Warren Buffett is sitting on over US$325 billion cash as Berkshire Hathaway keeps selling Apple stock
CTV
Warren Buffett is collecting a steady stream of profits from all of Berkshire Hathaway's assorted businesses, including Apple, without any major acquisitions.
Warren Buffett is now sitting on more than US$325 billion cash after continuing to unload billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America shares this year and continuing to collect a steady stream of profits from all of Berkshire Hathaway's assorted businesses without finding any major acquisitions.
Berkshire said it sold off about 100 million more Apple shares in the third quarter after halving its massive investment in the iPhone maker last quarter. The remaining stake of roughly 300 million shares was valued at US$69.9 billion at the end of September remains Berkshire's biggest single investment, but it has been cut drastically since the end of last year when it was worth US$174.3 billion.
Investors will also be disappointed to learn that Berkshire didn't repurchase any of its own shares in the quarter.
CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said shareholders will wonder why Buffett is continuing to accumulate so much cash. “Are they more pessimistic about the future economic and market picture than perhaps others are?” she said.
Buffett said at the annual meeting in May that part of why he started selling some of his Apple shares is that he expects tax rates to go higher in the future. But Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan said he wonders if part of the reason Buffett started selling Apple is tied to last year's death of Vice Chairman Charlie Munger because the sales started shortly after Munger's death. Shanahan said Buffett has never been as comfortable with technology businesses as his longtime partner was.
“If Charlie Munger were still alive, perhaps he wouldn’t have sold down the position quite as aggressively — maybe at all,” Shanahan said.
Berkshire said Saturday that investment gains again drove its third quarter profits skyward to US$26.25 billion, or US$18,272 per Class A share. A year ago, unrealized paper investment losses dragged the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate's earnings down to a loss of US$12.77 billion, or US$8,824 per Class A share.
