Warren Buffett’s £10billion bet on Apple

APPLE shares rose to an all-time high after Warren Buffett beefed up his stake.

In a major vote of confidence, the investor – known as the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ – hailed the iPhone maker as ‘unbelievable’ after it beat market expectations again. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had already increased its stake in Apple by 75m shares in the first quarter, the 87-year-old revealed.

These were worth about £10bn and were in addition to the 165.3m shares it held at the end of 2017, with the purchase set to take Berkshire’s stake in the tech giant to almost 5pc. After markets opened yesterday afternoon, Apple shares briefly surpassed their previous record of $183.50. The billionaire was speaking ahead of his firm’s annual general meeting in Omaha this weekend. Speaking about Apple, Buffett (pictured left) said: ‘It is an unbelievable company. If you look at Apple, I think it earns almost twice as much as the second-most profitable company in the US.’ The move comes after Apple surprised analysts with betterthan-expected earnings. It sold 52.2m iPhones in the three months to March 31, below a predicted 53m, but profits rose 25pc to £10.2bn.

Amid concerns about sales of the newest model, the iPhone X, chief executive Tim Cook said it was the best-selling phone.

As iPhone sales have slowed, and suppliers have warned of weak demand, Cook has instead bet his strategy on bigger profit margins – with the iPhone X being the first version to cost £1,000. However the Apple boss has rejected suggestions that smartphone sales are doomed to slow, pointing out that about 500m phones sold worldwide still do not have smartphone features.

‘That’s a pretty big opportunity,’ Cook said.