Berkshire Hathaway More Than Doubled its Stake in Apple in January - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Berkshire Hathaway More Than Doubled its Stake in Apple in January

by

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
119 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)
119 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
119 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
119 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)
119 months ago
I wish I was rich enough to make money off other people's successes.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macaholic868 Avatar
119 months ago
The Oracle of Omaha has spoken.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

Saturday April 18, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available...
macworld iphone 18 pro colors

iPhone 18 Pro's Four Rumored Colors Revealed, Including 'Dark Cherry'

Friday April 17, 2026 3:50 am PDT by
A source said to be familiar with Apple's supply chain today revealed the color options Apple is planning for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the upcoming foldable iPhone. Image via Macworld. The information comes from Macworld, which says the signature new color for this year's Pro models will be Dark Cherry, a deep wine-like red. While other sources had previously reported on a...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Saturday April 18, 2026 5:59 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...