Warren Buffett's biggest tech regret: Missing Google's IPO; Finally invests after 21 years

4 months ago 97
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Warren Buffett and the precocious Charlie Munger yet ended their decades-long regret by acquiring a $4.3 cardinal involvement successful Alphabet, Google's genitor company, successful Q3 2025. This move, driven by firsthand acquisition of Google's advertizing prowess done GEICO, signals Berkshire Hathaway's increasing assurance successful Alphabet's AI ambitions and its halfway hunt business.

Warren Buffett and the precocious Charlie Munger person agelong called missing Google's 2004 IPO 1 of their biggest investing mistakes—a regret they yet addressed successful Q3 2025 by purchasing a $4.3 cardinal involvement successful Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway's first-ever presumption successful the tech giant.In a 2017 shareholders gathering clip that resurfaced recently, Munger bluntly admitted: "We screwed up." Buffett explained they had nonstop grounds of Google's imaginable done GEICO, Berkshire's security subsidiary, wherever $10-per-click ads with "marginal outgo of precisely zero" delivered monolithic returns. "We could spot successful our ain operations however good that Google advertizing was working. And we conscionable sat determination sucking our thumbs," Munger said, calling it shameful and suggesting their monolithic Apple concern was "atonement.

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Berkshire yet makes its determination connected Alphabet aft 2 decades

That regret persisted until Q3 2025, erstwhile Berkshire disclosed purchasing astir 17.8 cardinal Alphabet shares—mostly Class A voting stock—worth $4.3 cardinal arsenic of September 30. The presumption made Alphabet Berkshire's 10th-largest holding, representing 1.6% of its $267 cardinal equity portfolio and astir 0.3% ownership successful Google's genitor company.The November 2025 disclosure came arsenic Buffett trimmed his apical holding Apple by 15% to $61 cardinal and continued reducing Bank of America.

To the analysts, Berkshire's determination connected Alphabet was some a mode to quiescent a long-standing regret and a stake connected Alphabet's AI ambitions via the Gemini models, not to notation the profitable maturation of Google Cloud and the spot of its ascendant hunt advertising-the aforesaid zero-marginal-cost concern exemplary that GEICO has firsthand experienced.

Google banal rallies arsenic Buffett stake validates AI maturation story

Alphabet shares gained astir 6% to caller highs aft the disclosure and the banal gained astir 70% done 2025, boosting Berkshire's involvement to astir $5.7 cardinal by year's end. The determination marked a quiescent tilt toward exertion vulnerability arsenic Buffett prepared to relinquish the CEO relation to Greg Abel successful 2026.Berkshire's Q4 2025 filing, owed mid-February 2026, volition uncover whether the Oracle of Omaha added to his long-delayed Google presumption earlier handing implicit the reins.

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