Warren Buffett told CNBC on Wednesday that Apple remains one of his favorite businesses, a calm endorsement that carries weight because Berkshire Hathaway still holds more than $70 billion of the stock. The interview came weeks before Tim Cook steps down as chief executive on September 1, handing the role to hardware engineering head John Ternus. A leadership handoff at one of the world’s most valuable companies usually spooks the market; Buffett’s refusal to flinch, or sell, is the story.
The numbers explain the comfort. Apple accounted for roughly 22 percent of Berkshire’s $263 billion equity portfolio at the last filing, the single largest position by a wide margin. Berkshire left the stake untouched in the first quarter, the first full period under new chief executive Greg Abel. After years of steady trimming, standing pat functions as a quiet vote of confidence. Ternus, for his part, has been at Apple since 2001 and oversaw hardware engineering through the iPhone’s most critical cycles.
The business he inherits is accelerating. Fiscal second-quarter revenue rose 17 percent year over year to $111.2 billion, a March-quarter record, while earnings per share climbed 22 percent to $2.01. iPhone revenue jumped 22 percent to a record $57 billion, driven by the iPhone 17 lineup. Services revenue hit an all-time high of about $31 billion, up roughly 16 percent. That segment carries a gross margin near 75 percent against about 39 percent for products, so its faster growth steadily lifts the consolidated margin profile.
Zoom out and the trajectory sharpens. Revenue grew just 6 percent in fiscal 2025 before snapping to a 17 percent pace in the March quarter. Management has guided for 14 percent to 17 percent growth again in the current quarter, which Apple will report later this month. After several sluggish years, the business is reaccelerating, and that shift matters more than the org chart.
The market has priced the optimism in. Shares rose about 4 percent Wednesday to roughly $328, a fresh record, and are up more than 55 percent over the past year. At that level the stock trades near 40 times trailing earnings, a steep premium to the S&P 500’s roughly 25 times. Even on next year’s expected profits the multiple sits in the mid-30s. You are paying for durability, a loyal installed base, and the optionality of AI-driven upgrade cycles, but you are paying a lot.
Buffett’s conviction is not a timing signal. It is a structural argument: the cash machine is durable enough to survive a CEO change, and the services mix shift makes it more profitable every quarter. The risk is not Ternus; it is that a 40-times multiple leaves no margin for a growth hiccup. If the reacceleration stalls, the valuation math gets ugly fast. For now, the anchor holding stays put.