Market rotation lifts Berkshire to records
Berkshire Hathaway pulled ahead of major U.S. stock indexes during the week as investors retreated from technology companies amid concerns that heavy spending on artificial-intelligence infrastructure might not deliver adequate returns. CNBC described the conglomerate, with relatively limited AI exposure, as an apparent destination for investors seeking greater stability.
Berkshire rose more than 5%, while the S&P 500 lost almost 2.7% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 3.4%. Three additional record closing highs helped Berkshire’s Class B shares move 5.8 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500 for the year, compared with a 13.6-point deficit a month earlier. Thursday’s selling put the Nasdaq more than 10% below its latest peak, meeting the usual definition of a correction, before a partial Friday recovery.
Two weeks earlier, Berkshire had recovered the roughly 15% decline suffered during the three months after Warren Buffett announced on May 3, 2025, that he would relinquish the chief executive role at year-end. Its shares now stand about 6% above their record closes immediately before that announcement. On Saturday, November 7, Berkshire reported that quarterly share repurchases more than doubled to $9.6 billion, from $4.5 billion in the second quarter, while operating earnings slipped slightly.
Alphabet exposes the limits of Berkshire’s AI shelter
Berkshire is not insulated from the technology selloff. At June 30, it owned almost 106 million Alphabet shares, a position initiated under Buffett in the third quarter of 2025. During this year’s second quarter, Berkshire bought $7 billion of shares in the market and another $10 billion directly from Alphabet in June.
The direct purchase comprised approximately 28.6 million shares: $5 billion of Class A stock at $351.81 each and $5 billion of Class C stock at $348.20. Both classes now trade around $284. Their roughly 20% decline since June 30 reduced the reported holding’s market value from $37.8 billion to approximately $30.2 billion, assuming no subsequent changes. Alphabet consequently slipped from third to fourth among Berkshire’s equity holdings, behind Coca-Cola at $38.3 billion.
Analysts offered competing interpretations. CFRA Research’s Cathy Seifert, quoted by Bloomberg, questioned whether Berkshire’s increased exposure came too late. Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields viewed it as a potentially conservative, long-term investment in AI’s development. Berkshire’s forthcoming third-quarter portfolio disclosure, expected in just over a week, will show whether the position changed through September 30.
Stock selection comes under renewed scrutiny
Barron’s columnist Andrew Bary estimated Berkshire’s Alphabet investment was about $3 billion below its purchase cost, a different measure from the holding’s decline in market value since June. He argued that Berkshire’s stock selection had generated limited value this decade, against a roughly 150% S&P 500 return since the end of 2019 and a quadrupling of technology stocks.
Bary identified Berkshire’s five Japanese trading-house investments, Chevron and Chubb as successes, while citing Verizon, HP, Paramount, General Motors, Constellation Brands and Pool as disappointing or mediocre positions subsequently exited. He estimated Occidental Petroleum was about 20% above Berkshire’s acquisition cost but had lagged much of the energy sector despite sharply higher crude prices this year.
Apple illustrated the cost of reducing a winning position. Berkshire has cut its stake by 75% since 2023, at an average selling price Bary estimated near $200, versus a current price of $342. Apple nevertheless remains its largest equity holding at $78 billion, with the stock up approximately 1,200% since Berkshire began buying in early 2016. Bary suggested CEO Greg Abel could increasingly emphasize operating improvements and acquisitions rather than equity investing.
Fresh Sirius XM purchases accompany a rally
Berkshire added approximately $27 million to its $4.1 billion Sirius XM position, buying more than 924,000 shares on Friday, Monday and Tuesday at an average $29.10. The purchases followed the satellite-radio company’s report the previous Thursday of 14% growth in third-quarter free cash flow, 5,000 additional self-pay subscribers and higher full-year 2026 financial guidance.
Sirius XM gained 4.9% to $28.67 on earnings day and reached $30.80 by Tuesday. Berkshire disclosed its purchases late Tuesday; CNBC said that disclosure apparently helped support Wednesday’s further 8.4% rise to $33.40. Shares touched a 52-week intraday high of $33.76 Thursday before ending Friday at $32.40, up 18.6% since earnings and 62% for the year.
These were Berkshire’s first additions since late July and early August 2025. It bought 7.3 million shares during 2025 at an average $21.86. CNBC described the investment as likely managed by portfolio manager Ted Weschler, rather than presenting that attribution as confirmed.
Utility faces rate and wildfire decisions
Pacific Power, part of Berkshire’s PacifiCorp utility business, is seeking California regulatory approval for a 57% rate increase that would add $120 to a typical monthly residential bill. The company says a separate 14% reduction taking effect January 1 would partially offset the increase.
Much of the proposed $103 million in additional revenue would cover spending already underway to strengthen equipment against wildfires in a sparsely populated, heavily wooded service territory. The utility faces approximately $637 million in claims connected with fires in 2020 and 2022.
Separately, Reuters reported that Oregon’s Supreme Court heard arguments during the week over whether to reinstate a jury verdict involving four 2020 wildfires. That proceeding could expose PacifiCorp to tens of billions of dollars in potential damages; the amount remains contingent, not an established liability.
AI opportunities sit alongside a large financial cushion
Abel told CNBC in early September that Berkshire Hathaway Energy could benefit substantially from supplying electricity to data centers. He also said he and Buffett considered Alphabet an important participant in technology expected to reshape American business. Those opportunities complicate the portrayal of Berkshire as simply an alternative to AI-related investments.
In an archival shareholder-meeting exchange included by CNBC, Buffett acknowledged limited expertise in AI but anticipated productivity gains, lower employment in some activities and major social disruption. He argued that greater output with less work could ultimately benefit society while demanding difficult adjustments. Charlie Munger challenged the desirability of an extreme scenario in which production required almost no workers and leisure dominated everyday life.
CNBC’s accompanying figures put Berkshire’s market capitalization near $1.22 trillion, with Class A shares at $856,612 and Class B shares at $570.89. The Class B trailing price-to-earnings ratio was 14.35. At June 30, cash totaled $365.5 billion, down 8% from March; excluding railroad cash and subtracting Treasury bills payable, the figure was $359.2 billion, down 3.8%. Those June balances provide financial context but are not updated third-quarter cash figures.
Source: CNBC