The Berkshire Beat: April 18, 2025
All of the latest Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway news!
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So far as we know, Apple remains the largest holding in Berkshire Hathaway’s stock portfolio. The Cupertino-based tech giant faces something of a balancing act these days — due to its heavy reliance on China in manufacturing its cash cow, the iPhone, which generates roughly half the company’s revenue. This dependence places Apple in a vulnerable position amid geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies.
Despite these very real uncertainties, the strength of Apple’s brand in the smartphone market is undimmed. Last week, I mentioned how American teenagers love the iPhone more than ever (and can’t wait to upgrade to the iPhone 17 this fall).
More good news: According to Counterpoint Research, Apple claimed the #1 spot in global smartphone sales for Q1 2025 — capturing 19% of the market. This is the first time that Apple has won the first quarter, fueled by the launch of the budget-friendly iPhone 16e. That helped Apple narrowly edge out Samsung (18%) and Xiaomi (14%). Overall, global smartphone sales grew 3% in the quarter — with double-digit increases in Japan, India, and Southeast Asia offsetting flat (or worse) numbers from the U.S., Europe, and China.
Looking ahead, Apple’s future product roadmap also came into clearer focus this week. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that CEO Tim Cook is “hell bent” on creating augmented reality glasses and beating Meta Platforms to market with them. It would pack the functionality of the bulky (and heavy) Vision Pro headset into sleek, socially acceptable eyewear. Basically, the Holy Grail of spatial computing.
“It’s the only thing [Cook’s] really spending his time on from a product development standpoint,” an unnamed source told Gurman. Current technological limitations mean the final product is still years away — but the AR smart glasses arms race is on.
Closer to market, Apple is also reportedly finalizing a foldable iPhone for release next year. This hybrid device — unfolding to nearly iPad mini size — won’t come cheap (rumors put the price tag at $2,000+) but could serve as both a smartphone and tablet.
And, now, on to the latest news and notes out of Omaha…
Warren Buffett stands head and shoulders above his billionaire peers as America’s most popular tycoon. In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Buffett clinched the top spot among the ten richest Americans with a commanding 52% favorable rating. More impressively, his +22% net favorability score dwarfed the competition. Bill Gates, with a modest +6% net rating, was the only other one to break into positive territory.
In an interview with Fortune to promote her new book, Melinda French Gates revealed that Buffett was among the first to know about her and Bill’s divorce. Not terribly surprising, considering his close friendship with the Gateses and that he (at the time) planned to donate virtually all of his wealth to their foundation. “He had made this enormous investment in the foundation,” she told Fortune, “and so whatever decision he would eventually need to make or not make about that was his. We both felt strongly he was one of the first people we needed to tell.”
Melinda ultimately left the foundation in June 2024 to focus on her own philanthropic efforts. Later that same month, Buffett definitively stated: “The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death.”
NetJets recently suffered a data breach in which hackers stole “limited” information on “a very small number of owners”. Among the pilfered information was an internal memo from November 2024 that detailed client Elon Musk’s in-flight preferences. The leaked document describes Musk as a “nice, laid-back” passenger who prioritizes speed and efficiency above all else — favoring the quickest and most direct routes. A frequent napper during flights, he also prefers the cabin be kept at a chilly 65 degrees. (On that last point, he’s a man after my own heart.)
Keith Corkwell, president of Lubrizol Additives, offered a glimpse into the Berkshire-owned company’s global reach and versatility. “We’ve been international for a long time,” he told Crain’s Cleveland Business, “following the transportation industry around the world. North America is still a primary market for us, but it’s less than half of the business.” In fact, domestic sales account for about one-third of the additives segment’s revenue. (Overall, additives generate roughly two-thirds of Lubrizol’s $6-7 billion of annual revenue.)
Lubrizol’s resilience stems from its vertical integration — producing many of its own additive ingredients to protect itself against supply chain disruptions and trade policies. And, while motor oil remains a key focus, Lubrizol is ready for EVs, too. “On the transportation side,” said Corkwell, “we’re pretty agnostic. If you want to run EVs, we have products for those, too.” Like coatings for the wires inside those vehicles.
Lubrizol is much more than just fuel additives, though. “We like to say when you leave the house in the morning, you’ve probably been touched by about five Lubrizol products,” said Corkwell, citing the company’s role in soaps, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, and more.
HomeServices of America — the real estate brokerage owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy — got a new CEO this week. Chris Kelly takes over the top spot from Gino Blefari, who will become chairman emeritus and serve as a strategic advisor to the organization. Kelly aims to make HomeServices more efficient — and aggressive. “A lot of us in the industry — not just HomeServices — have really had to be in a defensive posture over the last year-and-a-half coming out of the trial (Burnett v. National Association of Realtors) and the verdict and then the rule changes and settlements,” he told Real Estate News. “We’ve worked through that and while there’s still a lot of things we’re all navigating … [I think] we can really get back to growth mode and go back on offense.”
Just last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Compass was “in advanced talks” to acquire HomeServices of America from Berkshire. Blefari, in one of his last acts as CEO, emphatically denied those rumors.
And a few odds and ends to finish off the week…
Berkshire received over $230 million in quarterly dividends from Occidental Petroleum on Tuesday. That includes $63.6 million via its common stock position and $169.8 million via the preferred shares from the Anadarko deal.
Speaking of which, Buffett did not purchase any more OXY 0.00%↑ shares even though the price dropped as low as $34.78 over the past week.
Oxy also acquired Direct Air Capture startup Holocene for an undisclosed amount. “The dream to see our liquid, low-temperature DAC technology deployed at scale is that much closer to becoming reality,” said co-founder Anca Timofte. “I’m grateful that Oxy recognized our potential and the possible synergies between our technologies.”
The Scarsdale Historical Society highlighted Buffett’s early ties to the New York town. While working at Graham-Newman in the mid-1950s, he followed in his mentor’s footsteps by teaching an investment class at the Scarsdale Adult School.
Mark Tobak over at Hedge Fund Alpha explored how Charlie Munger never allowed himself to get too high or too low — in business or in life. A lesson he picked up from Epictetus and other Stoic philosophers.
How would one know if Buffet bought more OXY or not?
13fs don’t come out for another month or so if I’m not mistaken.
Buffett betting big on Apple feels less like a tech play and more like owning the global toll booth for teenage attention. Wild to think his largest position also has the deepest exposure to China — but maybe that’s the tradeoff when you’re buying cultural dominance.