Warren Buffett’s investment in Apple has become the most prominent holding in Berkshire Hathaway’s equity portfolio, worth over $150 billion.[0] The technology giant is easily the most valuable holding in Buffett’s stock portfolio, and the position now represents a significant portion of Berkshire’s $700 billion market capitalization.[0] Additionally, Berkshire Hathaway owns a significant stake in Amazon that is currently worth more than $1.1 billion.[1]
Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, Buffett ominously suggested that “fear is contagious,” and consumers’ palpable fears about the safety of their banking institutions are making it hard to respond to the crisis effectively.[2] He noted that the situation in banking is very similar to what it’s always been in banking, which is that fear is contagious.[3] In history, there were occasions where the fear was valid and other times where it was unwarranted.[3]
Buffett also criticized the messaging around the crisis, saying that it has been poor by the politicians who sometimes have an interest in having it poor, poor by the agencies, and poor by the press. He noted that shareholders in bad banks deserve to be wiped out, adding that “we don’t know where shareholders of banks are going.”[4]
Despite the current crisis, Buffett remains optimistic about the future of Apple, emphasizing the intense loyalty that Apple fans feel towards the company’s devices.[0] According to Buffett, consumers are willing to pay around $1,500 or more for an iPhone, making Apple a strong player in the market.[5] The very individuals who shell out $35,000 for a second automobile would readily relinquish it if it meant keeping hold of their iPhone.[5] It’s an exceptional product.[5] Although we don’t possess anything that we have complete ownership of, we are extremely content with having a share of 5.6%, or any other percentage increase, and we rejoice every time it goes up by a tenth.[5]
Annually, a large number of shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway journey to Omaha to listen to the renowned investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. This year, some 30,000 Warren Buffett fans and Berkshire Hathaway shareholders descended on Omaha for the annual ritual often called the “Woodstock for Capitalists.
0. “Apple outshines all of Berkshire Hathaway’s businesses: Warren Buffett” Business Insider, 6 May. 2023, https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-apple-iphone-stock-berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting-businesses-2023-5
1. “Warren Buffett Has Bet Over $156 Billion on These 2 Top AI Stocks” The Motley Fool, 6 May. 2023, https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/05/06/warren-buffett-has-bet-over-156-billion-on-these-2/
2. “Warren Buffett on banking system woes: “Fear is contagious.”” Axios, 6 May. 2023, https://www.axios.com/2023/05/06/berkshire-hathaway-buffett-banking
3. “Warren Buffett says American banks could face more turbulence ahead, but deposits are safe” CNBC, 6 May. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/06/warren-buffett-says-american-banks-could-face-more-turbulence-ahead-but-deposits-are-safe.html
4. “Warren Buffett sticks with Bank of America as crisis rocks bank stocks” Yahoo Finance, 6 May. 2023, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-sticks-with-bank-of-america-as-crisis-rocks-bank-stocks-191008651.html
5. “Warren Buffett: ‘Apple is not 35% of Berkshire’s portfolio’” Yahoo Finance, 6 May. 2023, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-apple-is-not-35-of-berkshires-portfolio-175313329.html