Count Warren Buffett as one of the Apple Inc. investors cheering Wednesday as the tech giant’s shares jumped almost 6% a day after posting a positive earnings report and outlook.
That’s because the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B, -0.01% likely made more than $2.6 billion in a single day as Apple shares spiked.
As of the end of March, Berkshire Hathaway held 239.6 million Apple shares AAPL, +5.89% , according to FactSet data. Assuming it hasn’t sold any — Berkshire has been loading up on Apple, buying 75 million shares in the first quarter alone — that’s a profit of about $8 billion in four months, and a $48 billion overall stake in Apple.
In May, Buffett — who’s worth about $84 billion himself — told CNBC that he’s a big fan of the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant.
“It is an unbelievable company,” Buffett said. “We like very much the economics of their activities. We like very much the management and the way they think.”
Apple shares have gained 19% year to date, and are up 34% from this time last year, compared to the Dow DJIA, -0.32% , of which Apple is a component, which has gained 2.5% and 15%, respectively, over those time frames.
Apple is closing in on a trillion-dollar valuation. On Wednesday it updated its share count, revealing its market cap currently stands at $973.2 billion. To reach $1 trillion, its stock needs to rise from Wednesday’s closing price of $201.50 to at least $207.04.
