CUPERTINO, CA — Have you heard Berkshire is selling apple stock, read this blog news to know more details insights. As the curtain fell on 2025, the global technology landscape witnessed a historic recalibration. While the broader market celebrated a “glorious” year of gains, Apple Inc. (AAPL) found itself at a crossroads, relegated to a rare position of underperformance. The story of Apple in 2025 was not merely one of hardware cycles or quarterly earnings; it was the year the world’s most famous “buy-and-hold” investor, Warren Buffett, signaled a profound change in conviction.
By January 2, 2026, the data confirmed what many had suspected throughout the year: Berkshire Hathaway has slashed its once-dominant stake in Apple by approximately 73% since late 2023. The retreat, which accelerated through a series of multi-billion dollar sell-offs, marked the end of an era for the conglomerate’s largest equity holding and raised fundamental questions about Apple’s future in an AI-dominated world.
A Year of “Middling” Performance
While 2025 was a record-breaking year for the S&P 500, which climbed 17% on the back of an artificial intelligence revolution, Apple shares managed a modest 8% gain. For a company that has historically led the “Magnificent Seven,” trailing the index by nearly double digits was a stark deviation from the norm.
The stock’s journey was a rollercoaster of sentiment. After hitting a local low in April 2025 amid concerns over a lack of a cohesive AI strategy, the shares rallied 59% through the summer following the announcement of “Apple Intelligence.” However, as the rollout of these features stalled and the promised “Siri 2.0” was delayed into 2026, investor enthusiasm cooled.
The Buffett Factor: Profit-Taking or Red Flag?
Warren Buffett’s massive divestment was the primary headline of the year. From a peak holding of over 905 million shares, Berkshire’s stake has dwindled to roughly 238 million shares.
During Berkshire’s 2025 annual meeting, Buffett was uncharacteristically candid. While he praised CEO Tim Cook—stating that Cook had made Berkshire more money than he had—the “Oracle of Omaha” emphasized the prudence of locking in capital gains at current tax rates and the allure of high-yielding Treasury bills. At the end of 2025, Berkshire sat on a record-shattering $382 billion cash pile.
| Metric | 2023 Year-End | 2025 Year-End | % Change |
| Berkshire Apple Stake | 905.6M Shares | ~238M Shares | -73.7% |
| Portfolio Concentration | ~50% | ~21% | -58% |
| Cash Reserves | $167.6B | $381.7B | +127% |
Analysts suggest the move reflects a valuation discipline. With Apple trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 37—well above its 10-year historical average of 25—Buffett likely saw the risk-to-reward ratio shifting toward the downside, especially compared to more attractively valued peers like Alphabet.
iPhone 17 and the Hardware Cycle
Despite the divestment, the iPhone remains Apple’s gravitational center, accounting for nearly half of its total revenue. The September 2025 launch of the iPhone 17 was a critical test of whether the company could spark a “supercycle.”
The iPhone 17 lineup introduced several notable hardware upgrades:
- ProMotion Display: Expanded to the standard models for the first time.
- Camera Innovations: A new 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera and “Center Stage” front-facing capabilities.
- The A19 Chip: Custom-built to handle on-device AI processing with dedicated neural accelerators.
While iPhone sales increased 6% in the fiscal fourth quarter, the “AI-driven upgrade cycle” was more of a whisper than a roar. Consumers responded positively to the hardware, but the true value of “Apple Intelligence” remained largely intangible for many.
The Services Division: A High-Margin Oasis
If hardware sales were a steady drumbeat, the Services division was a symphony. In 2025, Apple’s services revenue surpassed the $100 billion annual milestone for the first time.
With over 1 billion paid subscriptions across iCloud, Apple Music, and Apple TV+, the segment now accounts for 28% of total revenue. More importantly, services carry gross margins exceeding 70%, compared to the roughly 36% seen in hardware. This shift has allowed Apple to maintain record-high overall gross margins of 46.9%, even as sales volume for physical devices fluctuated.