Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) made sweeping portfolio changes in the second quarter, aggressively expanding technology exposure while cutting back on several financial sector positions.
The firm boosted its combined Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) holding by roughly 48 million shares, bringing the total GOOGL and GOOG position to approximately 106 million shares as of the end of Q2.
That purchase elevated Alphabet to the third-largest holding in Berkshire’s equity portfolio, which grew to approximately $299 billion by the end of June from $263 billion at the close of the first quarter.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) retained its position as the top holding by value, followed by American Express, the enlarged Alphabet stake, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America.
Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as Berkshire’s chief executive on January 1, is overseeing a portfolio that is showing clear signs of selective repositioning across sectors.
Beyond Alphabet, Berkshire added 17.5 million shares to its Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) position and opened a small new stake of approximately 3,564 shares in homebuilder D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI).
Smaller additions included Macy’s, up 4.3 million shares, Lennar, up 3.1 million shares, and The New York Times, up 553,000 shares, rounding out a quarter of targeted accumulation.
On the sell side, Berkshire trimmed its Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) position by 30.2 million shares, while Kroger declined by 11 million shares and Capital One fell by 4.2 million shares.
Additional reductions included Nucor, down 2 million shares, Ally Financial, down 2 million shares, and DaVita, down 1.2 million shares, reflecting a broad pullback from financial and healthcare names.
The firm fully exited its remaining stake in Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), closing out a position that had been under review for several quarters.
Retail sentiment around BRK.B on Stocktwits remained in “extremely bullish” territory over the past 24 hours, with message volume described as “extremely high” by the platform.
Some retail traders questioned the Alphabet purchase, with one Stocktwits user wondering why the firm is loading on Alphabet shares when it is trading at high valuations.
Another user questioned why Berkshire did not establish a position in SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket manufacturing company that debuted on Nasdaq in June, while a separate commenter dismissed broader concerns about BRK.B, citing the firm’s long legacy.
Despite the portfolio activity and bullish retail sentiment, BRK.B shares have traded flat year-to-date.
