Google Shares Post Record 13.7% Drop; Berkshire's Estimated Paper Loss Nears $3.2B

Google shares fell 13.7%, their largest single-day decline on record, cutting the value of Berkshire Hathaway’s position by about $8.2 billion from its June 30 level.

Berkshire held 78,791,167 Class A shares and 27,188,433 Class C shares as of June 30, or about 106 million shares combined. At $279.60 each, the position was worth about $29.6 billion, compared with roughly $37.8 billion at the end of the second quarter. The two classes trade as GOOGL and GOOG.

An estimated $3.2 billion paper loss uses an assumed $310 average purchase price. Berkshire has not disclosed an exact average cost; using $300 instead would put the estimated loss at about $2.2 billion. The unrealized-loss estimate compares the stake with an assumed cost basis, while the $8.2 billion figure compares its value with the June 30 level.

Berkshire’s third-quarter 13F filing is expected in mid-November and may update the disclosed share count.