Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway’s end-of-Q3 equity portfolio revealed an unexpected move. Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new position in Alphabet (GOOGL Quick QuoteGOOGL - Free Report) . The move makes the Google-parent Alphabet Berkshire’s 10th largest equity holding at the end of September, according to a regulatory filing, as mentioned on CNBC.

Berkshire revealed a $4.3 billion stake in Alphabet at the end of the third quarter. While Berkshire has Apple shares in its kitty, the conglomerate has been losing interest in Apple shares for quite some time now (read: ETFs in Focus as Buffett Cuts Apple Stake by Nearly 50%).

Per a CNBC article, Berkshire Hathaway’s 3Q25 portfolio shows a 14.9% sequential decline in the Apple exposure, while Alphabet was the new addition. Despite the continuous sale of Apple stake, the iPhone maker remains Berkshire’s biggest equity holding. On the other hand, the surprise purchase sent Alphabet shares up about 4% in after-hours trading on Nov. 14, 2025.

Who Made the Alphabet Call?

The Alphabet stock is up 45.9% year to date (as of Nov. 14, 2025), including a 66% surge in the past six months. Investors should note that Buffett is not known as a great tech stock lover — Apple being the key exception, which he sees as a consumer products company, as quoted on the CNBC article.

But then, incoming CEO Greg Abel may be more inclined to act on the ongoing trend. Another possibility could be that the decision could have come from portfolio managers Ted Weschler or Todd Combs. One of them started a new position in Amazon back in 2019, and Berkshire still owns $2.2 billion worth of Amazon shares, as quoted on CNBC.

Why Alphabet?

Alphabet is a prominent player in the “Magnificent Seven” group – NVIDIA, Microsoft, Meta Amazon, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Tesla. These seven companies are known for their extraordinary AI initiatives.

Alphabet has been one of the best performers in recent weeks among the Mag-7 group as the company topped estimates on both lines. Revenues and earnings grew handsomely year over year (read: Mag-7 Earnings: Trick or Treat for ETF Investors?).

The company raised its 2025 capital spending to $91-93 billion to expand AI infrastructure. Google Cloud revenues surged 33.5% and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.25%. Google’s AI app Gemini now has more than 650 million monthly active users, up from the 450 million active users it had last quarter, as quoted on CNBC. 

In third-quarter 2025, revenues from products built on Alphabet’s generative AI models (Gemini, Imagen, Veo, Chirp and Lyria) grew more than 200% year over year, reflecting accelerating adoption. Search is benefiting from AI Overviews. YouTube is benefiting from growing demand for shorts.

Cheaper Valuation

Alphabet currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 26.68X versus the tech sector’s P/E multiple of 30.75X and the S&P 500’s P/E multiple of 24.03X, as of Oct. 30, 2025. In comparison, Microsoft shares trade at a forward P/E of 32.31X, marking a richer valuation. Alphabet has a good Growth and Momentum Score of “B.” The GOOGL stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and comes from a well-positioned Zacks Sector (top 19%) and Industry (top 33%).

ETFs in Focus

Alphabet has a solid exposure to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like Global X Pure-Cap MSCI Communication Services ETF (GXPC Quick QuoteGXPC - Free Report) , Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (FCOM Quick QuoteFCOM - Free Report) , iShares Global Comm Services ETF (IXP Quick QuoteIXP - Free Report) and Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX Quick QuoteVOX - Free Report) . If you follow Berkshire’s holding pattern and want to bet big on Alphabet, you can follow the above-mentioned ETFs.