Apple accounts for a disproportionately large share of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio.
Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's holding company, owns a portfolio of around 45 stocks. But those are far from equally weighted. Several stocks, like drink maker Diageo and financial company Jefferies, barely register above 0% of the entire portfolio. But Apple (AAPL 0.05%) accounts for an outsize portion of the total.
Almost half of the total portfolio
Apple weighs in at 44.7% of the entire Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio, equivalent to $185 billion. It owns nearly 790 million shares of Apple stock, or a 5.1% stake in the company.
Buffett recently grouped Apple together with American Express and Coca-Cola as stocks he plans to hold forever. "Unless something really extraordinary happens," he said at the 2024 annual shareholder meeting, "we will own Apple, American Express and Coca-Cola when Greg takes over this place," referring to Greg Abel, who is next in line to lead the company.
Apple has all of the qualities Buffett frequently extols in his shareholder letters.
It has strong management, with a seamless transition from founder and former CEO Steve Jobs to current CEO Tim Cook. It sells excellent products and has a competitive advantage, and customers are willing to pay premium prices for access to these products. It also has varied revenue streams in its broad array of products and services, and it plays a large role in the global economy, with continuing opportunities to do so. It also pays a dividend.
When Buffett first bought Apple stock in 2016, it was trading at a low P/E ratio. That's increased over the past few years, but Buffett hasn't sold it, indicating that he still thinks it's a good value at the current price.
Apple stock has been feeling some pressure this year, and it's been knocked down from the most valuable company on the market to second place. But that's short-term, and the long-term thesis, which is how Buffett views things, looks strong.
American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Jennifer Saibil has positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Jefferies Financial Group. The Motley Fool recommends Diageo Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
FAQs
“Berkshire owned exactly 400,000,000 shares of Apple and 400,000,000 shares of Coca-Cola as of June 30, 2024,” David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland's Robert H.
What does Warren Buffett think of Apple stock? ›
Buffett previously had nice things to say about the technology giant, referring to it as a “better business” than other companies in Berkshire's portfolio. Despite those positive comments, recent moves suggest Buffett is changing his strategy with Apple.
How much did Buffett sell of Apple? ›
Warren Buffett's sale of 510 million Apple shares will go down as one of the best bets of his career.
How much was Apple stock at its highest? ›
The all-time high Apple stock closing price was 234.55 on July 16, 2024. The Apple 52-week high stock price is 237.23, which is 3.6% above the current share price.
Who owns most of Apple stock? ›
Approximately 48.69% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 0.11% is owned by Insiders and 51.20% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors. The ownership structure of Apple (AAPL) stock is a mix of institutional, retail and individual investors.
What stock does Warren Buffett own the most of? ›
What is Warren Buffett's favorite stock? Even after selling about half of Berkshire's stake in Apple in the second quarter, Apple is still Berkshire's largest stock holding. In fact, Berkshire's Apple stake is more than twice the size of its second-largest stock investment.
How much of Apple does BlackRock own? ›
2024-02-12 - BlackRock Inc. has filed an SC 13G/A form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosing ownership of 1,043,713,019 shares of Apple Inc. (US:AAPL). This represents 6.7 percent ownership of the company.
What was the cheapest Apple stock ever? ›
The lowest closing price for Apple (AAPL) all-time was $0.04, on July 8, 1982. The latest price is $222.50.
How much of Apple does Vanguard own? ›
Vanguard Group Inc ownership in AAPL / Apple Inc.
| Security | AAPL / Apple Inc. |
|---|
| Institution | Vanguard Group Inc |
| Latest Disclosed Ownership | 1,317,966,471 shares |
| Ownership | 8.47% |
Indeed, Apple shares will never get back to $700, says The Economist. The stock has recovered after being "mauled by bears" before, but this time is different.
Those gains translate to a 36.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for Apple compared to an 8.5% CAGR for the S&P 500 in that time. That means that $10,000 in AAPL stock purchased 20 years ago would be worth more than $4.85 million today, assuming reinvested dividends.
Is Apple still a good investment? ›
AAPL has been an exceptional investment. Since its IPO over 40 years ago, it has generated extraordinary returns. In the past five years alone, AAPL has increased by more than 340%. The iPhone is at the heart of Apple's sales.
What is Apple's net worth in 2024? ›
Apple Market Cap
Apple has a market cap or net worth of $3.38 trillion as of September 13, 2024. Its market cap has increased by 15.31% in one year.
How many total shares of Apple are there? ›
Apple Shares Outstanding: 15.20B for July 19, 2024.
