TLDR
- Berkshire Hathaway nearly tripled its Alphabet stake to 58 million shares, worth around $16.6 billion, making it a top-five holding.
- The move followed a 6% dip in Alphabet stock, with the company trading at a forward P/E of 25x — below the S&P average.
- Alphabet’s Q1 2026 revenue hit $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year-over-year, with Google Cloud backlog nearly doubling to $460 billion.
- Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square sold over 95% of its Alphabet position and moved the cash into Microsoft stock, which is down ~20% year-to-date.
- Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater bought Alphabet alongside Berkshire, while Trump and Pelosi also disclosed early-2026 buys.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has made one of its biggest recent bets — and it’s on Google’s parent company.
Q1 2026 13F filings showed Berkshire nearly tripled its Alphabet position to roughly 57.8 million shares, valued at approximately $16.6 billion. That move vaulted Alphabet into the top five holdings at Berkshire, a firm not known for sudden pivots.
Alphabet stock has risen 115% over the past year and is up 15% year-to-date. But a 6% pullback over the past month gave Berkshire an opening to buy in at a cheaper price. Alphabet currently trades at a forward P/E of 25x, below the S&P 500 average — a detail that likely caught the attention of value-oriented buyers.
Berkshire CEO Greg Abel’s team appears to have underwritten the case based on Alphabet’s Q1 numbers. Revenue came in at $109.9 billion, up 21.8% year-over-year. EPS hit $5.11 against a consensus estimate of $2.63. Google Cloud grew 63%, and its contracted backlog nearly doubled quarter-over-quarter to over $460 billion.
That backlog figure is key. It’s not a forecast — it’s contracted future demand. For a firm like Berkshire that likes predictable cash flows, that number carries real weight.
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater also added to Alphabet during the same period. Both former President Trump and House Representative Nancy Pelosi disclosed early-2026 purchases of Alphabet as well.
Ackman Pivots to Microsoft
While Berkshire was buying, Bill Ackman was heading in the opposite direction.
Ackman’s Pershing Square sold more than 95% of its Alphabet position and redeployed that capital into Microsoft. Microsoft has dropped roughly 20% year-to-date, currently trading around $378.90 against an analyst target of $565.90.
Ackman’s bet is built on Microsoft’s AI momentum. The company’s AI business is now running at $37 billion annually, up 123% year-over-year. Azure grew 40% in its most recent quarter. Microsoft’s commercial remaining performance obligation came in at $627 billion, up 99%.
Microsoft also holds a restructured stake in OpenAI — roughly 27%, valued at around $135 billion — with IP rights extended through 2032. Ackman is buying into that at a forward P/E below 20x, after a steep drawdown.
Two Different AI Bets
Both trades are AI plays at their core, just through different doors.
Berkshire is backing Google Cloud’s infrastructure and the contracted demand sitting behind it. Ackman is backing Microsoft’s grip on enterprise software and its OpenAI partnership.
Analyst targets reflect the gap in current sentiment. Alphabet carries a consensus target of $417. Microsoft’s stands at $565.90 — well above where it currently trades.
Sundar Pichai commented on Q1 results, saying: “Our AI investments and full stack approach are lighting up every part of the business.”
Alphabet is up 115% over the past year. Microsoft is down about 20% over the same period.
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