Breaking News ‼ ️ Berkshire Hathaway Sells About Half of Apple’s Stake

‼Breaking News ‼ ️ Berkshire Hathaway Sells About Half of Apple’s Stake

On Aug. 3 U.S. local time, Berkshire Hathaway said it sold nearly half of its stake in Apple last quarter. This is an unexpected move for an investment company led by Warren Buffett, who is known for his long-held strategy.

The Omaha-based conglomerate reported in its earnings call that its stake in iPhone maker Apple was valued at $84.2 billion as of the end of the second quarter. This means Berkshire Hathaway sold about a 49% stake in the technology. After the sell-off, Apple still holds the largest share of Berkshire’s portfolio.

Buffett also cut his stake in Apple by 13% in the first quarter, and indicated at his annual shareholders’ meeting in May that the sale was aimed at reducing taxes. “Selling Apple shares little by little will benefit Berkshire shareholders in the long run,” he said, in case capital gains taxes rise.

But the scale of the sell-off suggests that there may be more reasons than just tax cuts.

Apple shares fell in the first quarter on concerns that it would lag behind in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, but in the second quarter, its AI-related vision was unveiled, rising 23% to set a new record.

It’s unclear why Berkshire Hathaway cut its stake in Apple. It could be for the company itself, or for market valuation or portfolio management. Buffett typically doesn’t want a single stock to be too big a part of his portfolio. At one point, Berkshire’s stake in Apple made up half of the entire stock portfolio.

The 93-year-old investor has shunned tech companies for most of his career, with Apple being the exception. Berkshire started buying Apple shares in 2016, which is known to be the influence of Buffett’s investment managers, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs. Since then, Buffett has made Apple Berkshire’s largest stake, showing great attachment to the tech giant and ranking it as the second most important business after its insurance division.

Recently, Buffett has been showing a tendency to sell his major holdings. He recently began selling $3.8 billion worth of Bank of America shares, his second largest stake.

The quarterly report shows Buffett selling shares while the S&P 500 index hit an all-time high as expectations of a “soft landing” in the U.S. economy rise. However, the July employment report, released this Friday, was weaker than expected, raising questions about the possibility of a soft landing.