There was a bit of a stir Saturday, May 4, when people looking at Berkshire Hathaway’s quarterly report noted that the value of its Apple stock holdings was down 22%.
Did that mean Warren Buffett was bailing on its biggest holding?
No, Buffett told shareholders attending the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and (BRK.B) in Omaha, Neb. on Saturday.
Why sell Apple?
But the number is a bit misleading. Berkshire reportedly did sell about 115 million Apple shares, about 13% of its stake. Based on the stock price, Berkshire’s Apple stake ended the first quarter with 790 million shares.
The transactions were likely spread out over the first quarter. Using Apple’s March 31 closing price, Buffett sold about $20 billion worth of Apple shares.
So, why sell at all? Basically, for tax reasons, Buffett said.
Apple’s shares had risen 48% in 2023.
Apple’s shares, however, fell nearly 11% during the first quarter of 2024. They’re up 7% since the end of March and 7.7% just since the end of April.
Berkshire is up 11% this year but down 5% so far in the second quarter.
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Berkshire Hathaway has been a shareholder of Apple since 2016 when the late Charlie Munger convinced Buffett it was a great stock to buy. Munger, Berkshire’s long-time vice chairman, died in late 2023.
The investment has been fantastically successful, and Buffett still believes deeply in Apple.
He predicted Apple stock will still be Berkshire’s biggest holding at the end of the year. And, he noted, Apple CEO Tim Cook was attending the meeting.