Google is about to raise $80 billion through a new share issuance. Yes, you read that right. Eighty billion dollars. One of the largest equity deals of all time. And the most surprising part? Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is participating with a $10 billion investment.
THE NUMBERS
First, let’s look at the numbers because understanding the structure of the deal is important.
The $80 billion will come from three sources. First, a $40 billion at-the-market program, meaning the company will gradually sell shares directly into the market starting in the third quarter. Second, $30 billion through underwritten offerings, including $15 billion in mandatory convertible preferred shares. Third, a $10 billion investment from Berkshire Hathaway.
This is where things get even more interesting. Berkshire is not entering casually. It is buying $5 billion worth of Class A shares at $351.81 each and another $5 billion worth of Class C shares at $348.20. In other words, Buffett’s company is placing a strong vote of confidence in a technology investment, something it has rarely done in the past.
The deal is being managed by some of Wall Street’s biggest names: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. Goldman Sachs is also acting as the agent for the Berkshire transaction.
WHY IT’S DOING THIS
You might be wondering why a company with enormous cash reserves needs $80 billion.
The answer is simple: infrastructure.
The company itself has stated that demand for its AI solutions from businesses and consumers exceeds its available capacity. In other words, it has more customers than it can currently serve. It needs capital to build more data centers, acquire more chips, and expand computing power.
To understand the scale of this, capital expenditures for 2026 are expected to reach between $180 billion and $190 billion. According to the company’s chief financial officer, spending in 2027 will be significantly higher.
How much higher? Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh estimates that capital expenditures could reach $300 billion next year, a figure that would exceed the company’s own cash flow.
This is where one of the company’s biggest advantages comes into play: its proprietary TPU chips. While competitors depend heavily on Nvidia for AI infrastructure, the company designs its own chips. As Singh noted, it does not need to rely on Nvidia. That is a unique competitive advantage. Even CEO Sundar Pichai, when asked what keeps him awake at night, answered: computing capacity.
WHAT ANALYSTS ARE SAYING
Now to the most important question: what does this mean for the future?
Analysts generally view the move positively. HSBC maintains a Buy rating, although it slightly reduced its price target to $420. Wells Fargo remains Overweight with a target of $435.
One figure stands out above all others. The company’s cloud backlog, meaning orders waiting to be fulfilled, surged from $108 billion in the second quarter of 2025 to $462 billion in the first quarter of 2026. That increase happened in just three quarters.
There is also a historic element to this story. This is the company’s first major common stock issuance in nearly 20 years. A business that spent the last 15 years buying back its own shares is now doing the exact opposite. When a two-decade strategy changes, something significant is happening.
And that is not all. Combined capital expenditures by Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are expected to exceed $700 billion this year. By 2027, total AI-related capital expenditures could surpass $1 trillion.
One final observation is worth noting. Tom Graff of Facet believes this move may be a canary in the coal mine for AI companies preparing to go public, including OpenAI and Anthropic. These firms will also need to raise enormous amounts of capital on a continuous basis. And the more capital that flows into Google, the less remains available for everyone else.
