Buffett's initial buy of goog at 225ish was brilliant.

WHOEVER decided to buy the PP a few months ago at 350ish was poorly timed, to be kind. In fact, one could argue we got, bamboozled, again, but let's see IF I can get the PP doc I'd like to read it. Did goog represent to brk that they would need additional capital, IN SIZE< shortly after they closed that PP? Are there any repercussions should goog do additional cap raises following the one brk participated in? Stay tuned.

In the pre-market goog is down 10 % on 2 million shares so that's a real quote.

brkb is UP 5$ on 6,000 shares so once again, the clowns are, painting the tape, preopen.

"
Berkshire Likely Has a Loss on Its Big Alphabet Stake After Earnings Miss
By
Andrew Bary
Follow
Oct 28, 2026, 6:40 pm EDT

Berkshire loaded up on Alphabet stock in the first half of 2026. (Paul Faith / AFP via Getty Images)
Key Points

About This Summary

Alphabet shares fell 11% in after-hours trading after the company reported third-quarter earnings that missed consensus estimates.

Berkshire Hathaway likely has a loss on its Alphabet stake, which is now worth about $30 billion based on the after-hours stock price.

Alphabet reported negative free-cash flow of $9 billion due to heavy capital spending related to artificial intelligence.

Warren Buffett’s last major equity investment as Berkshire Hathaway’s
BRK.B

-0.49%

chairman isn’t working out well so far given the sharp drop in Alphabet
GOOGL

+1.34%

shares following the search giant’s disappointing third-quarter earnings.

Berkshire loaded up on Alphabet stock in the first half of 2026 including the purchase of $10 billion at about $350 a share as part of the company’s $85 billion equity raise in early June.

Alphabet’s voting shares are down 11% in after-hours trading at $288 after the company reported third-quarter earnings of $2.12 a share, down from $2.87 in the year-earlier period and below the consensus estimate of about $3.

The company had negative free-cash flow of $9 billion due to its heavy artificial-intelligence-related capital spending.

Advertisement - Scroll to Continue

In a CNBC interview in July, Buffett said it was his decision to buy the Alphabet shares. Buffett stepped down as Berkshire CEO at year-end 2025 while remaining chairman. He relinquished the chairman role recently in favor of his son, Howard Buffett.

It isn’t possible to determine Berkshire’s average cost on its Alphabet stock, but it’s likely above $300 a share—and perhaps close to $320 a share.

Berkshire bought 18 million Alphabet shares in the third quarter of 2025 when Alphabet averaged about $225 a share, about 40 million shares in the first quarter when the stock averaged about $315 and then nearly 50 million in the second quarter, including almost 30 million in the underwritten offering at about $350. It held a total of 106 million shares—including voting and nonvoting stock—on June 30.

Advertisement - Scroll to Continue

Berkshire’s Alphabet stake is now worth about $30 billion based on the after-hours stock price, down from a peak of $37 billion in June. Alphabet is Berkshire’s fourth largest equity holding behind Apple
AAPL

-0.94%

, American Express
AXP

+1.61%

and Coca-Cola
KO

+0.60%

.

Barron’s wrote in June that Berkshire might have been late to the Alphabet party given the run-up in the stock in the prior year.

Berkshire used to provide the cost basis of its top 15 equity holdings but stopped doing so earlier in the current decade. That has made it harder to calculate its profit or losses on many of its newer investments and to hold management accountable for its equity investments.

That table of the equity holdings and cost basis is something that CEO Greg Abel should consider reinstating in his next annual shareholder letter in 2027.

Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.co "" Thanks to Bary for his timely coverage of brk.