The internet is in awe of Warren Buffett's perfectly timed cash-out

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Theron Mohamed

Wed, Mar 12, 2025, 3:45 PM 6 min read

Warren Buffett playing a ukelele with a microphone successful beforehand of him.

Warren Buffett is being praised for paring Apple and stacking currency earlier the marketplace slumped.
Social media is afloat of Buffett quotes astir marketplace downturns and memes featuring the investor.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold a nett $134 cardinal of stocks successful 2024 and built a grounds currency pile.

Warren Buffett has sparked a raft of comments and memes connected societal media aft the legendary capitalist sold astir of his monolithic Apple involvement and built a grounds currency heap earlier the banal marketplace tumbled earlier this week.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway astir doubled its stockpile of cash, Treasury bills, and different liquid assets past twelvemonth to $334 cardinal (or $321 cardinal if you subtract payables for T-bill purchases).

The conglomerate's currency hoard ballooned mostly due to the fact that it sold a nett $134 cardinal of stocks successful 2024, and spent little than $3 cardinal connected buybacks, halting them wholly successful the 2nd half. For comparison, it sold a nett $24 cardinal of stocks and repurchased much than $9 cardinal worthy of Berkshire banal successful 2023.

"Despite what immoderate commentators presently presumption arsenic an bonzer currency presumption astatine Berkshire, the large bulk of your wealth remains successful equities," Buffett reassured Berkshire shareholders successful his yearly missive successful February, referring to some the stocks and businesses that his institution owns.

Buffett didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Berkshire owned astir 906 cardinal shares of Apple worthy $174 cardinal astatine the commencement of 2024, meaning the iPhone shaper accounted for 49% of the full worth of its banal portfolio. Over the adjacent 9 months, it chopped its apical holding by 67% to 300 cardinal shares, worthy $75 cardinal astatine the extremity of December.

Buffett and his squad besides pared their No. 2 holding, Bank of America, by 34% to 680 cardinal shares successful the 2nd fractional of 2024, cutting the position's worth from $41 cardinal to conscionable nether $30 billion.

As of Tuesday's close, Apple and Bank of America shares person dropped 15% and 20% each from their November highs.