Alphabet Inc. shares jumped nearly 6% on Monday, hitting a record high, after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a multibillion-dollar position in the Google parent — a rare endorsement from the value-investing conglomerate known for its caution toward technology stocks.
A regulatory filing on Friday revealed that Berkshire acquired 17.85 million Class A shares of Alphabet, worth about $4.93 billion at Friday’s close.
The stake, one of the last major investments under Warren Buffett’s leadership, signals growing confidence in Alphabet’s ability to capitalise on artificial intelligence (AI) while maintaining strong fundamentals.
The move underscores a subtle but meaningful shift in Berkshire’s investing strategy as Buffett, 95, prepares to hand over the CEO role to Greg Abel at the end of 2025.
AI endorsement amid bubble fears
Berkshire’s investment arrives at a time when investors are divided over the AI boom’s sustainability.
Despite widespread concerns that valuations have outpaced fundamentals, Alphabet’s disciplined approach to monetising AI appears to have set it apart.
Alphabet shares are up 46% in 2025, outperforming all other members of the so-called “Magnificent Seven”, and rising nearly 14% this quarter alone.
The stock’s valuation multiple of 25 times forward earnings remains below Microsoft’s 29 and Nvidia’s 30, according to LSEG data.
Several analysts have praised Alphabet’s leadership in AI, citing its massive cloud investments, early adoption of AI-enhanced search, and a robust advertising business that continues to fund data-centre expansion.
Last month’s earnings report further reinforced that trend, showing Google Cloud’s growth accelerating as AI investments begin translating into tangible revenue.
Buffett’s regret turns into opportunity
The investment in Alphabet also represents a philosophical shift for Buffett, who has long said he views Apple—Berkshire’s largest holding—as a consumer products company, rather than a tech stock.
Both Buffett and the late Charlie Munger have publicly expressed regret for not investing in Google earlier, particularly after witnessing Geico’s reliance on its advertising services.
Buying Alphabet now allows Berkshire to correct what Munger once called one of the firm’s “biggest misses.”
It remains unclear whether the Alphabet stake was initiated by Buffett himself, his long-time deputies Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, or incoming CEO Greg Abel.
However, Buffett typically oversees Berkshire’s largest stock purchases directly.
Google expands global connectivity with new subsea cable
Separately, Google announced on Monday a major infrastructure investment aimed at expanding global digital connectivity and supporting AI-driven services.
In a blog post, the company unveiled Dhivaru, a new Trans-Indian Ocean subsea cable system connecting the Maldives, Christmas Island, and Oman.
The project builds on Google’s Australia Connect initiative and is designed to enhance reach, reliability, and resilience across the Indian Ocean region.
“Tremendous adoption of groundbreaking services such as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image and Vertex AI means resilient connectivity has never been more important,” Google said. “The speed of AI adoption is also outpacing anyone’s predictions, and Google is investing to meet this long-term demand.”
The company also announced plans to establish two new connectivity hubs in the Maldives and Christmas Island, which will serve as regional nodes to improve digital infrastructure for Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Oceania.
The subsea cable and hub investments reflect Google’s strategic effort to fortify its AI ecosystem and ensure the stability of global data flow, key to the performance of its cloud and AI products.
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