Warren Buffett Watched Alphabet's Stock Price Climb 9,000% Before He Decided to Invest. Here's Why He and Greg Abel Are Making It One of Berkshire Hathaway's Biggest Investments Now.

Nearly 10 years ago, Warren Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) investors that he had made a mistake for not buying Google when he had the opportunity many years earlier. He had become quite familiar with the business because GEICO, Berkshire's consumer insurance company, was paying $10 or $11 per click for advertising on the search engine owned by Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL). At the 2017 shareholder meeting, Buffett said he'd missed the opportunity, but he wouldn't bet against Google. The stock climbed significantly while Buffett sat on the sidelines. He finally pulled the trigger on the stock in the third quarter of last year.