Warren Buffett continues to trim Berkshire’s stake in Apple, building record high cash pile

Berkshire Hathaway has continued to trim its holdings in Apple for the third consecutive quarter, with Warren Buffett selling about a quarter of his firm’s stake in Apple. As of late September, Berkshire now holds around $69.9 billion of Apple stock, down from around $84.2 billion at the end of last quarter.

Buffett’s firm has consistently trimming their holdings in Apple and other companies over the course of 2024. They sold 13% of their Apple stake in the first quarter of 2024, and around 50% in the second quarter of 2024. This new sale of around 25% means they now hold around 300 million Apple shares, down from 400 million at the end of Q2.

At the end of 2023, Hathaway held around 905 million Apple shares, meaning their stake is around a third of what it once was. As of market close on November 1st, those 905 million Apple shares would be worth around 201.7 billion.

In the meanwhile, all of this comes as Berkshire Hathaway builds an all time high cash pile. At the end of Q2, their cash pile was around $277 billion. Now, it’s around $325 billion.

Warren Buffett previously stated that Apple would remain their biggest holding, unless “something dramatic happens that really changes capital allocation.” He had also previously stated in Q1 that the move to trim Apple shares was mostly for tax purposes, although the continued selling seems to suggest otherwise.

Apple stock is at a nearly all time high right now, so the selling could perhaps just be a risk-mitigation move from the firm.

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