WHY IS BUFFETT SELLING APPLE STOCK? | BUFFET'S SELLING SPREE| BERKSHIRE'S RECORD CASH HOLDING

Warrent Buffet’s company Berkshire Hathaway has sold around half of its Apple stock holdings.Just a couple of years ago buffet had hailed apple as one of the four giants of his conglomerate's business. The other 3 being insurance, utility, and railroad operations. That made many believe thagt Buffett might hold on to the Apple stock indefinitely, much like his long-term holdings in Coca-Cola and American Express.

Buffett began buying the iPhone maker’s stock in 2016. Berkshire spent roughly $40 billion in Apple stock and got a total return of nearly 800%.

Berkshire’s Apple stake once used to constitute nearly half of its entire portfolio.

By the end of the year 2023, Berkshire owned over 900 million shares of Apple worth nearly $200 billion at current prices.

But buffet started selling Apple shares by the end of 2023. Berkshire sold 13% of Berkshire’s Apple stock in the first 3 months of this year. After which, it’s Apple stock holdings were worth around $135 billion.
In the month of May this year Buffett had stated that Apple would continue to be Berkshire’s biggest investment, unless something dramatic happens. And he attributed the 13% stake reduction to tax considerations.

But now, in its latest filing, Berkshire has revealed that its Apple stake has dramatically reduced to just $84 billion. And market watchers say that it cannot be just because of tax savings.
Right now, Apple is still the most valuable company in the world. It's also the most valuable it has ever been, with a total market cap of $3.3 trillion, making it the largest holding for Berkshire Hathaway, even after the sale.
So why is Buffet selling apple stock?
Well no one knows for sure.Some say that its because of Apple’s tepid growth, considering its falling sales and market share in China. And the stock’s high valuation currently, means its prospects to go up further are not looking great.

It’s also possible that Buffet, like many other investors, wants to see more proof that Apple’s AI investments will pay off with revenue growth and isn’t convinced that’s happening fast enough.

But its not just about the Apple stock. The 93-year-old legendary investor has been on a massive selling spree across the board. Berkshire has offloaded more than $75 billion in equities in the last 3 months. That has taken Berkshire’s cash holding to an all time high of a whopping $277 billion.

Buffett also started selling his second-biggest holding – Bank of America-last month.

And all of this happening at a time when the world faces great economic uncertainties, including a possible recession in the US.

So the big question now is whether Buffet’s selling spree is a wake up call for investors across the world?
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