During a recent interview with CNBC, famed investor Warren Buffett practically said that Apple is the one stock worth owning in today’s market. Hardly a surprise, Buffett has been extremely bullish on Apple for quite some time now, even though he comically owns a flip phone and still refuses to upgrade to an iPhone. Just last year, for example, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway nearly quadrupled its stake in Apple when it picked up more than 40 million shares. More recently, Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Apple to 165.3 million shares and, in the process, dumped nearly all of its stake in IBM.
In fact, Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire Hathaway “bought more Apple than anything else” over the last 12 months.
As to why Buffett remains so gung-ho on Apple, the Oracle of Omaha explained that the iPhone is a very “sticky product,” which is to say that iPhone owners tend to stick with Apple more often than, say, Samsung owners tend to stick with Samsung.
“Apple has an extraordinary consumer franchise,” Buffett explained. “I see how strong that ecosystem is, to an extraordinary degree. You are very, very, very locked in, at least psychologically and mentally, to the product you are using. “
In terms of overall value, Apple is now Berkshire Hatahway’s most second valuable holding, ranking slightly behind Wells Fargo and slightly above Bank of America.
Incidentally, and no doubt buoyed by Buffett’s statements, shares of Apple were up significantly on Monday and are currently trading in the $179 range. For what it’s worth, Apple’s all-time high is $179.39, a threshold Apple may very well eclipse later this week.
