Warren Buffett, the legendary investor who built Berkshire Hathaway in a global investment powerhouse, stunned the shareholders this weekend with a dual title: a sincere recognition of Apple CEO Tim Cook and confirmation that he will go down from his role by the end of 2025.
Speaking at Berkshire's annual shareholders on Omaha on Saturday, Buffett praised Cook's leadership as unmatched, even though he recognized that Berkshire sold about two-thirds of its shares with Apple, which has long been considered one of the company's crown crown.
“Tim Cook did Berkshire more than I did at Berkshire,” said Buffett, who drew a warm laugh from the audience. His statement underlined how Apple's stock change was for the company. Berkshire invested around $ 35 billion in Apple between 2016 and 2018; By the end of 2023, the stake was wolf at about $ 173 billion.
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However, Berkshire began alleviating the apple position in early 2024 and sold about 67% of its holdings by the end of September. By December, the conglomery was held by Apple's 300 million shares, worth nearly $ 62 billion in Friday's closing price of $ 205 per part.
The seller-off triggered a surprise across Wall Street and raised questions about whether the buffett, known in the long-term, concentrated bet, states concerns about the growth of Apple's trajectory or re-balance the Berkshire portfolio. He did not answer that question directly but used the opportunity to re -consider his respect for Cook, especially in the context of Apple's evolution since the time of Steve Jobs.
“I know Steve Jobs for a moment,” Buffett said. “No one but Steve could have created Apple, but no one but Tim could develop it like that.”
A gentle farewell
Praises to cook come with the same breath as Buffett's own announcement: he plans to formally come down from Berkshire Hathaway by the end of the year, to close a chapter to one of the most -interrupted races in financial history.
In 94, Buffett said the decision was about the following and continuity. “It's time,” he told shareholders. “I have done this for almost 60 years. Berkshire's future is in the capable hand.”
He confirmed that Vice Chairman Greg Abel, whom Long had heard that his heir, would take control of the company's operation. Buffett emphasized that the culture, value, and philosophy of investment remain unchanged.
The timing of the announcement, paired with the Apple divestment, suggested a broader move conducted at Berkshire. Abel has played a more visible role in recent years, especially in the administration of flowering businesses that the company does not insurance. Shareholders are widely expected of moving, but it still marks the end of a period of time.
Apple ran under the cook
Due to the CEO's assumption role in 2011, Cook led Apple in extraordinary growth: the company's stock rose from under $ 15 (split-adjusted) to more than $ 200, and Apple became the first company to be publicly reached and maintained a market capitalization of more than $ 3 trillion.
Cook also navigated Apple transfer from a product dedicated to a giant service-driven service. Apple's wearables, App Store, iCloud, and Apple Pay Businesses are now developing ten -ten billion dollars a year, helping the company slow the iPhone growth.
Buffett continued to applaud the use of cooking Apple's massive free cash flow, especially the aggressive share of sharing program, which made each of Berkshire's remaining shares.
Why sell Apple now?
While Buffett did not go to details, analysts believe that the sale of Apple's shares is part of a larger strategic shift to reduce exposure to risk and portfolio of Rebalance Berkshire leads to a leadership move. Others thought that Buffett could be preparing for large-scale philanthropic, a process that has been found to have given billions to the Gates Foundation and other causes.
Some observers also see Apple transfer as a subtle signal about future challenges to the tech sector, including headwinds of regulation, slowing growth, or margin compression due to the transfer of global supply chains and competition related to AI.
However, Apple remains the largest public exchanged in Berkshire, and Buffett has made it clear that he continues to believe in the company and the cook.
The end of a period
Buffett's removal has an unmatched career that has changed a difficult mill of cloth in one of the most respected investment vehicles in the world. Berkshire Hathaway now owns stakes to twelve -two companies that have been publicly exchanged and directly owned basic businesses such as BNSF Railway, Geico, and Dairy Queen.
Buffett's discipline approach, folksy wisdom, and long -term investment philosophy gained him with the moniker “Oracle of Omaha.” But as he clarified on Saturday, Berkshire's next chapter includes Abel and a new generation of leaders – and, in the case of Apple, with a CEO he holds at the highest appreciation.
