Apple’s big pause in iPhone sales leading up to this year’s new models isn’t worrying one of the company’s biggest investors.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett says he loves what Apple is doing with its buyback program for investors and even though sales are slow, the stock is still a great buy.
“I don’t own it because of what I think the earnings are going to be the next three months or sixth months,” said Buffett in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box. “It’s very hard to figure out how much people delay their buying of iPhones because of the launch of a new one in six months.”
Betting Big on Apple
During Apple’s recent Q2 earnings call with investors, CEO Tim Cook cited increasing rumors of the next iPhone as one of the key reasons why customers have stopped buying the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The device isn’t expected to be unveiled until the fall, but Buffett is understanding of people’s willingness to wait because it’s kind of like waiting to buy a new car model that is about to come out.
Buffett’s firm started investing heavily in Apple last year after sitting out on the stock for years. Berkshire Hathaway doubled down on its investment in Apple earlier this year, signaling its ready to go with the company for the long haul.
The iPhone 8 is expected to be one of Apple’s biggest releases ever. Rumored new features include wireless charging, 3D sensors, an all-new design, OLED display, embedded Touch ID, augmented reality features and more.
