Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway slashes Apple stake by 50% on selling spree, cash holding nears $280 billion

Ace investor Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, has sold nearly half its stake in tech giant Apple, offloading nearly 50 per cent of the shares, leading to a rise in the Oracle of Omaha's cash holdings to almost $280 billion.

In Saturday's report, Berkshire didn't give an exact count of its Apple shares, but it estimated the investment was worth $84.2 billion at the end of the second quarter even though shares soared over the summer as high as $237.23. At the end of the first quarter, Berkshire's Apple stake was worth $135.4 billion.

Selling off a big share of Apple Inc., the iPhone maker, is a significant move for Berkshire Hathaway as Buffett used to call Apple the pillar of Berkshire's business. Along with Apple, Berkshire Hathaway also sold BYD and Bank of America shares this quarter, reported Associated Press.

Berkshire Hathaway reported earning $30.348 billion, or $21,122 per Class A share in the second quarter, which is 18.33 per cent lower compared to $35.912 billion, or $24,775 per A share, in the same period the previous financial year, as per the report.

The company's investment portfolio's paper value was up $24.2 billion last year, this year in the second quarter the value has fallen $28.2 billion. Net income for the company fell 15% to $30.34 billion from $35.91 billion compared year-on-year.

Berkshire Hathaway has sold off $75.5 billion of shares in the second quarter of the calendar year 2024, as per the report on Saturday. Its operating income rose to $11.6 billion up 1.6 per cent from $10 billion from the same period the previous year, reported Bloomberg.

Bloomberg also reported that Apple's results focus on losing ground in one of the biggest overseas markets as the competition rises against the local players. China's economic growth has also weakened, and the government is also restricting the operations of foreign companies, as per the report.

With inputs from AP, Bloomberg