Buffett’s Final Year at Berkshire: Cash, Apple Sales, and a Carefully Timed Exit

As stocks hit record highs and tech optimism surged, Warren Buffett leaned into patience—stockpiling cash, trimming Apple, and preparing a leadership handoff.

In a year of record stock highs, artificial-intelligence moonshots and tense standoffs on global trade, Warren Buffett spent much of it watching—and waiting for the right moment to strike. The Berkshire Hathaway chief executive, one of corporate America’s most prolific and patient dealmakers, largely followed the same approach he has used for decades: don’t chase pricey markets, keep capital ready, and move quickly only when the numbers work.

A year of fewer bets—and more cash

With the market’s rally limiting opportunities to make large acquisitions at attractive prices, Berkshire sold more stocks than it bought and allowed its cash stockpile to climb to a record $358 billion. For Buffett, the logic is straightforward: when valuations rise and bargains are scarce, liquidity becomes a form of optionality—fuel for future deals, resilience in downturns, and leverage in negotiations.

Apple climbs, bubble fears grow, and Berkshire trims

Apple stock continued to climb in 2025, returning 9.5% through Tuesday. But as investors piled into tech—stoking fears of a bubble—Berkshire unloaded part of its Apple position, selling more than 60 million shares in the second and third quarters. Apple remains one of Berkshire’s biggest holdings.

Buffett’s biggest move: a leadership transition

By year’s end, Buffett’s most important move in 2025 wasn’t a trade. In May, from the stage of Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha, Neb., he announced he would cede his CEO post to Greg Abel at the end of the year.

A shifting bench for the post-Buffett era

Not everyone is sticking around for what comes next. Berkshire’s stock price is down more than 6% since Buffett announced his departure, and several senior executives are heading for new chapters.

One last big acquisition and selective corporate moves

There was one final multibillion-dollar acquisition. Berkshire agreed to pay $10 billion for Occidental Petroleum’s chemicals producer OxyChem. Occidental wanted to shrink its debt and Berkshire could offer cash, likely enabling Buffett to secure a discount.

A reminder that even Buffett has missteps

Kraft Heinz announced it is splitting in two—undoing a 2015 merger financed by Berkshire and private-equity firm 3G Capital. Buffett has previously said the deal was overpriced.

“It will happen again”: the cash-and-opportunity playbook

Asked at this year’s annual meeting about the growing cash pile, Buffett said Berkshire was following the same time-tested playbook and would not hesitate to deploy $100 billion “when something is offered that makes sense to us.”

“The one problem with the investment business is that things don’t come along in an orderly fashion,” he said. “It will happen again. But I don’t know when. It could be next week, it could be five years off, but it won’t be 50 years off.”

Investors look beyond stocks: autonomy headlines and real estate

Autonomy and transportation innovation have become another focal point of market attention. For more on that trend and its stock implications, see MB Daily News’ coverage of Tesla’s Robotaxi timeline: Tesla Robotaxi deadline and what it could mean for TSLA stock.

Disclosure: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Sponsored content is labeled and may include outbound links.