Berkshire CEO Abel boosts Alphabet stake, exits Amazon in first quarter

Greg Abel, who took over as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway from Warren Buffett, has made his first major portfolio moves in the role. In Q1 2026, Berkshire boosted its stake in Alphabet Inc., one of its largest holdings, while simultaneously exiting its entire Amazon position. The moves are subtle but notable: they suggest Abel's view that Alphabet's AI and cloud infrastructure play offers more upside than Amazon's core e-commerce and logistics business. Berkshire remains a dominant shareholder in both firms, and any signal shift from the conglomerate draws attention from value and index-tracking investors alike.

The timing is interesting. Alphabet has been consolidating after a spectacular run in 2024, and Bill Ackman has also publicly backed Microsoft on valuation grounds. However, Berkshire's addition to Alphabet is a vote of confidence in the search and advertising dominance plus nascent AI monetization. The Amazon exit may reflect concerns about valuation compression in cloud computing (AWS) amid increased competition, or simply a view that Amazon's growth trajectory no longer justifies premium valuations. Amazon has been under pressure from activist Abrams Capital on its Whole Foods and other ancillary bets.

From a sector perspective, the move is bullish for Alphabet (GOOGL) and neutral-to-negative for Amazon (AMZN). Both firms are in the mega-cap concentration narrative that has dominated markets; any hint that even Buffett's successor is selectively trimming mega-caps could signal growing conviction about value rotation. However, Berkshire's core portfolio is still heavily weighted to equities, suggesting no broader risk-off stance from the conglomerate.

Bears note that Buffett himself was an Amazon buyer in the 2010s and early 2020s; his absence from the decision-making on the exit could imply loss of conviction in the Bezos thesis. Critics of Abel's move question whether Alphabet's AI upside is already priced in, given the stock's 2024 rally and current valuation on forward earnings.