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Re:

Berkshire Hathaway Cut Its Apple Stake by About Half in Q2 2024

Berkshire’s Q2 2024 filing showed about 400 million Apple shares at June 30, roughly half its position after Q1. The quarter-end filing does not reveal its current holding or a definitive reason for the reduction.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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Berkshire Hathaway cut its Apple position by roughly half in the second quarter of 2024, leaving about 400 million shares at June 30, according to its SEC holdings filing. That is a dated quarter-end snapshot, not a statement of Berkshire’s holdings today, and the filing does not explain every sale.

How many Apple shares did Berkshire sell?

Berkshire reported nearly 790 million Apple shares after the first quarter of 2024. Its second-quarter Form 13F lists Apple in multiple investment-manager rows; added together, those entries amount to about 400 million shares on June 30. The comparison indicates a reduction of roughly half, not an exact 50.0% sale.

The figures describe shares reported at two quarter ends, rather than a transaction-by-transaction account. Berkshire’s Q1 position had already been reduced by a little over 116 million shares—about 13% of its previous stake—according to the Associated Press’s May 15, 2024 report.

Reporting point Apple shares reported What it means
After Q1 2024 Nearly 790 million Quarter-end holding reported in coverage of Berkshire’s filing; the AP said the Q1 reduction was a little over 116 million shares, about 13%.
June 30, 2024 About 400 million Sum of Apple entries across the manager rows in Berkshire’s Q2 SEC Form 13F.

Why the June 30 figure is not a current holding count

A Form 13F reports specified securities holdings for a past reporting date and is filed afterward. Berkshire released its Q2 earnings on August 3, 2024, and filed its Q2 13F in mid-August. The approximately 400 million figure therefore describes the June 30 position, not Berkshire’s live portfolio or any later trades.

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The SEC filing also cautions: “The reader should not assume that the information is accurate and complete.” It is the regulatory disclosure to use for the reported quarter-end holdings, but it should be read as a dated filing rather than a real-time account.

What is known about Buffett’s reason for selling?

The available evidence does not establish one definitive reason for Berkshire’s Q2 reduction. At the May 4, 2024 annual meeting, Buffett discussed an earlier Apple reduction. CNBC’s searchable meeting-archive summary attributed to him the possibility that higher future capital-gains tax rates were among the considerations. That context concerns the earlier reduction; it does not prove the reason for the Q2 sales.

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The Form 13F reports Berkshire’s holdings through investment-manager rows. It does not establish that Buffett personally made every trade, nor does it provide a detailed explanation for the change.

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How the sale fits Berkshire’s Q2 financial results

Berkshire’s August 3, 2024 earnings release reported $11.598 billion in Q2 operating earnings. Separately, it reported $47.0 billion of after-tax realized gains on investment sales for Q2 and $58.2 billion for the first six months of 2024. Those investment figures should not be confused with operating performance: Berkshire notes that unrealized changes also affect investment gains and losses.

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The release warns that “The amount of investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading to investors who have little or no knowledge of accounting rules.” The realized-gains totals provide financial context, but they do not by themselves explain the Apple sale.

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