Warren Buffett had to say THIS about Apple at annual meeting (2024)

FAQs

What did Warren Buffett say about Apple? ›

Just three years ago, Buffett proclaimed that Apple was "probably the best business I know in the world" during an interview on CNBC.

“Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” This famous Buffett quote strikes at the heart of the “value investor” approach and reveals the secret of how Buffett made his fortune.

At Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual meeting in Omaha on Saturday, Warren Buffett heaped praise on Apple Inc. — after revealing he'd cut his stake in it. Berkshire reported a $135.4 billion holding in the iPhone maker at the end of the first quarter, down from $174.3 billion at the year end.

Basically, he's alluding that if tax rates indeed rise, then Berkshire would be required to pay higher capital gains on Apple in the future. Since Buffett is sitting on a multibagger with Apple, it makes sense that he would liquidate a portion of his position and collect some gains before tax rates potentially change.

At the end of 2023, Berkshire owned about 6% of Apple, a stake worth $174 billion at the time, or about 40% of the conglomerate's total value. That's about four times bigger than Berkshire's second-biggest public stock holding, Bank of America , and makes the company the No. 2 Apple shareholder, behind only Vanguard.

Largest shareholders include Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc, State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, Geode Capital Management, Llc, Fmr Llc, Morgan Stanley, and Price T Rowe Associates Inc /md/ .

"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."

Let's kick it off with some timeless advice from legendary investor Warren Buffett, who said “Rule No. 1 is never lose money. Rule No. 2 is never forget Rule No.

Buffett presented a three-step exercise to help streamline his focus. The first step was to write down his top 25 career goals. In the second step, Buffett told Flint to identify his top five goals from the list. In the final step, Flint had two lists: the top five goals (List A) and the remaining 20 (List B).

Berkshire Hathaway will receive about $789.4 million in dividends annually from its investment in Apple, which does not include reinvesting those dividends.

How much did Warren Buffett pay for Apple stock per share? ›

Buffett began buying Apple in the first quarter of 2016, but there's no way to know exactly what his average share price was. But if you use the highest closing that quarter as a conservative estimate, it means that you would have paid $27.06 per share for Apple.

The all-time high Apple stock closing price was 234.82 on July 16, 2024. The Apple 52-week high stock price is 237.23, which is 5.8% above the current share price.

Buffett said the unfruitful Paramount bet made him think more deeply about what people prioritize in their leisure time. He previously said the streaming industry has too many players seeking viewer dollars, causing a stiff price war.

Berkshire Hathaway has been a shareholder of Apple since 2016 when the late Charlie Munger convinced Buffett it was a great stock to buy. Munger, Berkshire's long-time vice chairman, died in late 2023. The investment has been fantastically successful, and Buffett still believes deeply in Apple.

Warren Buffett changed the succession plan by saying Greg Abel will run Berkshire's investments, even though he's never been a stock picker. Greg Abel, left, poses for selfie with a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder.

As of this writing, Berkshire Hathaway owns 906 million shares of Apple, giving the conglomerate a 5.9% stake in the tech giant. Apple's beneficial capital allocation policies provide a massive benefit to Buffett's firm. After a nearly two-decade pause, the iPhone maker has paid a dividend since 2012.

Apple: $878 million in dividend income

It is the largest investment Berkshire Hathaway has ever made in a single stock, and the annual dividend payout should also grow into a sizable amount over the long term.

Apple has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy which is based on 25 buy ratings, 9 hold ratings and 1 sell ratings. The average price target for Apple is $233.00. This is based on 35 Wall Streets Analysts 12-month price targets, issued in the past 3 months.