In an interview with CNBC today, billionaire investor Warren Buffett revealed that his holding company Berkshire Hathaway held around 133 million shares in Apple prior to the company's record-breaking earnings results on January 31.

warren buffett
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it held 57.3 million shares in Apple as of December 31, 2016, so it more than doubled its stake in the iPhone maker in January. The holding, which reflects about 2.5% of Apple's outstanding shares, is worth over $17 billion if the shares are still held today.

Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a nearly $1 billion stake in Apple last May, which led the iPhone maker's stock to soar 9% once the investment became public knowledge. Apple stock has been on the rise since then, closing at an all-time high of $137.11 last week just nine months after setting a 52-week low of $89.47 in May 2016.

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
117 months ago
The holding, which reflects about 2.5% of Apple's outstanding shares

this is absolutely bonkers: AAPL is now Buffett's second holding after Coca-Cola. Excellent news for the stock.

Buffett also praised Tim Cook, and rightly so. 2017 will be an amazing year for Apple and AAPL.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
117 months ago
I took CNBC guest's words at face value. If that's the case, then wow.
Understood. Berkshire has held 400 million shares (split-adjusted) of KO for a long time. It's currently trading at less than $42, so that's less than $17 billion worth of Coca-Cola. If Berkshire now holds 133 million shares of AAPL (which is what Mr. Buffett indicated this morning), at around $137 that's more than $18 billion worth.
[doublepost=1488208016][/doublepost]To add a little more to what Mr. Buffett said about Apple this morning...

He indicated that Berkshire wasn't currently buying AAPL, that it hadn't bought AAPL since the earnings report. He also indicated that it was at a different price now than he would buy it at.

Also, for those that have suggested it wasn't Mr. Buffett deciding to buy AAPL: We got considerable clarity on that front this morning. Mr. Buffett said that one of those other guys (Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, he wouldn't say which one) had bought 10 million shares of AAPL and Mr. Buffett has now bought 123 million shares of AAPL. That's Mr. Buffett's own characterization of the situation.

Perhaps the funniest thing Mr. Buffett had to say came in response to Becky Quick asking which company Mr. Buffett would bet on going to a $1 Trillion market cap first - Berkshire or Apple. Mr. Buffett said Apple and then proceeded to jokingly say (I'm paraphrasing a bit)... If Tim wants to swap straight up, I've got an 800 number for him. In other words, he'd swap Berkshire Hathaway straight up for Apple if he had that option.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bart Kela Avatar
117 months ago
I wish I was rich enough to make money off other people's successes.
Warren Buffett started in the same fashion as you: with nothing.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
117 months ago
Can you explain further what you mean between Buffett and luck?
Gosh, you'd only have to ask him. One of Buffett's more admirable traits is the rare personal humility that allows him to admit that luck was a big part of his success.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
117 months ago
AAPL is trading like old times again and is about to shoot up into the 140s.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macaholic868 Avatar
117 months ago
The Oracle of Omaha has spoken.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Reportedly Plans to Unveil at Least Five New Products Next Week

Sunday February 22, 2026 9:48 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will have a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4. In total, he expects Apple to introduce "at least five products." A week ago, Apple invited selected journalists and content creators to an "Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai on Wednesday, March 4 at 9...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday February 20, 2026 3:21 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone this year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that Apple will release its first foldable device in 2026. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about ...
Apple Watch 15 Tips Every Owner Needs to Know Feature

Apple Watch: 15 Tips Every Owner Needs to Know

Thursday February 19, 2026 7:38 am PST by
Apple Watch is now eleven generations in, and packed with useful features that are easy to miss at first glance. To help you get more out of your new device, we've rounded up 15 practical tips you might not have discovered yet, including a few that long-time users often overlook. Bounce Between Two Apps On your Apple Watch, double-press the Digital Crown to see a deck of all currently...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon as 'Apple Experience' Nears

Sunday February 22, 2026 5:29 pm PST by
Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.3.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.3.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, and it will likely be released within the next two weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.2.1 with bug fixes and support for the second-generation...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Three Upcoming Apple Products Seemingly Spotted in macOS 26.3 Code

Friday February 20, 2026 7:36 am PST by
macOS 26.3 hints at Apple's rumored lower-cost MacBook, and two new Studio Display models, according to Macworld's Filipe Espósito. Espósito found the following codenames within macOS 26.3's source code, and he revealed the upcoming products that they likely correspond with, based on previous reporting from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and others. The codenames:J700: Lower-cost MacBook J427:...