Apple isn’t all Warren Buffett is bullish on
OMAHA, Neb. - Warren Buffett is investing heavily in Apple (AAPL) because he believes once consumers begin using the company’s products they aren’t likely to stop. He’s also firmly optimistic about America’s potential to continue displaying its “economic dynamism.”
The billionaire investor said on CNBC Monday that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) now holds about 133 million shares of Apple after buying yet more of the company’s stock this year.
That’s more than double the stake that Berkshire revealed earlier this month. He told the network Berkshire has added 120 million more Apple shares since Jan. 1, when its ownership was 1.1 percent and worth nearly $7.1 billion. Since then, Apple’s share price has rocketed 18 percent higher, bringing the worth of Buffett’s now larger holding to around $17 billion.
Buffett’s aggressive buying spree at Apple caught many off guard because he has historically steered clear of technology companies. But Buffett said when he looks at Apple he sees a maker of consumer products, not technology. “Apple strikes me as having quite a sticky product,” he told CNBC.
While Buffett said Apple’s iPhones are great, he still carries a basic flip phone.
The legendary investor, known as the Oracle of Omaha, appeared on CNBC after releasing his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on Saturday.
In it, Buffett celebrated the achievement of the American economy since the nation’s founding, “a span of time less than triple my days on earth,” as he put it. He also expressed his extreme optimism in what lies ahead.
“American business -- and consequently a basket of stocks -- is virtually certain to be worth far more in the years ahead,” he added. “Innovation, productivity gains, entrepreneurial spirit and an abundance of capital will see to that. Ever-present naysayers may prosper by marketing their gloomy forecasts. But heaven help them if they act on the nonsense they peddle.”