What Is Warren Buffett Buying in 2026? Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Analysis
Analysis of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio in 2026 based on SEC 13F filings. 29 positions, $299B equity book, the ~$17B Alphabet ramp, record cash pile, and what Buffett is NOT buying.
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What Is Warren Buffett Buying in 2026? Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Analysis
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is the most closely watched investment portfolio in the world — and for good reason. Over six decades, Buffett compiled one of the greatest investment track records in history, turning Berkshire from a struggling textile mill into a $1T-class conglomerate. Since 1 January 2026 the CEO seat belongs to Greg Abel (Buffett stays on as chairman), and every 13F filing is still scrutinized by millions of investors looking for signals about what Omaha sees in the market.
The Q2 2026 filing (period 30 June 2026, filed 14 August 2026) delivered the clearest signal in years.
Quick Answer
Per Berkshire Hathaway's Q2 2026 13F — 29 positions, $299.3B of reported US equities, a concentrated Value book — the headline move is a massive ramp of the Alphabet (GOOGL) stake to ~$37.8B (106.0M shares, now the #3 holding), with roughly $17 billion added during the quarter per press reports. Apple (AAPL) remains the largest holding at ~$66B, followed by American Express (~$51B), Alphabet, the iconic Coca-Cola position ($32.5B, 400M shares, held since 1988), and Bank of America (~$27.5B, trimmed again). Berkshire fully exited Constellation Brands, kept adding Delta Air Lines, and still holds a cash pile of roughly $365B (down from the Q1 record ~$397B as Berkshire turned net buyer). It is notably NOT buying pure-play AI names, crypto-exposed firms, or unprofitable growth stocks. 13F filings are public and lagged up to ~45 days — a snapshot of institutional positioning, not investment advice.
Berkshire Hathaway at a Glance
| Metric | Value (Q2 2026 13F) |
|---|---|
| Total Positions | 29 |
| Reported US equity book | $299.3B |
| Cash and T-bills | ~$365B (30 Jun 2026) |
| Investment Style | Value |
| CEO / Chairman | Greg Abel (from 1 Jan 2026) / Warren Buffett |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Headquarters | Omaha, Nebraska |
Explore Berkshire Hathaway's full portfolio →
The Big News: Berkshire Goes Big on Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOGL) — ramped by ~$17 billion to ~$37.8B, now the #3 holding
This is the most significant Berkshire move since the Apple build of 2016–2018. Berkshire — famous for avoiding big tech outside Apple — took the Alphabet stake disclosed in late 2025 (~$5.6B at end-Q4 2025) and nearly doubled the share count in Q2 2026 alone: from 57.8M to 106.0M shares, an addition worth roughly $17B, part of it reportedly executed via a private placement.
Why This Is Historic
For years Buffett explained his avoidance of technology businesses with characteristic clarity: they sat outside his circle of competence, and he demanded valuation precision he felt he couldn't achieve there. Apple was the exception he reframed as a consumer-products company. The Alphabet ramp — landing in the first year of Greg Abel's tenure as CEO, with Buffett as chairman and Todd Combs and Ted Weschler running growing slices of the book — signals that Berkshire now treats a second mega-cap tech platform as a core, durable franchise.
The Thesis Behind the Alphabet Position
Several factors make Alphabet legible to Berkshire's value framework:
Search and YouTube are toll roads. Alphabet's advertising franchises generate enormous, recurring cash flows from businesses that must reach customers — structurally similar to the "essential infrastructure" logic behind BNSF or Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Cloud has reached escape velocity. Google Cloud is profitable and growing fast on AI workloads, adding a second engine that no longer burns the core's cash.
Free cash flow is Buffett-grade. Alphabet generates tens of billions in annual free cash flow, buys back stock aggressively, and initiated a dividend in 2024 — the shareholder-return profile Berkshire has always favored.
Valuation reset. Relative to the megacap AI complex, Alphabet spent 2025–2026 trading at one of the lowest earnings multiples among the "Magnificent 7", which is precisely where a value buyer hunts.
Read our full Google/Alphabet analysis →
Berkshire's Iconic Long-Term Holdings
Apple (AAPL) — Largest Position, ~$66B
Apple remains Berkshire's largest equity holding (227.9M shares, unchanged through the first half of 2026) and represents one of Buffett's most successful investments. Originally built starting in 2016, the position has generated tens of billions in unrealized gains plus substantial dividend income. Buffett has called Apple "probably the best business I know in the world". After the heavy trimming of 2024, the share count has been stable — Berkshire is holding, not selling.
Read our full Apple analysis →
Coca-Cola (KO) — 400 Million Shares, $32.5 Billion
Coca-Cola is the most iconic position in investing history. Buffett first bought Coca-Cola stock in 1988 — 38 years ago — and the 400 million share count is unchanged quarter after quarter. Worth $32.5 billion in the Q2 2026 filing, the stake generates roughly $800 million in annual dividends against a cost basis of about $1.3 billion — meaning the annual dividend income alone represents a ~60% yield on the original investment every single year. This is the compounding story Buffett has used to teach investing principles for decades.
Read our full Coca-Cola analysis →
American Express (AXP) — ~$51B, #2 Holding
Another multi-decade holding, American Express benefits from what Buffett considers an unbreachable brand moat. The "spend-centric" business model — where AmEx earns fees from both merchants and cardholders — generates consistently high returns on equity. Buffett first bought American Express during a corporate crisis in the 1960s and has held through multiple economic cycles.
Bank of America (BAC) — Trimmed Again
Still Berkshire's largest bank holding at ~$27.5B, but the direction of travel is clear: another ~30M shares sold in Q2 2026, continuing the reduction that began in 2024. Berkshire keeps comfort with well-managed financial institutions (Chubb, Moody's, AmEx) while cutting concentrated bank-balance-sheet exposure.
Savings in one bank, investments in another? See it all in one place — and how many months it could carry you.
See your Freedom Runway — freeTop 10 Berkshire Hathaway Holdings
Based on Q2 2026 13F data (values as of 30 June 2026):
- Apple (AAPL) — $66.0B, largest position, built since 2016
- American Express (AXP) — $51.3B, multi-decade position
- Alphabet (GOOGL) — $37.8B, ramped by ~$17B in Q2 2026
- Coca-Cola (KO) — $32.5B, 400M shares, held since 1988
- Bank of America (BAC) — $27.5B, being trimmed
- Chevron (CVX) — $14.0B, energy anchor, reduced in 2026
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY) — $12.9B
- Chubb (CB) — $11.7B, insurance peer holding
- Moody's (MCO) — $11.2B, financial infrastructure
- Kraft Heinz (KHC) — $7.7B, consumer staples (acknowledged as overpaid)
Other Q2 2026 moves: Constellation Brands fully exited, Delta Air Lines added (+17.5M shares to 57.3M), smaller adds in Macy's, Lennar and The New York Times, and reductions in Kroger, Capital One, Nucor, Ally and DaVita. Net-net, Berkshire was a ~$20B net buyer of equities in the quarter — the first strongly net-buying quarter in years.
For a complete analysis of what large funds are buying, see our full buying analysis.
Buffett's Investment Philosophy in 2026
The Alphabet ramp notwithstanding, Berkshire's portfolio still reflects the core principles:
Quality Over Growth
Every major Berkshire holding shares common characteristics: dominant market position, strong brand recognition, consistent free cash flow generation, and proven management teams. Berkshire doesn't chase high-growth stories — it buys businesses it believes will still be dominant 20 years from now.
Concentration, Not Diversification
With only 29 reported positions and the top 5 representing the large majority of portfolio value, Berkshire runs a remarkably concentrated book for a ~$300 billion equity portfolio. Buffett has famously said "diversification is protection against ignorance", and the book got MORE concentrated in 2026, not less.
Patience as a Competitive Advantage
The Coca-Cola position (38 years), Apple (10 years), and American Express (60+ years) illustrate the most underappreciated edge: the willingness to hold through market cycles, recessions, and temporary business challenges. Most institutional investors operate on quarterly cycles. Berkshire operates on decades.
Value in a New Form
The Alphabet position suggests Berkshire's definition of "value" keeps evolving. Traditional Buffett value stocks (Coca-Cola, American Express) were consumer-facing businesses with tangible products. Alphabet is an advertising-and-compute toll road whose products are free to consumers but indispensable to businesses. If Berkshire under Abel views dominant internet platforms as infrastructure, further tech positions are no longer unthinkable.
What Berkshire Is NOT Buying
Notably absent or minimal in Berkshire's portfolio:
- Pure-play AI companies — No positions in companies whose revenue is primarily AI-generated (though many funds are buying NVIDIA and ServiceNow)
- Cryptocurrency-exposed companies — Buffett's skepticism of crypto remains intact
- Unprofitable growth stocks — Every Berkshire holding generates positive earnings
- International stocks in the 13F book — The reported portfolio remains overwhelmingly U.S.-listed (the Japanese trading-house stakes sit outside the 13F, which covers US-listed equities only)
These absences are as informative as the holdings. Even while expanding into Alphabet, Berkshire is doing so selectively, inside its comfort zone of profitable, cash-generative businesses — and it is still sitting on ~$365B of cash and T-bills, which says as much about valuations as any purchase does.
Lessons for Individual Investors
- Quality compounds: Holding great businesses for decades generates returns that trading cannot replicate
- Concentrate in your best ideas: If you've done the research, bet meaningfully — don't dilute conviction with over-diversification
- Evolve without abandoning principles: Berkshire added Alphabet without abandoning value investing — it found value in a new place
- Dividends matter: Berkshire's holdings collectively generate billions in annual dividend income, providing a floor under portfolio returns
- Patience is free and invaluable: The cost of holding Coca-Cola for 38 years was zero. The return was astronomical.
Track Berkshire Hathaway's Complete Portfolio
Berkshire's 29-position, $299 billion equity book is fully trackable through Freenance's Smart Money feature. See every holding, position change, and new addition the moment 13F filings become public.
Frequently Asked Questions
What stocks is Warren Buffett's Berkshire buying in 2026?
The biggest story from Berkshire Hathaway's Q2 2026 13F is the Alphabet (GOOGL) ramp: +48.1M shares in a single quarter to 106.0M shares (~$37.8B), an addition of roughly $17 billion. Berkshire also added Delta Air Lines, Macy's, Lennar and The New York Times, while exiting Constellation Brands and trimming Bank of America, Chevron and Kroger.
What is Berkshire Hathaway's largest holding?
Apple (AAPL) remains the largest equity holding at $66B, followed by American Express ($51B) and Alphabet (~$37.8B). Coca-Cola ($32.5B, 400M shares) is the most iconic long-term holding, held since 1988.
Did Buffett buy Microsoft?
No. Despite persistent rumors, Microsoft has never appeared in Berkshire's 13F filings — including the Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 filings. The big-tech position Berkshire actually built is Alphabet. Buffett long avoided Microsoft explicitly because of his close friendship with Bill Gates and the perception risk it created.
How many stocks does Berkshire Hathaway own?
As of the Q2 2026 13F, Berkshire reports 29 US-listed equity positions worth a total of $299.3 billion, plus a cash and T-bill pile of roughly $365 billion. Non-US holdings such as the five Japanese trading houses are held outside the 13F report.
Data based on the Q2 2026 13F filing (period 30 June 2026, filed 14 August 2026, SEC EDGAR CIK 1067983), verified 2 September 2026. Freenance tracks 35 institutional investors across 77,000+ positions. This is not investment advice.
Track Berkshire Hathaway's complete portfolio at Freenance Smart Money →
FAQ
What are Berkshire Hathaway's top positions heading into late 2026?
According to the Q2 2026 13F: Apple ($66.0B), American Express ($51.3B), Alphabet ($37.8B), Coca-Cola ($32.5B), and Bank of America ($27.5B). Together the top five represent the large majority of Berkshire's reported $299.3B equity book.
How current is Berkshire's disclosed portfolio?
US 13F filings reflect long US equity holdings as of the prior quarter-end and may be published up to 45 days later. Any buys or sells Berkshire makes during the current quarter only become visible in the next filing cycle, so the public view is structurally backward-looking.
Is Berkshire's portfolio more of a dividend book or a growth book?
Berkshire's equity book historically tilts toward high-quality cash-generative businesses, many of which pay meaningful dividends (Coca-Cola, American Express, Chevron, Bank of America). The Alphabet position adds a lower-yield, higher-reinvestment name, but the overall profile still skews toward durable free cash flow rather than speculative growth.
Who runs Berkshire's portfolio now that Abel is CEO?
Greg Abel became CEO on 1 January 2026, with Warren Buffett remaining chairman. Investment managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler continue to run portions of the equity portfolio, and the 13F aggregates all of them — one reason attributing any single trade to "Buffett" personally is increasingly imprecise.
How can a retail investor track Berkshire's 13F changes responsibly?
You can follow Berkshire's filings directly on EDGAR and aggregators that consolidate 13F data, including Freenance's Smart Money view. Treat changes as one input among many — they are delayed, exclude non-equity exposure, and do not constitute investment advice.