Warren Buffett Quietly Sold 75% of His Biggest Holding. This Is Where the Money Went.
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By Leo Sun – Apr 24, 2026 at 4:30PM ESTKey PointsWarren Buffett sold three-quarters of his Apple position.Yet he continued to increase Berkshire’s exposure to Chubb.Warren Buffett, who stepped down as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 0.20%) (BRKB 0.20%) 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. Image source: Getty Images. What stock did Warren Buffett sell? From early 2024 through his retirement, Buffett sold about three-quarters of Berkshire's Apple (AAPL 0.87%) stake. However, Berkshire Hathaway still holds a $61.6 billion stake in Apple, making it the company's largest single investment. ExpandNASDAQ: AAPLAppleToday's Change(-0.87%) $-2.37Current Price$271.06Key Data PointsMarket Cap$4.0TDay's Range$269.65 - $273.0652wk Range$193.25 - $288.62Volume38MAvg Vol46MGross Margin47.33%Dividend Yield0.38% 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. What stock did Warren Buffett buy instead? After reducing Berkshire's exposure to Apple, Buffett ramped up its purchases of Chubb (CB 2.03%), 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. ExpandNYSE: CBChubbToday's Change(-2.03%) $-6.76Current Price$326.12Key Data PointsMarket Cap$130BDay's Range$325.38 - $332.0052wk Range$264.10 - $345.67Volume1.8MAvg Vol1.7MDividend Yield1.17% 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.Read NextApr 24, 2026 •By Motley Fool StaffAs Tim Cook Steps Aside, What's Next for Apple?Apr 24, 2026 •By Catie Hogan2 Reasons Investors Should Be Excited for the New Apple CEOApr 24, 2026 •By Sean WilliamsForget Innovation! Tim Cook's Greatest Contribution to Apple Is This $841 Billion Acquisition.Apr 23, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerPrediction: Apple Stock Will Flourish Under New CEOApr 21, 2026 •By Daniel SparksWhy Apple Stock Could Soar With John Ternus at the HelmApr 21, 2026 •By Anders BylundS&P 500 and Nasdaq Take a Breather as Apple Says Goodbye to Tim CookAbout the AuthorLeo Sun is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst who has worked with the company since 2013, covering technology, consumer goods, industrial, and financial sectors. He became a self-made millionaire by age 40 through long-term investing, crediting lessons from Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. Leo is a regular guest on CNBC Asia providing stock analysis on Chinese technology companies, including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba. He previously wrote for InvestorGuide and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin.TMFSunLionX@TMFSunLionStocks MentionedAppleNASDAQ: AAPL$271.11(-0.85%)-$2.32Berkshire HathawayNYSE: BRKA$704,760.00(-0.20%)-$1,405.00Berkshire HathawayNYSE: BRKB$469.32(-0.26%)-$1.23ChubbNYSE: CB$326.12(-2.03%)-$6.76*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.