Warren Buffett, who stepped down as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) at the end of 2025, once said his favorite holding period for a stock was “forever”. So when the Oracle of Omaha sells one of its top stocks, investors tend to pay attention.
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From early 2024 through his retirement, Buffett sold about three-quarters of Berkshire’s Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stake. However, Berkshire Hathaway still holds a $61.6 billion stake in Apple, making it the company’s largest single investment.
Buffett likely sold Apple for three reasons: to rebalance Berkshire’s portfolio (Apple had accounted for nearly half its entire portfolio at its peak), to avoid higher corporate taxes, and to raise more cash to buy safer — and higher-yielding — short-term U.S. Treasuries.
After reducing Berkshire’s exposure to Apple, Buffett ramped up its purchases of Chubb (NYSE: CB), the world’s largest publicly traded provider of property, casualty, and supplemental insurance. Buffett started a new position in Chubb in the third quarter of 2023, and accumulated more shares through 2024 and 2025 without selling a single share.
Berkshire now owns a $11.2 billion stake in Chubb, making it the company’s eighth-largest holding. Buffett is a big fan of insurance companies, which generate steady cash and are well-insulated from economic downturns, so it wasn’t a surprising investment.
Buffett isn’t necessarily bearish on Apple, but his rebalancing moves suggest that investors should get a bit more defensive in this volatile market. They also suggest that “boring” blue chip insurance plays like Chubb might be good evergreen investments.
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