Move Over, Apple: Berkshire Hathaway Is on Track to Have a New No. 1 Holding Following Warren Buffett's Retirement

This is simply a history-making twelvemonth for Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB), arsenic it represents the archetypal twelvemonth without billionaire Warren Buffett overseeing its day-to-day operations and $319 cardinal concern portfolio successful good implicit fractional a century. Buffett, who with the precocious Charlie Munger helped alteration Berkshire into a trillion-dollar business, retired from the CEO relation connected Dec. 31.

Although successor Greg Abel has vowed to travel galore of the Oracle of Omaha's unwritten investing rules, alteration is inevitable -- adjacent for Berkshire Hathaway's longtime No. 1 concern holding, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).

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For the amended portion of the past decade, tech banal Apple has been the undisputed largest holding by marketplace worth successful Berkshire's concern portfolio. While exertion and innovation person been driving forces for Apple, Buffett often focused connected the user goods facet of its operations.

Specifically, Apple has an exceptionally loyal lawsuit basal and has built spot with the buyers of its devices. The willingness of consumers to wage a premium for Apple's carnal devices, led by the iPhone, and its rod presumption successful home smartphone marketplace share, made it an charismatic banal to ain successful Buffett's eyes.

Something other Apple brought to the array that the Oracle of Omaha undoubtedly loved was its market-leading stock buyback program. Since initiating stock repurchases successful 2013, Apple has bought backmost implicit $841 cardinal of its communal banal and retired northbound of 44% of its outstanding shares. For companies with dependable oregon increasing nett income, buybacks tin meaningfully boost net per stock (EPS).

More recently, investors person been excited astir the incorporation of Apple Intelligence into its carnal devices. Apple's integration of artificial quality solutions is expected to boost its maturation complaint and further endear its marque (and carnal products) with consumers.

Despite these competitory advantages, Warren Buffett was a reasonably persistent seller of Apple banal successful the years earlier his retirement. In the 9 quarters (Oct. 1, 2023 – Dec. 31, 2025) starring up to his departure, Berkshire Hathaway's Form 13Fs amusement Buffett sold 687,642,574 shares of Apple, reducing his company's involvement by 75%.

During Berkshire's yearly shareholder gathering successful May 2024, Buffett framed this selling arsenic a tax-advantaged maneuver. Apple and Bank of America marque up a sizable percent of Berkshire's unrealized gains -- arsenic good arsenic a important information of Buffett's selling enactment successful his last 2 years.