13F Disclosure | Buffett's "Swan Song": Berkshire Makes a Large Stake in Google in Q3, Accelerates Selloff of Apple and Bank of America

As Buffett’s retirement at the end of this year approaches, Berkshire made adjustments to its bets on U.S. tech giants during Q3, also marking the nearing conclusion of his illustrious six-decade career leading Berkshire Hathaway.

After the U.S. stock market closed on November 14 Eastern Time, the 13F filing submitted by Berkshire Hathaway, led by the "Oracle of Omaha" Buffett to the SEC showed,Buffett continued to offload a substantial amount of $Apple (AAPL.US)$ stock.However, at the same time,Buffett unexpectedly made a significant new investment in $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ , with a corresponding market value of $4.3 billion as of the quarter-end, also being the only newly added position.

This year, the 95-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" Buffett explicitly stated that he would step down as CEO by the end of the year and officially exit from the company’s day-to-day management. Known for his value investing approach and having always maintained a cautious stance toward technology stocks, Buffett's recent 13F report suggests that the transition at Berkshire Hathaway might bring $Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$ a certain degree of stylistic change.

Net selling of U.S. stocks for 12 consecutive quarters, with most of the top ten holdings being familiar names.

The 13F filing shows that as of the end of the third quarter, Berkshire held 41 stocks with a total portfolio value of $267 billion, up from $258 billion in the previous quarter.In this AI- and technology-driven bull market in U.S. equities, Berkshire has been net selling U.S. stocks for the 12th consecutive quarter.

Among Berkshire Hathaway's top ten holdings, these positions account for 86.69% of the total market value of its U.S. stock portfolio, and most remain the same 'familiar faces' as before. The rankings are nearly identical to the previous quarter, with the only new addition being $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ . It replaced the kidney dialysis provider $DaVita (DVA.US)$ , which ranked tenth in the second quarter and has now dropped to eleventh place in the third quarter.

Among the above-mentioned major holdings, Berkshire Hathaway only increased its position in Swiss $Chubb Ltd (CB.US)$ during the third quarter, adding approximately 4.3 million shares, resulting in a $1.21 billion increase in market value. Its portfolio weighting rose from 3.04% to 3.31%. Additionally, Berkshire liquidated its entire stake in one of the United States’ four largest real estate developers, $D.R. Horton (DHI.US)$It is recommended to take action promptly and register to participate in the investigation.

Some analysts suggest this may reflect Buffett’s concerns about high equity valuations in the U.S. One of Buffett’s favored stock market valuation metrics—the ratio of the total market capitalization of all publicly traded stocks in the U.S. to the country’s Gross National Product (GNP)—has now climbed to an all-time high, reaching levels he once described as 'playing with fire.'

Significant new position in Google becomes Berkshire Hathaway's tenth-largest holding

Berkshire Hathaway initiated a new position in $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ during the third quarter, acquiring approximately 17.85 million shares,With a market value of up to USD 4.3 billion,This marks the first time Berkshire Hathaway has initiated a position in Google, accounting for 1.62% of its overall portfolio, successfully ranking it as the tenth largest holding in Berkshire's portfolio.

Whether viewed from the change in the value of holdings or the change in the proportion of holdings, $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ Google was the stock that Berkshire purchased the most during the third quarter, and the scale of the purchase far exceeded that of the second-largest purchase target. $Chubb Ltd (CB.US)$ In terms of increases in existing positions, Berkshire also raised its stakes in other targets during the third quarter, $Lennar Corp (LEN.US)$ 、 $Domino's Pizza (DPZ.US)$ 、 $Sirius XM (SIRI.US)$ 、 $Lamar Advertising Co (LAMR.US)$ among others.

Notably, Google’s stock price has performed exceptionally well this year, with cumulative gains exceeding 46% since the beginning of the year, including a rise of over 38% in the third quarter alone. This is mainly attributed to strong demand for its AI-driven cloud business and enhanced functionalities of its advertising platform, making it one of the biggest winners of the current AI-driven bull market. According to reports, besides Buffett, two other highly renowned legendary figures in the investment world, George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller, have also increased their holdings in Google.

Analysts suggest that the decision to build a position in Google may have been made by one of Berkshire Hathaway's investment managers, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, both of whom have been more active in the technology sector. One of them was the first to invest in Amazon in 2019.

Further reduction in positions for Apple and Bank of America

Despite increasing its stake in Google, another tech stock, Berkshire Hathaway continued to significantly reduce its holdings in Apple during the third quarter. The number of Apple shares held dropped from 280 million to 238.2 million, with the current investment value falling to $60.7 billion, still making it the largest holding in its portfolio.

Previously, Apple accounted for more than 50% of Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio. Since 2024, Buffett has been conducting an “intensive reduction” of Apple shares, having sold two-thirds of his stake cumulatively.As of now, Apple’s share in Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio has decreased from over 50% to 22.69%.

Buffett previously hinted that the reduction in Apple shares was due to tax reasons, but there are also speculations that such large-scale sales indicate that the "Oracle of Omaha" is similarly concerned about Apple’s high valuation.

Apart from Apple, only Bank of America saw reductions in holdings during the third quarter. $Bank of America (BAC.US)$Approximately 37.2 million shares were reduced during the quarter, with the value of holdings decreasing by $1.92 billion. The proportion of the portfolio slightly dropped from 11.12% in the second quarter to 10.96%.

By the end of the third quarter, Bank of America remained Berkshire Hathaway’s third-largest holding. However, over the past year, the company has reduced its stake by more than 40%. By the third quarter of this year, Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings in Bank of America had fallen from 1.03 billion shares in mid-last year to 568 million shares, representing a decline of nearly 45%.

The “Sage of Investing” will step down at the end of the year, marking the beginning of a new chapter for Berkshire Hathaway.

On November 10, Buffett published his annual Thanksgiving letter, which is also his last public letter before stepping down as CEO at the end of the year while continuing to serve as chairman.

In his farewell letter, Buffett spoke to shareholders in a 'slow down' manner. In the letter, he remained humorous, candid, and gentle, like an old friend softly saying: 'The spotlight will now be on Greg Abel, while I will continue to sit by your side, just in a different seat.'

He reflected on his life, stating that he has 'bathed in absurdly good fortune,' being born as a white male in the American Midwest during an era of economic boom.

He admitted that this was not due to ability but rather a gift of the times; as he grows older, such luck will eventually diminish, and what he must do is allow it to flow to others — which is why he remains committed to philanthropy.

Regarding philanthropy, he announced plans to convert more Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares into Class B shares, continuing to donate more of his family’s wealth. He emphasized that this is not a sign of pessimism about Berkshire but rather reflects his preference to 'send the money where it should go while I can still see and guide it.'

When discussing investments, he remains the reassuring wise elder from Omaha. He frankly admitted to experiencing three 50% declines in his lifetime but never losing faith in America or Berkshire.

'Volatility is not risk; panic is.' Behind this casual remark lies half a century of experience.

The most touching line in the letter reads: 'Greatness is not defined by money, fame, or power, but by acts of kindness. Kindness is priceless. A janitor and a chairman are equally human.'

Buffett did not say goodbye, but this letter feels like heartfelt words from an elder gently putting away the microphone. It is tender, composed, clear-minded, and still brimming with goodwill.

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