American billionaire Warren Buffett has cut about half of his stake in Apple through his company Berkshire Hathaway, in a surprise move amid big gains for the iPhone maker's stock.
According to a disclosure from the Sage of Omaha, its stake in Apple reached $84.2 billion at the end of the second quarter, indicating that Buffett reduced his holding in the company by about 49.4%.
Buffett had cut his company's stake in Apple by about 13% in the first quarter of 2024, and Buffett hinted at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders' meeting in May that there were tax reasons behind the move.
Buffett said selling a small portion of his Apple stake would benefit his company’s shareholders in the long run if the U.S. government increases capital gains taxes in the future to help plug a growing fiscal deficit. But the size of the sale suggests a bigger move than just a tax cut.
After Apple's stock suffered losses in the first quarter amid concerns that it was lagging behind major companies in developing artificial intelligence, the company's stock jumped 23% in the second quarter, reaching record levels.
Buffett first started investing in Apple in 2016, and has since ramped up his investments in the company, spending tens of billions of dollars to buy shares in the company.
Buffett also recently began reducing his stake in his second-largest holding, Bank of America, selling $3.8 billion worth of shares over 12 straight sessions.
$277 billion in cash
Meanwhile, Berkshire's cash flow stood at $277 billion at the end of the second quarter, compared to $189 billion in the first quarter.
In terms of financial performance, operating profit rose 15% to $11.6 billion, or $8.073 per Class A share, during the second quarter, compared to $10.04 billion during the same period a year ago.
Net profit fell 15% to $30.34 billion, compared to $35.91 billion in the comparable period.
