Berkshire Hathaway Sold $75.5 Billion Worth of Apple During Second Quarter

Harvesting gains before a potential increase in the capital gains rate, or something more ominous?

This is the question that investors are asking themselves after Berkshire Hathaway - led by the legendary Warren Buffett - unloaded roughly half of their stake in Apple in the second quarter of 2024.

At one point, Berkshire Hathaway owned over 900 million shares of Apple - now, after this second quarter selling spree, Berkshire Hathaway's stake is down to roughly 400 million shares.

This massive sale took Berkshire Hathaway's cash position up to a monstrous $276.9 billion as of the end of the second quarter.

Is Buffett raising cash for a massive purchase, or is he just taking chips off of the table? What is he worried about?

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Buffett's sale comes at a time when the market is already nervous about the possibility of a forthcoming recession.

Over the past few weeks, sentiment has turned decidedly bearish, and the market - led by tech stocks - sold off at the end of last week.

Buffett's sale of roughly 50% of Berkshire's stake in Apple will certainly help to increase worries that the US economy may be heading into a recession.

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The news certainly came as a surprise, and nothing Buffett has said in recent months would have tipped off this move.

In fact, many assumed that Apple would be a permanent part of Berkshire's portfolio, much like the company's positions in stocks such as American Express and Coca-Cola.

Now, people are wondering if Buffett is going to be liquidating the entirety of Berkshire's position in Apple. Or, given that we are already two months into the quarter, if he has already done so.

The million dollar question at this point: is Buffett worried about the state of the stock market, or was this prudent fiscal planning ahead of capital gains taxes rising with a Kamala Harris administration?

This is what the markets will be concerned about going forward.


Filed under: General Knowledge