Warren Buffett has publicly acknowledged significant mistakes in his technology stock investments, revealing he 'made a mistake by not investing in Alphabet sooner, although it was not among my favourites' during a recent CNBC interview. The 95-year-old investor also admitted to selling Apple shares 'too soon' despite it remaining Berkshire's largest holding at nearly 22% of the portfolio. Buffett explained that 'I sold it too soon. But, I bought it even sooner,' noting he sold a major chunk of Berkshire's Apple holding but it still constitutes the company's largest position. The Oracle of Omaha has previously reflected on missed opportunities with Google, stating he avoided buying tech stocks because he didn't understand how they were making money, a decision that cost Berkshire investors a lot of money. Berkshire invested about $35 billion in Apple during 2016-2018, which then surged to around $185 billion before tax including dividends and gains, with Buffett noting 'And I didn't have to do a damn thing.'
Despite Buffett's admission of buying Alphabet too late, Berkshire's stake in Alphabet now tops $31 billion, making it the third-largest holding after only Apple and American Express. The position grew through three phases - initial purchases in Q3 2025, continued additions through early 2026, and a $10 billion private deal in June tied to Alphabet's $80 billion AI fundraising. Buffett confirmed he personally initiated the Alphabet investment, stating 'I initiated it. I am not doing anything that he does not approve of. He is not doing anything I don't approve of. We talk all the time, but he is the decider,' referring to his CEO successor Greg Abel. The company is experiencing significant headwinds as it navigates delays in launching Gemini 3.5 Pro, its next flagship AI model, with CEO Sundar Pichai having signaled a June release. Engineers are said to still be working on coding performance, and some researchers reportedly worry rival models now outperform Gemini on enterprise benchmarks.
Berkshire Hathaway's equity portfolio, valued at an estimated $343 billion as of early July 2026, shows a significant concentration in three holdings whose growth is increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. According to the latest 13F filing, Apple, Coca-Cola, and Alphabet now account for over a third of the portfolio, with none being traditional AI companies but their growth increasingly dependent on AI technologies. This represents a major shift from Buffett's historical avoidance of technology stocks, as he famously stated they fell outside his circle of competence before changing course with Apple in 2016 and Alphabet in 2025. The latest developments show Buffett's confidence in Alphabet's AI strategy, with the company planning $185 billion in capital spending this year - a figure Buffett called 'real money' that dwarfs railroad spending. However, Buffett acknowledged his own missed opportunity, stating 'I made a mistake by not investing in Alphabet sooner, although it was not among my favourites,' noting that Google and competitors are now laying out hundreds of billions in real money.
Buffett has issued a stark warning about the current market environment, stating 'It is tough to find value when everybody is preferring gambling' during his latest CNBC interview. The legendary investor criticized the current environment, highlighting that 'there is more money in actually cultivating gamblers than in cultivating investors' as humans love to gamble so much. He noted that 'there are times when opportunities are just thrown at an investor so fast, and then there are other times when the investor is lucky to find one thing in a couple of years' - emphasizing that the latter should always prevail. Despite these challenges, Buffett's endorsement of Alphabet continues to influence markets, with the stock having surged nearly 4% following his interview, adding $8 billion to Larry Page's net worth and over $7 billion to Sergey Brin's net worth. However, Alphabet stock has since pulled back, changing hands near $353 on Thursday, down from above $370 days earlier.
