Alphabet (GOOGL) stock was trading higher in pre-market trading Thursday, around $337.12, up 0.63%, after two developments: Berkshire Hathaway’s increased stake in the company and a favorable court ruling on Google’s ad-tech business.

Berkshire CEO Greg Abel said on CNBC Wednesday that the conglomerate added roughly $17 billion of Alphabet stock in the second quarter, making it the largest addition to Berkshire’s portfolio during the period. Berkshire now holds about 106 million Class A and Class C Alphabet shares, valued at approximately $36.6 billion. That makes Alphabet Berkshire’s third-largest equity holding. The move is notable given Berkshire’s long-standing reputation for avoiding technology stocks; its earlier large bet on Apple, built under Warren Buffett, was for years its most prominent tech exception.

Abel said the investment reflected Berkshire’s own experience using artificial intelligence across its businesses. Berkshire owns companies in a wide range of industries, giving it visibility into how AI is being deployed and what benefits it is producing.

“We have a lot of visibility from within our companies as to how we’re using AI, what type of benefits it’s delivering, so that brought incremental interest, and then we saw Google as a significant player,” Abel told CNBC’s Becky Quick.

The Berkshire position in Alphabet began roughly 15 months ago, when the firm invested $10 billion at a 6.5% discount. Abel said he personally recommended that discount rate, and Warren Buffett agreed. The stake was built during the period in which Buffett stepped back from day-to-day oversight and Abel took over as CEO, making Alphabet one of the largest investments of his tenure so far.

Alongside the Berkshire news, a federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Department of Justice’s request to force Google to sell its AdX advertising exchange. The ruling removes one of the larger regulatory overhangs facing Alphabet. Google will keep control of AdX rather than being required to divest it, giving investors more clarity around the company’s ad-tech revenue stream. The ad-tech case is one of several US antitrust proceedings Google has faced in recent years, alongside separate cases targeting its search distribution practices and its Play Store, which have also weighed on investor sentiment toward the stock.

Abel also pointed to a possible indirect benefit from the AI buildout for Berkshire Hathaway Energy. He said rising demand for data centers is increasing electricity consumption, which could support the utility business.

Wall Street remains broadly positive on GOOGL. Of 28 analysts covering the stock, 24 rate it a Buy and four rate it a Hold, with no Sell ratings currently issued. The average price target is $425.88, implying about 26% upside from current levels.

Alphabet is one of five hyperscalers, alongside Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Oracle, that are spending heavily on AI infrastructure. Goldman Sachs estimates global hyperscaler capital expenditure for 2026 at around $1 trillion.

Berkshire also increased its Delta Air Lines position by 44%, or about $1.6 billion, during the same quarter it expanded its Alphabet stake.