Warren Buffett may have again cut Berkshire’s stake in Apple in Q3
Warren Buffett speaks at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting on May 3, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska.
CNBC
Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway He may have quietly cut off the huge part Apple Shares will be repurchased in the third quarter, according to a new regulatory report.
Berkshire said in its latest quarterly report that the cost basis of its consumer products equity holdings fell by about $1.2 billion from the previous quarter. This category is dominated by the giant conglomerate’s Apple position, meaning the decline likely reflects additional selling of Apple shares.
Apple’s shares rose more than 24% in the third quarter; This was a rise that could present Buffett with an attractive opportunity to make a profit.
Apple year to date
Buffett has embarked on a dizzying selling spree in Apple in 2024, slashing two-thirds of Berkshire’s holdings in a surprising move for the famed long-term-oriented investor. Berkshire also reduced its Apple shares in the second quarter of this year. The iPhone maker was still Berkshire’s largest holding at the end of June, when it controlled 280 million shares worth $57 billion.
Investors will get more clarity on the exact size of Berkshire’s Apple position when Berkshire unveils its detailed 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission later this month. This will announce changes in individual stocks by September 30.
Buffett had previously hinted that Apple’s share price reduction was due to taxes, but others suggested that the size of the sales meant that the so-called Oracle of Omaha was also concerned about Apple’s high valuation. Some thought it was also part of portfolio management; because Apple shares had grown so much that they once accounted for more than half of Berkshire’s investment portfolio.
Berkshire raised more than $6 billion in cash in the third quarter, having been a net seller of stock for 12 consecutive quarters. Buffett’s once-favorite stock market valuation metric, the benchmark that measures the total value of all publicly traded U.S. stocks against the U.S. gross domestic product, has climbed to an all-time high, reaching a level he once described as “playing with fire.”
