3 Beloved Stocks Warren Buffett Is Dumping As Markets Fall

Warren Buffett ended 2024 hoarding cash. Yet a longer look at Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio suggests that, as usual, Buffett isn't tipping his hand over his portfolio management strategy going forward. 

According to the firm’s 13-F regulatory filings, while top Berkshire holdings like American Express AXP and Coca-Cola KO remain steady, Buffett is simultaneously curbing big positions in portfolio stalwarts.

Here’s what Buffett is selling and what he’s preparing for.

"Warren Buffett's been selling for a reason, and it's not because he's lost confidence in investing," said Steven Kibbel, a certified financial planner and an advisor at Prop Firm App, a website dedicated to proprietary trading and investment strategies. "He's sitting on a record cash pile that tells you everything. He's not just taking money off the table for the sake of it; he's waiting for better opportunities."

It’s no secret that the stock market has been pricey in recent years, and Buffett has never been one to chase high valuations. "He's also said before that when the market cap of U.S. stocks surpasses GDP by too much, it's a warning sign," Kibbel said. "Right now, that's exactly where we are."

Altogether, Berkshire Hathaway was a seller in 2024, exiting out of equity positions worth $143 billion, which boosted the company's ample cash stack to $334 billion. While Buffett wasn't crystal clear about his pivot to cash in his 2024 annual letter to shareholders, he left some clues for investors.

"Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities. That preference won't change," Buffett wrote.

"Berkshire shareholders can rest assured that we will forever deploy a substantial majority of their money in equities – mostly American equities, although many of these will have international operations of significance," he added. "Berkshire will never prefer ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses, whether controlled or only partially owned."

In an ironic sidebar, Buffett also noted how far Berkshire has come in the past six decades, using taxes as a metric.

"In 1965, the company did not pay a dime of income tax, an embarrassment that had generally prevailed at the company for a decade. Fast forward 60 years and imagine the surprise at the Treasury when that same company – still operating under the name of Berkshire Hathaway – paid far more in corporate income tax than the U.S. government had ever received from any company – even the American tech titans that commanded market values in the trillions."

Buffett noted that the company's $26.8 billion tax comprised about 5% of all U.S. corporate taxes paid in 2024.

Where Buffett Is Selling

2024, especially the last quarter of the year, saw Berkshire exiting large positions in the financial sector.

"Bank stocks are a big part of Buffett's sell-off," Kibbel noted. "Look at what's happening with interest rates. Higher rates hurt banks' lending businesses, and with economic uncertainty, it's harder to predict how well these companies will perform."

Here's a closer look at three of the big stocks Berkshire Hathaway has been cutting, with a view on what comes next for the Buffett portfolio.

Apple

Team Buffett sold about 67% of its stake in Apple Inc. AAPL in 2024, selling most of it in the first three quarters of the year. The portfolio still holds $75.1 billion in AAPL shares. Apple shares are down -14.8% in 2025, so Buffett's AAPL haircut has largely paid off as the tech giant's share price dwindled downward.

Some market watchers say Buffett's Apple sale is about risk exposure.

"When a single stock makes up close to half of your portfolio, even a legend like Buffett knows it's time to trim," said John Beck, a founding partner at Beck & Beck Missouri Lawyers who regularly consults with clients on money matters. "Apple's reliance on China, increased regulatory scrutiny, and supply chain vulnerabilities make it a long-term concern."

Other market experts advise not reading too much into Buffett pulling back on his AAPL exposure.

"Investors selling Apple because Buffett has pared down his position may be misreading his actions," said Robert R. Johnson, professor of Finance Heider College of Business at Creighton University. "Apple currently represents over 22% of Berkshire Hathaway’s $280-million-dollar marketable securities portfolio. To me, that signals that he has high confidence in the firm.”

Bank of America

After its 2024 selloff, Berkshire owns less than the 700 million Bank of America BAC shares it initially purchased in 2017.

"Bank stocks are a big part of the Buffett sell-off," Kibbel said. "Look at what's happening with interest rates. Higher rates hurt banks' lending businesses, and with economic uncertainty, it's harder to predict how well these companies will perform."

Buffett's been trimming his position in Bank of America for a while, not all at once. To Kibble, "That suggests he's being careful about it.”

Citigroup

Berkshire Hathaway is in sell mode for a few reasons beyond a pricey market landscape.

"First, interest rates have fundamentally changed the game," Beck noted. "When money was cheap, financial stocks like Bank of America and Citigroup made sense. With higher rates, profit margins shrink, and banks face regulatory uncertainty. Buffett isn't just reacting to today—he's positioning for the next five to ten years."

It’s the same issue with Citigroup C, as Buffett dumped over 70% of that stake in a single quarter. "If one of the best financial minds in the world is reducing exposure to major banks, that says something," Kibbel said.

Takeaway On Buffett And His Growing Cash Position

It's hard to say what Buffett thinks as the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close. Yet, as the adage goes, the past is prologue, and Buffett may be planning something more significant than shaving down the size of some of his portfolio favorites.

"Warren Buffett has sold a large percentage of his holdings in Apple because he likely thinks it is fully valued," said David I. Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland. "However, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest equity holding. Similarly, he has reduced his stake in Bank of America and Citigroup."

Kass noted that Buffett is also raising cash in preparation for Greg Abel to succeed him as CEO in the near future, enabling Abel to start with a relatively clean slate. "The sales of other stocks, like Ulta Beauty and Nu Holdings, were most likely those of his portfolio managers, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, since those stakes were relatively small."

Lastly, Buffett is not selling because he thinks these companies are bad; he’s doing so because he wants to be liquid.

"Take Apple, for example," said David Capablanca, a short-selling equity trading specialist and host of the Friendly Bear Podcast. "He's been trimming his position in Apple, his largest holding, for three quarters now. That tells me he's concerned about valuations, especially in a high-interest-rate environment where tech stocks tend to struggle."

Investors may want to keep in mind that Buffett is not selling out of fear—he's selling to be aggressive when he buys.

"That's the key difference," Capablanca said. "When markets drop, he'll be sitting on a massive pile of cash, ready to scoop up bargains."

So, should the average investor track Berkshire's move into cash? It depends, Capablanca said.

"If you're thinking long-term like Buffett, then yes, studying his moves can give you some insight," he noted. "But blindly copying him isn't the way—he has a different strategy, time horizon, and level of patience than most retail investors. The important thing is understanding why he's doing what he's doing, not just mirroring his trades," he concluded.

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