Concentration of Investments by Berkshire Hathaway in Alphabet: Evaluation of its Business and Corporate Cultures

Abstract

Traditionally, value investing has been distinct from volatile tech stocks. In its latest moves, however, Berkshire Hathaway has made a departure from that distinction by making an unusually fast move into Alphabet, the corporate parent company of Google, starting from the third quarter of 2025. This paper employs the value principles followed by Berkshire as the criterion and subjects the position to rigorous scrutiny through a comprehensive analysis of holdings data, financial figures, and governance characteristics. We find an initial investment of around 17.85 million shares valued at about $4.3 billion, followed by further development in the first quarter of 2026 in which the position grew 204 percent. Continuous buying occurred until the aggregate position reached 106 million shares valued at approximately $38 billion, making it the third largest holding in the equity portfolio. Furthermore, the forward price to earnings ratio of around 17, a free cash flow of $72.8 billion in 2024, and a buyback exceeding $200 billion over a four-year period make the company more than fit into the criteria set forth by the firm. Ultimately, the paper argues that Alphabet's platform business model and innovating organizational culture provide the company with the necessary earning capacity and strategic flexibility to justify crossing the traditional sector border. This strategic shift highlights a broader evolution in modern portfolio management, where traditional value metrics are increasingly adapted to accommodate high-growth technology enterprises.