Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, filed its third-quarter 13F holdings report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The report shows that Berkshire significantly reduced its holdings of Apple stock this quarter.
According to the report, as of September 30, Berkshire's total holdings in U.S. stocks were valued at $267 billion, a 3.4% increase from the previous quarter, involving 41 stocks. Apple remains Berkshire's largest holding, with a market value of approximately $60.7 billion. However, this quarter, Berkshire reduced its Apple holdings from 280 million shares to 238.2 million shares, equivalent to a reduction of approximately 41.79 million shares (a 14.9% decrease quarter-over-quarter), resulting in a decrease in market value of approximately $10.6 billion. Historically, Berkshire has sold nearly three-quarters of its initial 905 million Apple shares. This marks the second consecutive quarter of reducing its Apple holdings, and the scale of this quarter's sales more than doubled compared to the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway newly acquired 17.85 million shares of Alphabet (GOOGL), Google's parent company, bringing its holdings to approximately $4.3 billion and placing Alphabet directly among its top ten holdings. This move contrasts with Buffett's historically cautious approach to highly valued technology stocks, prompting widespread market interpretation.
This report is particularly noteworthy because it coincides with Buffett's impending retirement as CEO at the end of the year—the 95-year-old Buffett will hand over day-to-day management to his longtime deputy, Greg Abel, after 60 years at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway.
