Warren Buffett's Portfolio loses over $20 billion in value from Apple Stock
by HedgeFollow
Berkshire Hathaway's stock portfolio appears to have lost about $20 billion in value on it's Apple position.
Although Warren Buffett steadily bought Apple shares since 2017, his fund's ownership of the stock appears to have plateaued at around 250 million shares at the end of Q3 2018, as shown on the graph below.
The stock still represents about a quarter of Buffett's portfolio, valued at over $38 billion, down from about $58 billion from the last quarter.
Buffett has repeatedly praised the company, saying "(Apple) is one hell of a castle, and I think that the knight in charge of the castle is terrific", referring to Apple's CEO Tim Cook.
Despite that, Buffett still considers the Iphone underpriced, though he admits that raising the price too much is not possible due to the cheaper competitors clawing at the Iphone's marketshare.
The only other tech stocks Buffett has a stake in are Oracle and Verisign, each taking up only about 1% of Berkshire's portfolio.
Although Warren Buffett steadily bought Apple shares since 2017, his fund's ownership of the stock appears to have plateaued at around 250 million shares at the end of Q3 2018, as shown on the graph below.
The stock still represents about a quarter of Buffett's portfolio, valued at over $38 billion, down from about $58 billion from the last quarter.
Buffett has repeatedly praised the company, saying "(Apple) is one hell of a castle, and I think that the knight in charge of the castle is terrific", referring to Apple's CEO Tim Cook.
Apple's Stock Price has taken a Hit
Apple's stock price has declined sharply over the past couple of months, falling about $90 from a high of $233 to $142. Investors were worried after the company issued a warning indicating it would miss sales targets. Many fear that Iphone prices have become too high for developing countries like China, where the Iphone faces fierce competition from Chinese companies like Huawei. Last year, Huawei surpassed Apple as the world's second largest smartphone maker.Despite that, Buffett still considers the Iphone underpriced, though he admits that raising the price too much is not possible due to the cheaper competitors clawing at the Iphone's marketshare.
Buffett Not a Tech Investor
Apple is the only tech stock that Buffett is currently heavily invested in, after closing a large position in IBM last year. Buffett has mostly stayed away from the technology sector, citing his lack of knowledge about tech stocks.The only other tech stocks Buffett has a stake in are Oracle and Verisign, each taking up only about 1% of Berkshire's portfolio.