The Stocks Berkshire Bought and Sold in Q2
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) reported Q2 portfolio changes in an Aug. 14 SEC filing. It was a net buyer of equities, buying $19.8B vs $3.7B sold, and repurchased $4.5B of its own stock. Berkshire increased Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG) and added D.R. Horton (DHI), while trimming Bank of America (BAC), Kroger (KR), Ally (ALLY), Capital One (COF), Nucor (NUE) and fully exiting Constellation Brands (STZ).
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
For traders, the main value is tracking Berkshire’s disclosed positioning shifts across tech, homebuilding, media, retail, and financials. However, the article does not introduce new fundamentals for the underlying companies, so any price impact is likely sentiment-driven and secondary.
Market read
This is a portfolio-tracking update: it can inform positioning and sentiment, but it is not a fresh earnings, guidance, or regulatory catalyst for the named stocks.
What to watch
The article does not provide exact trade dates, whether trades were part of broader derivatives or hedging, or whether the SEC filing reflects only end-of-quarter holdings rather than intra-quarter conviction.
Background
The piece frames Q2 as a continuation of Greg Abel’s portfolio reshaping after an earlier equity “housecleaning,” highlighting net buying, buybacks, and cash levels.
Ticker impact
Berkshire bought $10B of Alphabet in a private placement, boosting GOOGL holdings by 45% and making it the fourth-largest U.S. position.
Modest upward bias at the margin; not a standalone driver for Alphabet’s price.
This is disclosed portfolio activity without new Alphabet fundamentals, guidance, or regulatory developments.
Berkshire’s private placement increased GOOG holdings by more than 650%, lifting it to 3.2% of Berkshire’s U.S. equity portfolio.
Limited near-term impact; more of a sentiment/positioning signal than a fundamental change.
No new GOOG-specific event is provided beyond Berkshire’s disclosed transaction.
Berkshire added one new stock in Q2, D.R. Horton, after previously buying and selling the homebuilder multiple times.
Small, short-lived sentiment effect possible; fundamentals likely dominate.
The piece lacks hard details on stake size, timing, or any DHI-specific catalyst.
Berkshire increased Delta Air Lines by 44% in Q2, adding 17.5 million shares after initiating the position three months earlier.
Potential modest support for the stock’s sentiment, not a major repricing catalyst.
No new Delta earnings, guidance, or event is cited in the article.
Berkshire increased Lennar Class A by 30% in Q2, making LEN its 18th-largest U.S. investment at 0.4% of the portfolio.
Minimal price impact expected.
The article provides portfolio-weight context but no Lennar-specific fundamental news.
Berkshire boosted its stake in The New York Times by almost 4% in Q2, though NYT remains about 0.4% of the portfolio.
Limited impact; any effect likely fades quickly.
No NYT-specific catalyst is included beyond the portfolio adjustment.
Berkshire more than doubled its Macy’s position in Q2, but Macy’s still sits at less than 0.1% of the portfolio.
Possible short-term sentiment lift, but not a fundamental repricing driver.
The article does not provide Macy’s earnings, guidance, or operational news.
Berkshire cut Bank of America by less than 6% in Q2, though BAC remains a top-five holding and was replaced at No. 4 by GOOGL.
Neutral to slightly negative at the margin, but likely negligible.
The reduction is small and no BAC-specific negative development is cited.
Market effects
Read-through to Berkshire’s preferences: more tech and homebuilders, less financials and some cyclicals, but without new sector data or company catalysts.
None material; article focuses on U.S. equity portfolio changes.
Alphabet exposure is global, but the article provides no new international/regulatory developments.
Counterpoint
Because many positions are small relative to Berkshire’s total portfolio, the trades may reflect rebalancing and liquidity management more than a strong directional thesis.
Key entities
- companyBerkshire Hathaway
Disclosed Q2 net buying of equities, a large buyback, and cash decline, alongside specific stock adds and trims.
- companyAlphabet
Berkshire increased both GOOGL and GOOG via a $10B private placement disclosed in the quarterly report.
- companyD.R. Horton
Berkshire added DHI as a new holding in Q2.
- companyDelta Air Lines
Berkshire increased DAL by 44% in Q2 after initiating the position three months earlier.
- companyBank of America
Berkshire trimmed BAC by less than 6% in Q2 while keeping it a top-five holding.
