Warren Buffett Sells Nearly Half Of Berkshire's Shares In Apple

Warren Buffett sells nearly 50% of his shares in Apple (photo: x @WarrenBuffett)

JAKARTA - According to a report by several published Saturday, July 3, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold nearly 50% of its shares in Apple during the second quarter of 2024. They previously reduced their holdings by around 13% in the first quarter. Berkshire Hathaway has rapidly increased its cash reserves in recent months, by cutting its position in some of its key holdings.

When Berkshire Hathaway initially sold its 13% stake in Apple in the first quarter of 2024, they suggested that the move was primarily for tax purposes in earnings calls. Warren Buffett also assured investors that Apple would remain their largest holdings, unless "there is something dramatically that completely changes the capital allocation." They also reduced their position by about 1% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

However, this much larger sales appears to show uncertainty regarding Apple and the market as a whole. Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves have now reached a total of 277 billion US dollars, up 88 billion US dollars from the previous quarter. At one point, Berkshire Hathaway's stake in AAPL reached about half of its entire portfolio.

Prior to this latest sale, the company held about 789 million shares in AAPL. Now they hold around 400 million shares. Their holdings in Apple are now around 2.6% of the entire company, with a value of 84.2 billion US dollars today, down from 135.4 billion US dollars in the previous quarter. By the end of 2023, the company held 905 million shares in Apple, which would be worth $198.9 billion at current prices.

At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in May, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the company shortly after their initial sale - and still stated that "it is an honor to have them as shareholders."