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Interesting YTD dichotomy BRK.B vs AAPL

edited February 2023 in Other Investing
Just noticed something strange. AAPL, which accounts for 40% of Berkshire’s stock holdings, is up +23.5% YTD. Yet Berkshire’s stock is down slightly YTD. Go figure.

Comments

  • My guess is one of the foundations is selling $1 billion Berkshire every morning at 930 am every day this year. I don’t think munger Buffett believe in buying anything here. Will see how the market evolves. Animal spirits are full on preventing sanity to prevail
  • Top 5 holdings of BRK are AAPL, BAC, AXP, KHC, OXY. So, the stock portfolio should be up YTD based on StockCharts. But BRK is also a huge operational company and that part is cyclical, and as @Devo mentioned, there may be other market actors. This bounce is in speculative and junky stuff.
    https://www.cnbc.com/berkshire-hathaway-portfolio/
    https://stockcharts.com/h-perf/ui?s=AAPL&compare=AXP,BAC,KHC,OXY&id=p84130660542
  • It could also be as simple as BRK 'stock' being held back by its sizable allotment to AAPL. There's a lot of trepidation around big tech names.
  • Mark said:

    It could also be as simple as BRK 'stock' being held back by its sizable allotment to AAPL. There's a lot of trepidation around big tech names.

    True, but unlike other big tech companies, AAPL isn’t doing massive layoffs because they didn’t over hire in the first place.
  • edited February 2023
    Great analysis everyone. To support Mark’s point, Berkshire is not a mutual fund. Were it one, its valuation (NAV) would closely correlate with its holdings and AAPL’s effect on price would be more apparent. Instead, the stock is bought and sold on its own merritt as investors see it - and likely a different breed of investor.

    I’ve always been skeptical of tech investments (to my detriment). But having seen how quickly the latest greatest gizmo can be replaced by a new development makes me timid. Remember the revolutionary 8-track tape? VCR? DVD? Commodore 64?

    One aspect of AAPL Buffet obviously likes is its closed artechiture / ecosystem. Users are more or less locked-in to purchasing or subscribing to its apps, music service, Apple TV+ etc. Their cloud is able to store complete device backups as well as sync user data across devices. In that sense the company bears some resemblance to a consumers staples business. One additional risk, however, is the always looming government anti-trust potential or court litigation that could do do great harm. Nor is it immune to the types of revolutionary technological upheavals that occur from time to time.
  • I was sorta like Buffet Didn't want to buy anything I didnt understand and I thought Jobs was a jerk. But letting your emotions govern your investments is usually a bad idea, although there are some lines I can't cross, like "META". I am glad I help my nose on TSLA recently. It is far more profitable than any other car company.

    A friend loaded up on APPL after seeing how popular the original iPod was.

    Having used a iPad and and iphone for years, the contrast between these products and my wife's Android phone is night and day.

    I am amazed the closed architecture has not been a bigger selling point for security with the business community. Not sure why APPL hasn't captured more of this market, but it maybe switching and legacy costs.
  • edited February 2023
    +1

    Since my OP I’ve seen reports of anywhere from 25% - 40% of stocks held in AAPL. So the 40% I mentioned earlier might not be correct. Not sure. Lots of cash - ISTM in the 20-25% range as a % of portfolio. Of course there are delays in reporting. Current figures may be accurate as of September (as reported in November).
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