Tim Cook On Warren Buffett: 'I Don't Think There's A Better Teacher'

This article was originally published on May 6, 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) draws hundreds to its annual shareholder meeting — including one prominent exec. Apple Inc. AAPL CEO Tim Cook made a first-time appearance over the weekend to learn from and about his firm’s second largest investor.

“Other than the obvious wisdom, integrity, humility, straight language, plain language, I don’t think there’s a better teacher,” Cook told Fox Business of Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett.

Berkshire Hathaway owns about 5% of Apple’s shares, making the tech stock its largest holding. But Buffett said his $53-billion stake could be bigger.

“What hurts in the case of Apple is that the stock has gone up, and we’d much rather have the stock at a lower price so we could buy more stock,” he said at the shareholder meeting.

Related Link: What Is The Buffett Indicator?

Why It's Important

A week before, Buffett had praised Apple’s second-quarter earnings beat.

“I was pleased with what they reported,” he had said. “What they talked about and reported is consistent with the reason we own $50 billion-plus of Apple.”

Cook considers the confidence proof of Apple’s transformation from a tech company to a consumer products company.

”[Buffett] has been very clear, he didn’t invest in technology companies and companies he didn’t understand,” Cook told CNBC. “He’s been totally clear with that. And so he obviously views Apple as a consumer company.”

Cook took Buffett’s investment as “recognition” of Apple’s growth from hardware to services.

“We’re in the tech industry,” Cook said. “But we work at that intersection of technology and the liberal arts and the humanities. And so we make products for people, and so the consumer’s at the center of what we do.”