Berkshire's $7B Alphabet Bet; Anthropic Revenue Surges

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought roughly $7 billion of Alphabet shares on the open market in the second quarter, making the Google parent its third-largest equity holding. The purchase, disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday, sits behind only Apple and Bank of America in the conglomerate's stock portfolio by market value.

Berkshire sold about $75 billion in equity overall during the quarter, including a significant reduction in its Apple stake. The company's cash pile swelled to $277 billion as of June 30, reflecting limited buying activity beyond the Alphabet addition. Buffett has said he struggles to find attractively priced investments at current valuations.

Alphabet shares have climbed about 17% this year through Friday's close, trailing the S&P 500's roughly 18% gain. The stock trades at about 22 times forward earnings, below the 28 multiple for other megacap tech names. Analysts expect Alphabet to report third-quarter revenue growth of about 12% from a year earlier when it announces results Oct. 24, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The investment marks a shift for Berkshire, which historically avoided big tech names outside of Apple. The company also added stakes in Chubb and Liberty SiriusXM during the period, while eliminating holdings in Snowflake, DataDog and T-Mobile US.

Separately, Anthropic's revenue surged more than 14-fold in the second quarter from a year earlier, the company said, as it prepares for a potential blockbuster initial public offering. The AI startup's growth underscores the rapid adoption of large language models in enterprise and consumer applications. Anthropic has not disclosed a timeline for its IPO but has been in discussions with underwriters, people familiar with the matter said.

In Asia, investors are watching for China's retail sales and investment data due later Monday. The figures will offer the latest read on the world's second-largest economy after a string of weak indicators. China's State Taxation Administration also plans to train local officers on how to tax offshore trusts, following confusion among wealthy individuals after new rules took effect.

Geopolitical tensions flared over the weekend. President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would soon become U.S. territory, a claim quickly rebuffed by Iran. Experts warned that a rapid release of oil stockpiles in response to the Iran conflict could damage the caverns that hold the U.S. strategic oil reserves, which are at a four-decade low. Trump also asked the Pentagon to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea, saying Seoul had declined to help denuclearize Iran.

On the Gaza front, Trump's envoys met with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday to advance a peace plan, a diplomatic source said.

In commodities, extreme heat has spurred the earliest Champagne harvest on record. The season officially starts Aug. 15, with most picking expected between Aug. 20 and 25 – roughly two weeks earlier than usual. Before the early 2000s, harvesting almost always took place in September or October. Lower crop yields, weaker consumer demand and a threat to the drink's famed fresh taste are among the challenges facing winemakers. Champagne brought in $6.6 billion in sales revenue last year.

U.S. stock futures were little changed early Monday, while Asia markets opened mixed.

Berkshire's Class B shares are up about 17% year to date. The company's BRK.B stock page tracks its performance relative to the broader stock market analysis.

Alphabet reports third-quarter results Oct. 24. The filing covers Berkshire's U.S.-listed stock holdings as of June 30. Changes made during the third quarter won't be known until the next filing, due by mid-November.