Berkshire Hathaway paid $10 billion for Alphabet at about $350 a share; Friday it closed at $283.93
Berkshire Hathaway's AI-era checks are splitting: the $10 billion June placement in Alphabet is under water, while the $930 million Bending Spoons stake rides on 9.625% junk. Saturday's third-quarter report and the November 16 filing show whether the cash pile keeps converting.
Vincent Jiangthree-minute read
The $10 billion Alphabet check is under water
Berkshire Hathaway−0.12% — Berkshire Hathaway, down 0.12 percent today bought its Alphabet+1.01% — Alphabet, up 1.01 percent today stake straight from the source. In June, inside the Google parent's $85 billion equity raise, it paid $5 billion for Class A shares at $351.81 and $5 billion for Class C at $348.20, about $350 a share 12. Warren Buffett initiated the position and has said the heavy second-quarter buying was his decision 12, in the first year of Greg Abel's tenure as chief executive 3.
Alphabet's two share classes have slid more than 24% since June and now trade below Berkshire's discounted purchase price 4; Class C closed Friday at $283.93 1. Barron's counts 106 million shares worth about $30 billion, down from a $37 billion June peak, and puts Berkshire's average cost likely near $320 2.
Berkshire paid about $350 for Alphabet in June; Friday's close was $283.93
Friday's close sits 19% below the $350 entry price
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| 52-week high | $404.47 |
| Berkshire's June placement | $350 |
| Close, 6 Nov 2026 | $283.93 |
The $930 million check rides on 9.625% paper
The second AI-era bet is winning, on paper. Bending Spoons−5.23% — Bending Spoons, down 5.23 percent today, the Milan acquirer that buys software businesses and rebuilds them with AI, listed on Nasdaq in July at $29 a share; Berkshire paid $600 million at the IPO and $330 million more at $33, taking the stake to 4% 56. The stock closed Friday at $42.41 7, and Barron's still calls it Berkshire's bright spot among this year's broken listings 8.
Behind the paper gains, roughly $3.4 billion of fresh secured debt
What the stake rests on, in date order. On October 14, word that Berkshire would pay $33 for 10 million new shares sent the stock up 41% to $53.46 56. On October 28, Bending Spoons priced $1.25 billion of 2032 notes at 9.625%, issued by subsidiaries with no parent guarantee and serviced by the acquired apps' cash, taking new secured debt to roughly $3.4 billion in five weeks, as tracked here 9.
Berkshire closed the $330 million purchase the day after pricing 9. Alphabet filled $10 billion of its $85 billion June raise with a single cornerstone buyer; Bending Spoons gained Berkshire-brand validation in the week its debt priced 29.
Bending Spoons still clears both Berkshire prices, but $11 off its Berkshire-day close
Still above both Berkshire prices, 21% below pop day
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| IPO price, July 2 | $29 |
| Berkshire check, 14 Oct | $33 |
| Close, 14 Oct | $53.46 |
| Close, 6 Nov | $42.41 |
Two filings decide whether the pivot continues
Shareholders have been paid meanwhile: Class B hit a record $579.09 on November 4 while Nvidia+3.65% — Nvidia, up 3.65 percent today and Micron+5.30% — Micron, up 5.30 percent today slid 3. Second-quarter operating income was $12.98 billion 3. The argument is live: Cathy Seifert of CFRA Research asks whether the buying is "a little late"; Meyer Shields of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reads the bets as a long-term wager 4. Bloomberg's own comparison is Buffett's 2016 Apple−0.45% — Apple, down 0.45 percent today buy, derided then and lucrative since 4.
The cash pile peaked in March and shrank as the buying resumed
The tell is the cash line. A record $380.2 billion in March 3 ended June at $365.5 billion 4, after Berkshire's first net-buying quarter in 14 quarters 3. The third-quarter report and its 10-Q post Saturday at about 7:00 a.m 11107. Central time 11; the 13F, the filing that discloses US-listed stock holdings, lands November 16 with September's Alphabet count 10; Bending Spoons reports November 20 7.
Cash and equivalents sit 60% below their mid-2025 peak as Berkshire's checks go out
Data
| Cash and cash equivalents | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '23 | $30.84B |
| Q4 '23 | $38.02B |
| Q1 '24 | $35.55B |
| Q2 '24 | $42.32B |
| Q3 '24 | $37.18B |
| Q4 '24 | $47.73B |
| Q1 '25 | $42.18B |
| Q2 '25 | $100.49B |
| Q3 '25 | $76.31B |
| Q4 '25 | $51.88B |
| Q1 '26 | $58.12B |
| Q2 '26 | $40.61B |
A higher count means Berkshire bought the rout; a flat count means June was one quarter's enthusiasm, and by Barron's cost math the whole 106-million-share position sits under water, not just the placement 2.
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