Greg Abel has put 55 percent of Berkshire Hathaway's $360 billion equity portfolio into just four stocks since taking over as chief executive on Dec. 31, a concentration level that matches the Buffett era but with a different technological center of gravity.
The new concentration
Apple remains the largest holding at $76.6 billion, or 21.3 percent of invested assets. American Express sits at $47.2 billion, Alphabet at $36.9 billion, and Coca-Cola at $35.3 billion. Together they account for $196 billion. Abel reshuffled the portfolio in the first quarter, yet the top-four weight is virtually unchanged from the Buffett years.
Alphabet becomes the AI proxy
Buffett started the Alphabet position, but Abel grew it to nearly $37 billion. The bet rests on Google Cloud, which hit a $99 billion annualized revenue run rate in the latest quarter, up 82 percent year over year. Google still commands more than 91 percent of global search traffic as of August, giving the ad business pricing power that funds the cloud build-out. AI-related equities now make up roughly 32 percent of the portfolio.
The indefinite dividend compounders
Coca-Cola and American Express have been held since 1988 and 1991 respectively. Buffett labeled both "indefinite" holdings in his 2023 letter. Berkshire's cost bases are roughly $3.25 a share for Coke and $8.49 for Amex. Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for 64 consecutive years and operates in every country except North Korea, Cuba, and Russia. American Express collects fees from both merchants and cardholders, a dual revenue stream that has compounded for decades.
What to watch
The portfolio's tech tilt is now explicit. If Cloud growth decelerates or search share erodes, the Alphabet overweight becomes a concentrated risk rather than a conviction position. The next 13F will show whether Abel trims Apple further or lets the four-stock anchor ride.