Buffett's lament: The investing mega-billionaire says he sold Apple stock too soon

Investing legend Warren Buffett wants to come clean: He started trimming Berkshire Hathaway’s Apple stake too early, a call that cost the firm billions in stock upside.

“I sold it too soon,” Buffett told CNBC in his first interview since retiring as Berkshire CEO. “But, I bought it even sooner, so.”

Berkshire started buying Apple shares in 2016, and its position eventually swell to more than $170 billion at its peak in 2023. It was then that the firm started trimming.

Across 2003 and 2004, Berkshire reduced its position by roughly two-thirds. It then continued to sell gradually through 2025.

The chart below shows that Apple shares continued to climb in the period following Berkshire’s first sales in the fourth quarter of 2023:

Despite the paring, Apple remains Berkshire’s biggest holding, carrying a roughly $62 billion market value. The firm has made more than $100 billion in pre-tax gains to date from owning the stock.

“I’m very happy to have it be our largest holding,” Buffett said, adding “I was not happy to have it be as large as almost everything else combined.”

Buffett said it’s “not impossible” that Berkshire would buy Apple if the price fell low enough, “but not in this market.”

Berkshire’s Apple stake marked a deviation from Buffett’s investing style that tended to steer away from mega-cap tech.

Buffett used the interview as another opportunity to sign Apple CEO Tim Cook’s praises. The iPhone maker CEO is nearing his own retirement raising questions about who will succeed Cook.