Two companies at the heart of the AI race, Apple and Amazon account for around 22% of Berkshire’s $282 billion equity portfolio, or market valued at around $62 billion. The stakes highlight subtle yet meaningful changes in the strategy of the empire, once defined by railways, banks and insurance companies.
Apple’s weight remains even after pullback
Apple is valued at $3 trillion, and is Berkshire’s largest stakeholder, accounting for 21.6% of its total portfolio. That’s despite selling over 600 million Apple shares over the past year.
The cuts are part of Berkshire Hathaway’s broader trends, raising cash holdings while trimming exposure to publicly traded stocks. That attention reflects increased anxiety about geological risks similar to bubble-up assessments. However, the apple cut may also refer to concerns inherent to the high-tech giant.
Apple has a dominant global presence in mobile hardware, but it is struggling to fit the pace of other high-tech Titans in artificial intelligence. Its voice assistant Siri is reportedly lagging behind next-generation AI products in its sophisticated capabilities, and pressure has been added to the delay in the launch of the AI suite in China. Apple ultimately partnered with Alibaba to bring the software to Chinese users, but domestic rivals remain grounded.
Still, despite the headwinds, Apple remains the jewel of the Berkshire crown. While the company’s interests may be trimmed, it is a sign of ongoing faith that Apple holds more weight in its Berkshire portfolio than any other stock.
Amazon’s Cloud is where AI actions are located
A much smaller position in the Berkshire portfolio, Amazon represents a very different kind of AI bet. This was made by his agent, portfolio manager, Todd Combs, or Ted Weschler, not Buffett himself. Buffett openly says he missed the boat after not buying Amazon before.
The company’s AI momentum is focused on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a large cloud computing arm. AWS is a good place to boost the infrastructure behind many generation AI models, and companies of all sizes integrate AI into their core operations, making them profitable.
“Before this generation of AI, we thought AWS could ultimately become a rate business that would generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a recent revenue call. “I think it could be even bigger now.”
AWS supports AI deployment at multiple levels, providing complete model customization for large enterprises, semi-custom tools via the Bedlock platform, and plug-and-play AI applications for small and medium-sized businesses. In the first quarter, AWS revenues rose 17% from a year ago, with the division accounting for almost two-thirds of Amazon’s total operating profit.
A portfolio ready for the next chapter
Exaggerating Buffett’s high-tech play was once central to his investment identity. However, his company’s current exposure tells a more subtle story. Despite trimming certain positions and braces due to global uncertainty, Berkshire remains deeply invested in the future of artificial intelligence.
The real question now is what will happen next. With Buffett set to abandon daily control, investors will see if Berkshire is doubling AI-linked stocks like Amazon, or continuing to do the careful rebalancing seen in recent quarters.
Regarding all of his skepticism about the high-tech epidemic, Buffett’s portfolio suggests the perception that the future of value can be increasingly shaped by the power of algorithms and the platforms that implement them.
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(Disclaimer: recommendations, suggestions, opinions and opinions given by experts are unique. These do not represent views of the economic era.)
