Warren Buffett’s $18 Billion Mistake

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Warren Buffett’s $18 Billion Mistake

© Scott Olson / Getty Images

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B | BRK-B Price Prediction) trimmed 6% from the company’s holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock. The sale realized about $11 billion for the Berkshire portfolio.

Buffett began buying Apple stock in 2016, and he has lightened his position by about 12% over the past few years, according to a report in Markets Insider. On Wednesday, when Apple posted a new all-time high stock price, Buffett’s holdings in the stock were valued at around $128 billion.

Had he just bought and held all his portfolio’s Apple stock, that holding would have been worth about $146 billion, a difference of $18 billion. Berkshire had spent about $36 billion on purchases of Apple stock, so even with the lower number of shares, Buffett has more than tripled his investment. Had he bought and held, he would have quadrupled his money.
[nativounit]
Buffett admitted that he went against partner Charlie Munger’s advice not to sell Apple (or Costco) stock. Shares in both companies have added more than 8% so far in 2021, following a rough start. Costco stock had lost about 17% of its value by early March, and Apple had dropped 12%. Since then, Apple stock has risen by more than 23% and Costco stock has added 31%. A mistake indeed.
[recirclink id=910539][wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Paul Ausick
About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

Our $500K AI Portfolio

See us invest in our favorite AI stock ideas for free

Our Investment Portfolio

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618