Buffett Cuts Apple Stock Holding by 60%

When a company as large as Berkshire Hathaway – which has a cash pile of around A$493.22 billion – reduces its stake in one of the most valuable companies in the world by about 60% in just a few months, it certainly grabs the attention of shareholders.

In the third quarter, Berkshire Hathaway continued to sell off parts of its Apple shares, reducing its holdings in the tech giant by approximately 25% after having already cut it by nearly half in the second quarter.

Currently, Berkshire’s Apple shares are valued at around A$106.02 billion, down from A$263.9 billion at the end of the previous year.

During its annual meeting in May, Warren Buffett indicated that the sales of Apple shares earlier in the year were at least partly driven by tax considerations. Nevertheless, he maintained that Apple would continue to be one of Berkshire's largest investments, as reported by Bloomberg.

Just last week, Apple released its latest quarterly results, which prompted a 2% drop in its stock price. Analysts expressed concerns regarding Apple's sales forecast for the holiday season. This downturn was exacerbated by a hefty A$21.55 billion tax bill in Europe and weakened sales in China.

However, despite these challenges, Apple has been pursuing acquisitions. Recently, the company agreed to purchase Pixelmator, a software maker that specializes in high-end photo-editing apps.

In a blog post, Pixelmator expressed its admiration for Apple, stating, "We’ve been inspired by Apple since day one. Now, we’ll have the ability to reach an even wider audience." The Pixelmator Pro app features advanced editing tools comparable to those found in Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator, with functionalities such as layers and vector graphics.

The specific details of the acquisition were not announced, but in Australia, Pixelmator Pro is priced at A$79.99.

Additionally, with Apple recently rolling out its Apple Intelligence features to select devices internationally – with Australia set to receive the update in December – it seems that Apple may be looking to integrate Pixelmator’s capabilities into its new suite of artificial intelligence offerings.

Buffett, Apple, Berkshire