Meet the Stock Warren Buffett Has the Utmost Confidence In -- He Was a Buyer for 24 Consecutive Quarters

Warren Buffett, who will hand the CEO role of Berkshire Hathaway to Greg Abel after a 60-year tenure that produced a cumulative 5,942,000% gain in BRK.A, has remained a disciplined, value-focused allocator: Berkshire net-sold roughly $184 billion of stocks across the past 12 quarters but made high-conviction buys such as 17,846,142 Alphabet Class A shares in the September quarter and continued additions to Domino’s. From July 2018 through June 2024 Buffett drove nearly $78 billion of repurchases across 24 consecutive quarters—effectively signaling the company as his highest-conviction holding—but buybacks have paused for 16 months as the share premium-to-book rose into the 60–80% range. The activity highlights sustained valuation discipline amid selective investments in durable franchises and growth platforms (notably Alphabet’s ad dominance and Google Cloud/AI), and signals that capital-allocation choices under Buffett’s succession will remain the primary lever for driving Berkshire’s EPS and long-term shareholder returns.

Analysis

Warren Buffett will retire at year-end after 60 years as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO; over his tenure BRK.A delivered a cumulative gain of about 5,942,000% and the company currently reports an investment portfolio of roughly $315 billion, with Greg Abel set as the predetermined successor. This leadership transition frames all capital-allocation decisions but does not negate Buffett’s long-standing emphasis on value.

Between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2025 Berkshire net-sold approximately $184 billion of stocks while previously executing nearly $78 billion of share repurchases from July 17, 2018 through June 30, 2024 across 24 consecutive quarters; buybacks have been paused for 16 months as the premium-to-book expanded from about 30–50% during the repurchase streak to roughly 60–80% more recently. The 2018 board change allowing unlimited repurchases if cash exceeds $30 billion gave Buffett discretion to buyback shares when he judged them cheap, and the repurchase program materially reduced share count and supported EPS growth.

Recent high-conviction purchases include 17,846,142 Alphabet Class A shares in the September quarter, reflecting confidence in Google’s 89–93% global search share and Google Cloud’s >30% sales growth runway via AI, while Domino’s was bought for five straight quarters and shows 13 years of annual base dividend increases and a franchise-led AI/supply-chain plan. These moves signal selective exposure to durable franchises and AI-enabled growth, and future buyback activity or further large stakes will be the primary catalysts to reassess Berkshire’s valuation under new leadership.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Maintain a core holding in Berkshire but consider trimming or avoiding new large allocations while buybacks remain suspended and shares trade at a 60–80% premium to listed book, given management’s continued valuation discipline
• Allocate selectively to Alphabet exposure in portfolios, as Berkshire's sizable September-quarter purchase combined with Google’s 89–93% search share and Google Cloud's >30% sales-growth potential from AI supports a growth-biased thesis
• Evaluate Domino's as a cash-return and operational-improvement candidate given five consecutive quarters of purchases by Berkshire, 13 years of base dividend increases, and management's AI-driven growth plan
• Monitor three near-term catalysts before changing positions: resumption or scale-back of Berkshire buybacks, movements in premium-to-book for BRK shares, and execution on Alphabet's cloud/AI and Domino's growth initiatives