TECH - Is This Why Berkshire Reduced Apple Stake By 18% In Q1? Buffett Gives Convincing Reason. | Benzinga
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Warren Buffett’s explanation behind Berkshire’s current Apple stake.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire, Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) trimmed its position in its key core holding, Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), a 10-Q report for the first quarter filed with the SEC on Saturday showed.
Paring Equity Bets: Berkshire’s equity securities investment dropped from $353.84 billion in Q1 2023 to $335.86 billion in Q1 2024. Sector-wise, the firm reduced its exposure to banks, insurance and finance as well as consumer products, while upping its stakes in commercial, industrial and other stocks.
The proportion of money invested in Berkshire’s five core holdings, namely Apple, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP), Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) fell from 79% in the year-ago quarter to 75%.
The comparisons vs. a year-ago are as follows:
Stake (Q1’24) Stake (Q1’23) Change
Apple $135.4B $174.3B (-22.32%)
Bank of America $39.2B $34.8B +12.64%
American Express $34.5B $28.4B +21.48%
Coca-Cola $24.5B $23.6B +3.81%
Chevron $19.4B $18.8B +3.19%
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The Apple Math: Apple shares have underperformed this year, shedding 4.63% for the year-to-date period and 10.82% for the first quarter. The decline came amid fears that the company’s fundamentals would deteriorate amid slow uptake of iPhones in its key China market and elsewhere.
Apple met ...