Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett

OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett spent his final years as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway selling Apple stock. Even so, the iPhone maker remains the conglomerate's largest stock holding by a wide margin.

At the end of June, the period covered by Berkshire's most recent regulatory filing, the company held about 227.9 million Apple shares worth roughly $66 billion, or about 22% of its total stock portfolio, according to an analysis by The Motley Fool.

That is a long way from the peak, when Apple made up roughly half of Berkshire's portfolio. But it still leaves Apple well ahead of the company's other major investments.

Years of selling

Berkshire first bought Apple shares in early 2016 and steadily built the stake into one of the most successful investments in the company's history.

At its height, Apple accounted for about 50% of Berkshire's stock portfolio at the end of 2023.

Then the selling began in earnest. In the first quarter of 2024, Berkshire sold about 116 million shares. In the second quarter of 2024, it cut its holding nearly in half, selling about 389 million shares in a single quarter, a move that raised roughly $82 billion.

Sales continued through 2024 and 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Buffett's last as CEO, Berkshire sold another 10.3 million shares, a 4.3% trim that left it with 227.9 million shares.

In all, Berkshire unloaded nearly 688 million Apple shares over about two years.

Holding steady under Abel

Since Greg Abel took over as chief executive at the start of 2026, Berkshire has stopped selling. The company's filings show the Apple stake unchanged at about 228 million shares through the first half of the year.

Abel's early moves have focused elsewhere. In his first quarterly filing as CEO, Berkshire roughly tripled its stake in Google parent Alphabet to about 58 million shares and made a new $2.65 billion investment in Delta Air Lines.

Buffett remains chairman of Berkshire.

Still the top holding

Apple remains well ahead of Berkshire's second-largest stock holding, American Express. At the end of 2025, Apple was valued at about $62 billion in the portfolio, compared with about $56 billion for American Express. Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Chevron rounded out the top five.

Berkshire's stock portfolio totaled about $274 billion at the end of 2025.

Why Berkshire sold

Berkshire never fully explained the scale of its Apple sales, though Buffett had praised the company for years and called it one of the best businesses Berkshire owned.

Analysts have pointed to several possible reasons, including Apple's high valuation after a long rally, the desire to reduce concentration in a single stock, and expectations of higher capital gains tax rates in the future. The sales also helped build Berkshire's massive cash pile to record levels.

Apple's recent performance

Apple shares have faced pressure recently amid a broader sell-off in technology stocks tied to concerns about heavy spending on artificial intelligence. The stock fell more than 1% in the latest session.

Still, the company remains one of the world's most valuable businesses, supported by its iPhone franchise, growing services revenue and large share buyback program.

What investors are watching

Berkshire's next quarterly holdings report, covering the three months through September, is expected in mid-November. Investors will be watching for any change in the Apple stake, as well as further moves by Abel as he puts his stamp on the portfolio.

For now, the numbers show that despite years of trimming, Apple remains Berkshire's single biggest bet in the stock market.