% premium to book value. Furthermore, Bank of America stands out as the most interest-sensitive among U.S. money-center banks, suffering net interest income compression during the Federal Reserve’s six rate cuts between September 2024 and December 2025.

The heightened transactional pace extended well beyond public equities. Berkshire spent $4.5 billion buying back its own shares during the second quarter and more than $3.3 billion more after the period closed. Additionally, the company completed a $6.8 billion acquisition of the homebuilder Taylor Morrison.

Operational Excellence and Management Style Under Greg Abel

While Abel adheres closely to Berkshire’s foundational valuation principles—evaluating every transaction based on whether it maximizes intrinsic value per share while maintaining a fortress-like balance sheet—his management approach differs notably from his predecessor’s hands-off philosophy.

Buffett famously took a very hands-off approach, preferring to acquire a strong stand-alone company, keep its managers in place, and let them do their thing. Abel, who was the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy for many years, seems to be more willing to take an active role. The Taylor Morrison purchase illustrates the shift: Berkshire is actively combining the homebuilder with Clayton Properties Group, its existing collection of 15 regional builders, into a single unified platform.

While Taylor Morrison’s existing CEO remains at the helm, she will be expected to pursue operational excellence relentlessly and close performance gaps with rigorous execution — measured by results, not intentions, as Abel has said he expects of all of his CEOs.

That expectation applies universally across Berkshire’s portfolio companies under Abel’s watch, marking a subtle yet distinct evolution in how the conglomerate manages its sprawling industrial and consumer empire.