For fifty years Warren Buffett stayed out of technology companies, and said plainly why: he had no way to judge which of them would still be earning money in a decade.
Then in early 2016, Berkshire Hathaway started buying Apple. Quietly at first, 9.8 million shares, and then in size, until Apple became Berkshire’s largest equity holding and the biggest stock bet in the company’s history.
The reasoning turned on a distinction most people missed. Buffett had not changed his mind about evaluating technology. He had reclassified Apple as a consumer products business whose customers happened to carry the product in their pockets.
Warren Buffett’s Apple stock position made Berkshire well over $100 billion, but it has also been shrinking since 2024, and Buffett has said he sold too soon. For investors, active traders, and anyone weighing Apple shares, tokenized Apple exposure or AAPL Perpetuals on platforms like BloFin, that record is useful for more than biography: it shows how Buffett judged Apple’s business model, management, concentration risk, and valuation over time.
Here is how the stake was built, why Buffett trimmed it, what he has said about Apple’s leadership and business, and what those decisions mean for investors and Apple traders today.
Berkshire's Apple position as of the June 2026 quarter
As of the 13F filing for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, Berkshire Hathaway holds roughly 228 million Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares. That position is worth about $72 billion at recent prices and is roughly 22% of Berkshire's disclosed equity portfolio, still its largest holding by a wide margin, ahead of American Express at 17.1% and Coca-Cola at 10.9% (source: Berkshire Q2 2026 13F).
The stake represents approximately 1.5% of Apple stock outstanding, which makes Berkshire one of the iPhone maker's biggest institutional shareholders.
Buffett's initial Apple investment began in Q1 2016. Even after selling Apple stock in multiple waves since 2024, the position has generated well over $100 billion in realized and unrealized gains for Berkshire over the last decade.
Something changed in 2026. Greg Abel took over as chief executive on January 1, and under him Berkshire left the Apple position untouched through the June quarter, its first quarter without a sale in nearly two years (source: Berkshire Q2 2026 13F). Buffett, now chairman, has said he "sold Apple too soon" and would be happy to own more at the right price. That tension between profit-taking and regret is the central story of this stake.
Traders who follow Buffett's moves are one reason tokenized Apple (AAPLX) attracts attention on crypto exchanges; our guide on what AAPLX is and how it works covers the token mechanics in full.
How and why Buffett started buying Apple in 2016
Berkshire Hathaway's Apple stake began as a surprise. Buffett had avoided tech stocks for decades, openly admitting he lacked the expertise to evaluate them. His investment in Apple signified a clear shift in strategy, one that evolved to embrace technology companies demonstrating durable competitive advantages.
Berkshire acquired about 9.8 million shares in Q1 2016, then scaled rapidly through 2017 and 2018 (source: Berkshire Hathaway 13F filings). It spent about $31.1 billion accumulating the 908 million Apple shares it held through the end of 2021, an average cost basis of roughly $34 a share on a split-adjusted basis (source: CNBC). At recent prices, that translates to a return of several hundred percent.
Buffett considers Apple a consumer products business, not a technology company. He pointed to the ecosystem's stickiness, brand loyalty, and the iPhone's grip on hundreds of millions of users as reasons to break his "no tech" habit. He was also comfortable backing the leadership transition from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook, praising Cook as a fantastic manager whose capital allocation, including stock buybacks and dividends, made Apple a reliable cash generator (source: Yahoo Finance). Apple's position in major stock market indexes and its predictable cash flows aligned it with the kind of business Buffett has always preferred.
Apple as Berkshire Hathaway's largest holding
Apple grew from a brand-new position in 2016 into Berkshire Hathaway's largest holding within a few years. At peak, Berkshire owned more than 5% of Apple stock outstanding, and Apple accounted for roughly half of Berkshire's portfolio value.
Berkshire's Apple stake was valued at $174 billion at its peak around 2023 to 2024, dwarfing everything else combined in the stock portfolio (source: HoldingsIntel).
Buffett has praised Apple's aggressive share buyback program for increasing Berkshire's ownership percentage without spending another dollar. Apple's shrinking share count quietly boosted Berkshire's per-share claim on earnings, even during periods when Buffett was not adding new shares.
Buffett repeatedly called Apple "probably the best business I know in the world," saying Berkshire effectively owns a slice of hundreds of millions of people's lives through Apple products.
Movements in Apple stock now directly affect Berkshire's reported book value and broader market perception. When financial news outlets and financial advisors discuss Berkshire's performance, Apple is almost always the first position they cite. It is also a working example of what concentration does to a portfolio in both directions. For a deeper look at the bull and bear arguments, see our analysis of whether Apple stock is a good investment.
Why Buffett trimmed his Apple stake and what he regrets
From 2024 onward, Berkshire gradually sold Apple stock in waves. Buffett sold a significant portion of Apple shares for tax reasons, realizing profits while the tax environment was favorable. In Q2 2024 Berkshire sold roughly half its Apple position, taking the stake from $135.4 billion at the end of March to $84.2 billion at the end of June (source: CNBC). The trimming continued through 2025: by the end of June that year the stake was down to 280 million shares worth about $57 billion, and it has since settled at 228 million shares (source: Berkshire Q2 2026 13F).
The reasons Buffett has cited:
The Apple position had grown larger than everything else combined, creating concentration risk he was not comfortable carrying.
Capital gains tax, which he raised directly at the 2024 annual meeting, arguing that selling some Apple would benefit shareholders if rates rose later.
As AI-driven tech euphoria stretched stock market multiples, Buffett became more cautious about adding at elevated prices.
Buffett expressed regret about selling Apple shares too soon, stating publicly that he would buy more Apple stock if prices drop to levels offering a sufficient margin of safety. In parallel, Berkshire initiated positions in other companies, including Alphabet, to diversify without abandoning Apple entirely. The reductions are not a verdict on Apple's business; Buffett has repeatedly stressed long-term confidence in Tim Cook's leadership and Apple's durability.
Buffett's view of Apple's leadership, business model, and AI era
Buffett's conviction in Apple stock rests on management quality and a resilient business model rather than any single product cycle. He differentiates between Steve Jobs, who handed Apple its visionary identity, and Tim Cook, the operator who scaled Apple Inc into a consistent money machine. Buffett has credited Cook with making Berkshire more money than almost any other chief executive through disciplined capital returns. Cook handed the role to John Ternus on September 1, 2026, which puts that judgment to a new test.
Apple's ecosystem creates high customer loyalty and high switching costs: iPhone as the core device, supported by Mac, iPad, wearables, and a fast-growing Services segment that keeps users locked in. Apple generates massive cash flows, which are returned to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Buffett has long framed Apple as a consumer products business, not a traditional tech company.
Warren Buffett says he is famously cautious about AI, openly saying he does not "understand a damn thing" about it and comparing the genie-out-of-the-bottle risks to nuclear weapons. He still holds Apple because its consumer franchise is more durable than any single technology wave. The stock's appeal, in his framework, comes from converting brand loyalty into steady earnings and free cash flow, not from leading every AI frontier. He made those remarks at Berkshire's annual meeting.
Traders who watch Apple's AI story and earnings events for short-term price signals are operating on a different timeline than Buffett, whose horizon is measured in decades.
What Buffett's Apple bet means for everyday investors and tokenized Apple traders
Buffett's Apple stake has become a reference point across the investment world. When the most well-known value investor holds Apple as his largest position last year and the year before and still today, it shapes how everybody evaluates the stock.
Long-term investors often interpret Berkshire's continued Apple holdings, even after partial sales, as a signal that Apple remains a high-quality business. That said, don't miss the need for your own independent research just because Buffett still owns Apple; copying any position without understanding your own risk tolerance makes no sense.
For stock market participants, Berkshire's quarterly 13F filings and its annual meeting are closely watched events. The leadership question that hung over the stake through 2025 has now been partly answered: Abel ruled out a break-up at the May 2026 annual meeting, stressed continuity, and then held Apple steady through the June quarter (source: CNBC). Any future choice to invest more or reduce the stake can still trigger short-term price reactions.
For traders on BloFin who use tokenized Apple or the AAPLUSDT perpetual, Berkshire's decisions do not change Apple's underlying business, but they can shift sentiment and volatility in ways that matter for position sizing and for the leverage and liquidation mechanics of a geared position.
Buffett's Apple story is an example of a concentrated, conviction-driven investment that worked extraordinarily well. Future returns, though, are impossible to guarantee. Whether you access your exposure through a brokerage account, hold tokenized stocks, or trade perpetuals on BloFin, combine Buffett's long-term perspective with your own risk framework and time horizon.
Frequently asked questions
How many Apple shares does Warren Buffett own?
Berkshire Hathaway held roughly 228 million Apple shares as of the 13F filing for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, worth about $72 billion at recent prices and around 22% of its disclosed equity portfolio (source: Berkshire Q2 2026 13F). That is about 1.5% of Apple's shares outstanding. Buffett himself is now chairman rather than chief executive; Greg Abel has run Berkshire since January 1, 2026.
Why did Buffett sell Apple stock in the stock market?
Three stated reasons. The position had grown larger than everything else in the portfolio combined, which is concentration risk he was uncomfortable carrying. Capital gains tax, which he raised at the 2024 annual meeting, arguing that selling some Apple would benefit shareholders if rates rose later. And valuation, as technology multiples stretched. He has since said he sold too soon and would buy more at the right price, though that would likely require Apple stock to move further below its recent high before Berkshire would seriously consider buying again.
How much did Berkshire pay for its Apple stake?
About $31.1 billion for the 908 million shares it held through the end of 2021, an average cost of roughly $34 a share on a split-adjusted basis (source: CNBC). Against a peak stake value of $174 billion (source: HoldingsIntel) and the proceeds from sales since 2024, the position has generated well over $100 billion in realized and unrealized gains.
Is Berkshire still buying Apple?
Holding rather than adding. Berkshire reduced its Apple holding in five of the seven quarters from late 2023, then held it unchanged through the June 2026 quarter under Greg Abel (source: Berkshire Q2 2026 13F). Apple remains its largest equity position by a wide margin.
Why does Buffett like Apple if he avoids tech stocks?
Because he classifies it differently. Buffett has consistently described Apple as a consumer products business whose customers happen to carry the product in their pockets, valuing the brand loyalty and switching costs rather than the technology. He has also praised Apple's buyback program specifically, because a shrinking share count raises Berkshire's ownership percentage without it spending another dollar.
Should I buy Apple stock because Buffett owns it?
Following another investor's position is not a strategy, and Berkshire's circumstances differ from yours: it bought at roughly $34 a share a decade ago, holds for decades, and answers to different tax and liquidity constraints. Warren Buffett himself sold roughly three quarters of the stake and, as Warren Buffett says, he regrets the timing, which is a reasonable illustration of how hard the call is even for the person making it.
Researched and written by the BloFin Academy editorial team with AI-assisted drafting. All facts independently verified. Primary sources include Berkshire Hathaway's Form 13F filings including the quarter ended June 30, 2026, CNBC reporting on the Q2 2024 sale and the 2026 annual meeting, Yahoo Finance reporting on Buffett's comments, and HoldingsIntel position history, current as of September 1, 2026.
Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice. A 13F is a snapshot filed up to 45 days after quarter-end, so any position described here may already have changed, and it shows holdings without showing why they were taken or at what price. Following a famous investor into a position is not a strategy: Berkshire's cost basis, time horizon, tax position and liquidity needs are not yours, and Buffett has said publicly that he mistimed his own selling of this stake. Apple's past returns for Berkshire say nothing about future returns for anyone. Tokenized Apple carries issuer and custody risk that shares held at a broker do not, and the AAPLUSDT perpetual confers no shareholder rights and can be liquidated in full by a price move far smaller than the leverage multiple suggests. Do your own research and consider your risk tolerance before you trade on BloFin.