On a certain date in local time, Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, released its third-quarter financial report for this year. The report showed that after reducing its stake in Apple Inc. by nearly % in the second quarter, the company further reduced its Apple shares by % in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the value of stocks purchased in the U.S. stock market was only billion dollars.

The financial report shows that Berkshire Hathaway has been a net seller of stocks for eight consecutive quarters, while accumulating an unprecedented amount of cash in the investment world: as of the end of the third quarter, the company's total cash and cash equivalents reached a record high of billions of dollars.

As of the end of the third quarter, Berkshire Hathaway's % of equity investment fair value was concentrated in five companies: American Express, Apple, Bank of America (referred to as BofA), Coca-Cola, and Chevron. Among them, Berkshire Hathaway holds a value of $ billion in American Express, $ billion in Apple, $ billion in BofA, $ billion in Coca-Cola, and $ billion in Chevron.

Compared to the end of the second quarter, Berkshire Hathaway continued to reduce its holdings in Apple and Bank of America. In the third quarter, Berkshire Hathaway sold 100 million shares of Apple stock. Since the beginning of the year, its holdings of Apple shares have decreased from 900 million shares to 300 million shares, a reduction of about two-thirds.

Buffett once described Apple Inc. as one of "our four giants" at Berkshire Hathaway. By the year, Buffett's investment in Apple had reached a value of over $100 billion, accounting for approximately % of the company's stock portfolio.

At the company's shareholders meeting earlier this year, he stated that Apple is a "better business" than Coca-Cola and American Express, both of which are long-term holdings of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett told shareholders at the time, "Unless something significant happens that truly changes the capital allocation strategy, Apple will be our largest investment." "But under current conditions, I am completely comfortable building a cash position," he said. "I believe that when I look at other options in the stock market and the composition of what is happening in the world, we find it (Apple's stock) quite attractive."

The financial report shows that the company's sale of $1 billion worth of stocks this year generated a profit of $1 billion, equivalent to a $1 billion return for the group after tax. Long-term shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway and Chief Investment Officer Rothschild () believes that "this remains the greatest deal ever made by the greatest investor in history. The investment in Apple determined his fate over the past decade, and his decision to sell Apple's stock now due to valuation reasons demonstrates his adherence to principles, a scale never seen before."

In addition to selling Apple shares, Buffett also significantly reduced his holdings in Bank of America. In a month, after selling Bank of America shares worth over a billion dollars, he reduced his stake in the bank to below %.

Berkshire Hathaway's holding of substantial cash and cash equivalents has sparked thoughts on Warren Buffett's motives and investment prospects. Buffett once said that the mountain of liquid funds allows Berkshire Hathaway to have the ability to remedy situations during crises. Analyst Seifert () said that shareholders would want to know why Buffett is holding so much cash. "Is he more pessimistic about the future economic and market conditions than others?" she added.

But analyst Shanahan () has a different view. He said he doesn't know if part of the reason Warren Buffett started selling Apple shares is related to the death of Buffett's close friend and Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger last year, as the selling began shortly after Munger's death. Shanahan said Buffett was never as comfortable with tech companies as his long-time partner Munger, "'If Munger were still alive, maybe Buffett wouldn't have sold Apple so aggressively, or maybe not at all." he said.

Additionally, Berkshire Hathaway's third-quarter earnings report showed a decline in operating profit, attributed to the impact of two hurricanes that struck the southeastern United States on the company's insurance business. Berkshire Hathaway stated that Hurricane Helen caused $1.3 billion in losses in the third quarter, while Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida days later, is expected to result in losses of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter. Overall, the company's operating profit decreased by 10% year-on-year to $7.8 billion.