Warren Buffett’s technology-related stock picks have delivered mixed performances in 2026, with two holdings recording substantial gains while another lagged the broader market.
An investor who allocated $1,000 equally across three of Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK.A,BRK.B) notable technology holdings at the beginning of the year would have seen their portfolio grow by November 6.
Here’s how the investments performed and what drove their returns.
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Buffett’s top 3 tech stocks’ returns
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) were the strongest performers, gaining 26.33% and 28.33%, respectively. An initial $333 investment in Apple would have grown to approximately $421 as shares climbed from $271 on January 2 to $342 on November 6.
VeriSign delivered the highest return, with the same investment increasing to approximately $427 as shares advanced from $240.53 to $308.67.
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was the only losing position, declining 9.64% from $315.15 to $284.78. An initial $333 investment would have fallen to approximately $301.21.
Overall, the equally weighted portfolio would have grown from $1,000 to $1,150, representing a $150.07 profit, or 15%.
Notably, as of June 30, Berkshire Hathaway held 227,917,808 Apple shares worth approximately $65.95 billion, making the iPhone manufacturer its largest disclosed equity holding.
Its Alphabet position comprised 105,979,600 Class A and Class C shares valued at approximately $37.76 billion, while its VeriSign stake consisted of 8,989,880 shares worth approximately $2.26 billion.
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These are Berkshire Hathaway’s reported holdings, not necessarily Buffett’s personal investment decisions.
Fundamentals of Buffett’s tech stock picks
Apple’s gain was supported by stronger iPhone sales and Services revenue. For fiscal 2026, revenue increased 15% to $478.83 billion, with iPhone revenue rising 21% to $254.10 billion and Services revenue growing 13% to $123.30 billion. September-quarter revenue reached a record $114.5 billion, up 12%, while diluted EPS increased 14% to $2.10.
However, Apple’s 47.9% quarterly gross margin benefited from tariff refunds, which added approximately one percentage point and boosted EPS by $0.05, suggesting some of the improvement may be temporary.
Alphabet’s decline came despite strong revenue growth, as concerns over AI spending and search monetization weighed on sentiment. Third-quarter revenue surged 25% to $127.6 billion, partly driven by Google Cloud, which surged 103% to $30.7 billion. However, advertising revenue of approximately $82 billion missed expectations by $1.4 billion, while net income fell 25% to $26.2 billion. Free cash flow also turned negative at approximately $9.1 billion.
VeriSign growth was supported by growth in its recurring domain-registration business. Third-quarter revenue increased 5.7% to $443 million, while its .com and .net domain base expanded 6.1% to 182.5 million. New registrations rose to 13.1 million from 10.6 million a year earlier.
The company raised its full-year revenue guidance and repurchased approximately 700,000 shares for $189 million during the quarter. Its recurring revenue and pricing power have supported investor sentiment.
Featured image via Shutterstock
