The past three years have been a great time to be heavily invested in the Magnificent Seven stocks. After the steep market slump of 2022, the share prices of these seven mega-cap tech stocks have soared to new heights. But Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock has looked more ordinary than magnificent in 2025.
Apple crumbles
As I write, the Apple share price stands at $232.14, valuing the maker of iPhones, iPads, and iMacs at a gigantic $3.5trn. To put that valuation into context, it’s 1.2 times the value of the entire FTSE 100 index (£2.2trn). Whoa.
However, Apple stock has come a long way since the lows of April, when President Trump’s tariff announcement on 2 April sent global stock markets swooning. At its 52-week low, the share price briefly hit $169.21 on 8 April. This was almost 35% below its one-year peak of $260.10, reached on 26 December 2024.
However, after reporting forecast-beating results on 31 July, Apple shares rebounded hard, leaping 13% between 5 and 8 August. At current levels, the stock is up 101.1% over five years, but only 2.9% over one year. Still, that’s hardly what I’d call magnificent.
Disclosure: my wife bought into Apple on 3 November 2022, in the depths of that year’s tech-stock slump. I was delighted to buy into such a great company at a big discount to its 2021/22 highs. The stock is up by two-thirds (67%) since, but our paper profit has been curbed by the pound strengthening from about $1.12 back then to $1.36 today. Urgh.
Buffett’s Apple turnover
To be honest, I probably wouldn’t buy Apple stock at today’s valuations, as it trades on 35.2 times trailing earnings, which hardly looks cheap to me. Then again, buying premium products means paying higher prices, as Apple users know full well. The dividend yield is a modest 0.45%, which is not unusually low for US tech stocks.
Although I’m keen to keep our family portfolio’s stake in Apple, the same can’t be said for Warren Buffett. The mega-billionaire tycoon and philanthropist clearly thinks Apple shares are overvalued or fully priced. After all, he has been selling them hard in his role as chair and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the giant conglomerate he took over in 1965.
After reducing Berkshire’s holding in the third quarter of 2024, Buffett has resumed selling Apple shares in the second quarter 2025. The group sold around 20m shares (worth $4bn), reducing its holding to 280m shares (worth $64.7bn).
At its peak, Berkshire’s Apple stake was approaching three times its current valuation. Even today, the group is still Berkshire’s biggest holding, accounting for roughly a fifth of the group’s $268bn stock portfolio.
There are various theories why the Oracle of Omaha is shedding so much Apple stock. The main argument seems to be valuation, as the legendary investor’s reputation was made by buying low and selling high. Also, having first bought into the business in 2016, Berkshire is realising massive profits on its investment.
What’s more, when markets look toppy, Buffett loves building massive cash piles to buy stocks during meltdowns. When fear rules and there’s blood in the streets, Buffett greedily buys into businesses at bargain prices. Berkshire’s cash mountain is now $348bn — a record high. So perhaps he’ll buy Apple again in future?
