For decades, Warren Buffett treated tech stocks like they were written in a language he didn’t speak. “Circle of competence,” he’d say, which is investor-speak for “I don’t get it, so I’m not touching it.” Fair enough—the guy made billions without needing to understand how algorithms work.
Then came Apple in 2016, and Buffett dipped his toe into the tech pool. But it was a calculated dip: Apple was cheap, trading at 10-14x earnings. Classic Buffett move—find a wonderful company at a fair price, then buy it. Apple became his largest holding, and he basically stopped there. Tech? Still not really his thing.
Until now.
In Q3 2025, Berkshire Hathaway made a move that had Wall Street doing double-takes: Buffett bought 17.8 million shares of Alphabet (Google’s parent company) for $4.3 billion. This wasn’t a toe-dip. This was a cannonball into the deep end.
And the market noticed. Alphabet stock jumped 5% on the first trading day after the news dropped. Because when Buffett moves, people pay attention. His 13F filings—the quarterly reports showing what he’s buying and selling—are basically financial tea leaves that millions of investors try to read.
Here’s the thing: Alphabet actually fits the Buffett playbook. At the start of Q3, its P/E ratio dipped below 20—downright cheap for a company with Google’s earnings power and market dominance. Sure, it’s climbed to 27 now, but Buffett probably loaded up early in the quarter when it was even cheaper. Since Q3 started, Alphabet has rocketed 63% to $290 per share and is up 53% year-to-date.
So what changed? Why is Buffett suddenly comfortable with a tech giant?
Maybe it’s because Alphabet actually makes sense. Google’s search dominance is a genuine moat—a durable competitive advantage that’s hard to replicate. The company prints cash. It’s not some speculative AI play; it’s a proven business with real earnings. That’s very Buffett.
Or maybe—and this is the spicy take—it signals a changing of the guard. Greg Abel is set to take over as CEO in January, and this could be a sign that new leadership is willing to look at “wonderful” tech companies at fair prices. A shift in philosophy? Time will tell.
Either way, Alphabet is now the cheapest of the Magnificent 7 stocks (tied with Meta), which makes it the kind of value play Buffett has always loved. He’s not chasing hype; he’s buying a quality business at a reasonable price.
The irony? The guy who spent decades saying he didn’t understand tech just proved he understands value better than anyone. And that’s the real story here.
