Warren Buffett Compares Buying An iPhone To Buying A Car

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett doesn't own an iPhone, but that isn't getting in his way of owning the maker of the smartphone, Apple Inc. AAPL.

Buffett told CNBC ahead of this weekend's annual Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) meeting that he isn't concerned with Apple's recent earnings report, which showed a weaker-than-expected iPhone sales. He emphasized one of his core investment philosophies that short-term earnings and direction is irrelevant versus the longer-term outlook.

"I don't own [Apple] because of what I think the earnings are going to be in the next three months or six months," he explained. "It's very hard to figure out how much people delay their buying of iPhones because of the launch of the new one in six months."

Buying an iPhone Is Like Buying A Car

Buffett went on to compare buying an iPhone with buying a car. Specifically, if a car owner is in the market to replace their aging vehicle and they know a new car model will be released in the very near term and will cost roughly the same then few people will rush out to buy the soon to be outdated model.

Buffett also commented on Apple's share repurchase program, a strategy he generally opposes when a stock is trading at a high valuation. But in Apple's case he gives his nod of approval.

"If I like buying the stock myself, I like the company buying it," he said. "I obviously think that it's a good buy if you can buy your own stock. There is no company you should understand better than y our own company."