Berkshire Hathaway swung from a net seller of stocks to a net buyer in the second quarter of 2026, purchasing roughly $20 billion more equity securities than it sold after 14 straight quarters of net sales. The reversal comes as Greg Abel settles into the CEO role Warren Buffett handed him at the end of 2025.
Warren Buffett's retirement as Berkshire's CEO at the end of 2025 was well telegraphed, and the company had prepared for Greg Abel to take over for years. Berkshire's shift from selling to buying stock marks one of the first visible signs of Abel's own approach to the portfolio.
Berkshire ends its selling streak
Berkshire Hathaway had been selling stock for roughly three years in the run-up to Buffett's retirement. Those sales continued into the first quarter of 2026 after Abel took over. That changed in the second quarter. The company bought $23.5 billion worth of equity securities while selling only $3.7 billion, for net purchases of nearly $20 billion.
A large share of that buying went into Alphabet. Berkshire bought roughly $17 billion of Alphabet stock during a secondary offering the tech giant used to fund its artificial-intelligence spending. The size of that single purchase suggests some of the shift was opportunistic rather than a broad change in strategy.
Abel's imprint on the portfolio
Buffett spent years building up Berkshire's cash position before stepping down, leaving Abel a buffer against adversity and firepower for big moves. Outside the public-stock portfolio, Abel has already acted: he bought Taylor Morrison Home for $5.8 billion and is folding it into a single homebuilding division, a more hands-on style than Buffett typically took with acquired businesses.
The shift from net seller to net buyer could simply reflect the Alphabet opportunity. But it could also signal that Berkshire's stock portfolio is now roughly where Abel wants it.
Third quarter will be the real test
One quarter of net buying isn't a trend on its own. The third quarter is the bigger tell: if sales stay modest, or Berkshire keeps buying, it would suggest Abel is satisfied with the current holdings just as Buffett has also stepped away from his role as Chairman of the Board.
Source: The Motley Fool
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