Buffett Sells $4 Billion in Apple While iPhone 17 Tops China Market
Berkshire Hathaway sold approximately $4 billion of Apple shares in the first quarter of 2025, reducing its exposure to the iPhone maker. During the holiday quarter, Apple reclaimed China’s top smartphone position thanks to a sharp rebound in iPhone 17 shipments despite deepening memory-chip shortages.
1. Buffett Trims Apple Position to Bolster Cash and Treasuries
In the first quarter of 2025, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its Apple holding by approximately $4 billion, marking the largest single divestment of a non-financial equity in Buffett’s portfolio that quarter. The move boosted Berkshire’s cash and Treasury reserves to over $160 billion, positioning the conglomerate to deploy capital opportunistically during market dislocations. Despite the reduction, Apple remains one of Berkshire’s top five equity stakes by market weight as of March 31, underscoring Buffett’s continued conviction in the iPhone maker’s long-term earnings power.
2. Apple Regains Lead in China Smartphone Shipments
During the December 2025 holiday quarter, Apple reclaimed the top share in China’s smartphone market for the first time since early 2022. Year-over-year iPhone unit shipments rose by 12%, driven by robust demand for the iPhone 17 line, which accounted for more than 40% of all iPhone sales in Greater China. This rebound occurred despite a deepening shortage of memory chips industry-wide, highlighting Apple’s supply-chain resilience and premium brand positioning in its second-largest geographic market.
3. Major Institutions Rebalance Apple Exposure
Recent 13F filings reveal that several large asset managers adjusted their Apple positions in Q3 2025. Global Financial Private Client LLC cut its stake by 22.5%, reducing its holding to 51,000 shares and making Apple its second-largest position at 4.6% of assets under management. Meanwhile, Generali Asset Management trimmed its stake by 0.9% to 615,558 shares, representing 3.4% of its fund portfolio. These shifts come amid broader sector rotations and reflect institutional recalibrations around valuation and portfolio yield objectives.
4. Apple Poised for $5 Trillion Market Cap on AI, 6G and Services Upside
Analysts project Apple could join the $5 trillion market-cap club with roughly 32% appreciation from current levels, driven by multiple catalysts: integration of Google’s Gemini AI into Siri upgrades, expected rollouts of AI-powered smart glasses, and the eventual deployment of 6G networks enabling new services revenue streams. Wedbush recently raised its price target by over 25% on expectations of accelerating Services growth—now representing 22% of total revenue—and sustained double-digit expansion in Wearables & Home. This bullish outlook underscores investor confidence in Apple’s ecosystem lock-in and recurring-revenue model.