“Renowned billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Monday that he’s not buying Apple shares, but would if they continued to cheapen,” Thomas Franck reports for CNBC. “‘If it were cheaper, we’d be buying it. We aren’t buying it here,’ Buffett said in an interview with ‘Squawk Box’ co-host Becky Quick. ‘I don’t see myself selling – the lower it goes, the better, I like it, obviously.'”
“Buffett has made Apple a keystone of his expansive holdings and highlighted his own use of the company’s iPad products,” Franck reports. “On Monday, Buffett also reiterated that while the latest SEC filings showed that Berkshire Hathaway had very slightly trimmed its Apple stake in the fourth quarter that was not him, but rather one of the conglomerate’s money managers — Ted Weschler or Todd Combs — who sold some Apple to make a new investment. Weschler and Combs have a capped amount of money to invest.”
“Berkshire Hathaway is the second-largest holder of Apple shares with a stake worth about $52 billion, according to FactSet,” Franck reports. “Buffett views Apple more as a compelling consumer stock than a tech stock thanks to its popularity among its many users. ‘I do not focus on the sales in the next quarter or the next year,’ he said in August. ‘I focus on the … hundreds, hundreds, hundreds millions of people who practically live their lives by it [iPhone].’ He also called the iPhone ‘enormously underpriced’ at that time, saying that it’s worth far more than the $1,000 Apple charges.”
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MacDailyNews Take: As Jim Cramer says of AAPL: “Own it, don’t trade it.”
Buffet is being generous. The Oracle says buy low, sell high and Berkshire meeting sttendees swoon. The real story is Buffet got bit bad. After losing billions on AAPL, what else can he do but hold?
The best thing that could happen to Apple is would be a rapid sustained decline in share prices. It seems this is about the only way to light a fire under the lazy asses of overcompensated management. New, better products and less media subscriptions and fashion wearables please!!!!
I have to agree with the assessment. Most likely the purchase comment is another way to say that he is willing to cost average down on his AAPL investment so that any current paper losses are spread across a larger number of shares.
Buffett got terribly shafted by Apple, so he’s playing it safe. Remember, Apple’s share price was about $232 a pop and now it’s $174. If Buffett had any confidence Apple’s share price was going up again, he wouldn’t hesitate buying more shares at this price. I’m just saying, although some people say Apple is cheap right now, big investors see it differently. What’s laughable is big investors are going to toss more money to Microsoft instead of Apple. That goes to show, the big players would rather bet on Microsoft than Apple. Why? Most of the news media keeps saying iPhone sales are in a steady decline and that’s enough to keep the big players away from Apple.
Buffett got shafted by IBM, then Apple and now Kraft-Heinz. That’s going to leave a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth, so I don’t blame Buffett for putting investments on hold for awhile. Owning Apple is suitable for me because I’m counting on the dividends and won’t be selling Apple stock for a long time. So, even if Apple shows little gains, I still get my dividends and I’m doing just fine.
I don’t think paying $1000 for a smartphone is terrible as long as I intend to keep it for a few years. Most consumers don’t see it that way and that’s their choice. I suppose they can keep a $500 Android flagship smartphone for a few years, too.
I just think that Apple shouldn’t depend so much on iPhone sales and just acquire some additional revenue streams as other major tech companies have done. Apple needs to think a little more about future growth than immediate profits.