On the evening of August 3, Beijing time, the Berkshire Hathaway Group, owned by "Stock God" Buffett, released its second quarter financial report for 2024. It showed that the company significantly reduced its holdings in Apple shares, and the scale of the reduction was almost "halved" ".
In this regard, well-known investor Duan Yongping (screen name: Daodao Intangible, I have style) said on Snowball Social, "I have no plan to reduce my holdings unless I am called away. The main reason is that I don’t know what else I can buy after I sell it. . And I think that in the long run, I can accept the returns that and apple can bring to me in the future. Buffett is different. He is a professional investor and he will have more choices."
Shenzhen Oriental Harbor Investment Management Co., Ltd. Dan Bin, chairman of the company (hereinafter referred to as "Oriental Harbor"), also said on Weibo , "It's still a bit surprising to reduce our holdings so much. Among Oriental Harbor's positions, Apple accounts for about 10% of our portfolio. Even if we see Ba We have not followed the idea of reducing our holdings, because in the era of artificial intelligence, Apple is also one of the companies that will benefit most. "
Duan Yongping and Dan Bin hinted that they are still optimistic about Apple's long-term development space
On the evening of August 3rd, Beijing time. , Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway released its second quarter financial report for 2024. The financial report shows that the company significantly reduced its holdings of Apple shares in the second quarter from 789 million shares in the first quarter to approximately 400 million shares, a decrease of approximately 49.3%.
In response to this, Duan Yongping said in a reply to netizens on Snowball Social that he had no plans to reduce his holdings in Apple. "In the long run, I can accept the returns that Apple can bring to me in the future. Buffett is different. He is a professional investor and he will have more choices."
Duan Yongping said, "Once he (Buffett) decides to sell When selling (Apple), there is only one reason why he will sell less, and that is that the price has dropped. Apple has been so strong recently, and it is reasonable for him to sell anything. "
In addition to Duan Yongping, but Bin also said that he is optimistic about Apple. long-term development prospects. He said on Weibo that he did not follow Buffett’s idea of reducing his holdings in Apple. "(Buffett) is not surprised at all to reduce his holdings, but it is still a bit surprising to reduce his holdings so much." He said, "In the era of artificial intelligence, Apple is also one of the companies that has benefited most. Apple 16, Apple 17, and after the release of artificial intelligence mobile phones, The probability of new growth poles and growth space is still relatively high.”
Dan Bin further said that Berkshire Hathaway started buying Apple stocks in 2016, and in the past eight years, Apple has provided Berkshire. Hathaway's performance has made a huge contribution. In the future, it is difficult to determine whether Berkshire Hathaway will reduce its entire holdings of Apple shares. "Even if Berkshire reduces its holdings so much, the impact on the market and the company will not be particularly large. What is more important is the operating conditions and future prospects of the company itself."
"Although Buffett has only participated in the eight years from 2016 to the present investment in Apple, but this does not prevent this company from achieving great success and becoming the most important component of the S&P 500!" Dan Bin said, "From a long-term investment perspective, it is very difficult to outperform the S&P 500! , and in the composition of this index, the proportion of companies that change the world is getting larger and larger. We believe that in the era of artificial intelligence, this will still be the case, or even more prominent! We are willing to stick to it, although Berkshire's reduction in Apple holdings also suggests risks. It is not easy to achieve success in any investment. You can only believe in your own judgment, believe in what you believe in, and believe in the power of your own heart! ”
Buffett’s “crazy slashing” of Apple’s stock cash reserves hit a new high
According to Berkshire Hathaway's second quarter financial report, the company's second quarter revenue was US$93.653 billion, compared with US$92.503 billion in the same period last year, and the market expected US$91.09 billion; second quarter net profit was US$30.35 billion, up from US$92.503 billion in the same period last year. In the same period last year, it was US$35.912 billion, and the market expected US$17.786 billion.
As of the end of the second quarter, Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves hit a new high, reaching $276.9 billion, compared with $189 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Buffett began to reduce his holdings of Apple stocks in the first quarter of this year.At the previous annual shareholder meeting in May, Buffett said that expectations of a possible rise in U.S. tax rates prompted him to take some profits from his Apple position. However, even after the significant reduction, Apple remains Berkshire Hathaway's largest holding.
Berkshire Hathaway currently holds about 2.6% of Apple's shares, which is worth about $88 billion based on last Friday's closing price of $219.86 per share. The reduction in Apple shares is not surprising, but the scale of the reduction is unexpected.
In addition, Buffett has recently sold a large amount of his "No. 2 position" Bank of America . The latest documents released by Berkshire Hathaway show that the company has sold Bank of America shares for the 12th consecutive day. Between July 30 and August 1, Berkshire Hathaway cashed out $779 million by selling 19.22 million shares of Bank of America stock.
Since 2011, Buffett has repeatedly adjusted his holdings in Bank of America. According to Berkshire Hathaway’s latest financial report, Bank of America is the second largest investor in Berkshire’s investment portfolio after Apple. Large holdings, accounting for about 11%.
Market analysis believes that the Federal Reserve may start an interest rate cut cycle this year, and banks' interest-earning asset yields will face the challenge of declining. The decline in net interest margins may cause the profitability of the U.S. banking industry to decline. This is one of the reasons why Buffett reduced his holdings of U.S. bank stocks. .
Apple "failed" in the Chinese market in the second quarter
Apple's financial report released on August 1 showed that in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 (as of June 29, 2024), the company achieved operating income of US$85.78 billion, a year-on-year increase About 4.9%; net profit was US$21.45 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 7.9%.
Although Apple achieved double revenue and profit growth globally in the second quarter, its flagship product iPhone revenue continued to decline. The financial report shows that Apple’s mobile phone sales fell slightly to US$39.3 billion in the quarter from US$39.67 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year; sales of wearable, home and accessories products dropped from US$8.28 billion to US$8.1 billion; services Revenue rose from US$21.21 billion to US$24.21 billion, an increase of more than 14%.
In this regard, Apple CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call: "This quarter, the iPhone installed base hit a record high, which we are very excited about. If calculated on a fixed exchange rate basis, iPhone performance has increased. "
In addition, from the perspective of the Chinese market, Apple has experienced a significant decline in performance. In the second quarter, Apple’s revenue in Greater China was US$14.728 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 6.5%. Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that the performance decline in Greater China was mainly affected by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. After excluding the impact of exchange rates, the actual revenue fell by less than 3%.
However, according to canalys statistics, in the second quarter of 2024, smartphone shipments in mainland China increased by 10% year-on-year, returning to the level of 70 million units. The top five brands in terms of shipments are vivo, oppo, Honor, Huawei, and Xiaomi. Apple fell out of the top five for the first time.
Source: Securities Times
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