Apple is 'ungodly well-managed,' says Berkshire Hathaway vice chair

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Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger has praised Apple's management, calling the Cupertino tech giant "one of the strong companies" -- and adding it'll likely stay that way.

Credit: Laurenz Heymann/Unsplash
Credit: Laurenz Heymann/Unsplash


Apple represents Berkshire Hathaway's largest stock holding, despite the fact that Munger and Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett often talk about their lack of expertise in the technology industry.

In a recent interview with Yahoo News, Munger revealed one of the key reasons why Berkshire believes in Apple. It comes down to management.

"I think Apple is one of the strong companies and will stay a strong company," Munger said. "I think it's ungodly well-managed."

Berkshire Hathaway has, over the years, built up a strong portfolio of tech stock holdings. However, the investment company still holds Apple as one of its most valuable assets.

"I judge the strength of the company based on how much the customers love it," Munger said. "And I've got zillions of friends who they'd almost part with their right arm before they'd part with their iPhone. That's a hugely powerful position to be in."

This is not the first time that someone at Berkshire Hathaway has sung Apple's praises. Back in May 2021, Warren Buffett called Apple CEO Tim Cook "one of the best managers in the world" during a shareholders meeting.

Apple has seen exceptional growth during the pandemic, with the company recording some of its best quarters to date. Since February 2021, Apple shares are up 29.8%, outpacing competitors like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    I'd love to hear from the people that think Cook should be let go. 🙄
    lordjohnwhorfinmwhitejas99watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 19
    Xed said:
    I'd love to hear from the people that think Cook should be let go. 🙄
    Oh no. Here they come. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    Does anyone remember the days when you had to wait for weeks before your iPhone arrived? And that was not a time when Apple was selling millions of units per month, globally. The discipline Cook brought to Apple’s supply chain and operations is remarkable. There is no way the company would have become the juggernaut it is today without his leadership. 
    gregoriusmviclauyycdewmepatchythepiratebyronlmwhitejroymuthuk_vanalingamMisterKitjas99
  • Reply 4 of 19
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    Soooo tired of people who couldn’t be trusted to run a church pancake breakfast opining on running the world’s leading trio on-dollar-plus tech company.
    scstrrffreeassociate2lkruppviclauyycdewmebyronlroundaboutnowMisterKithydrogenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 19
    tjwolftjwolf Posts: 424member
    "... [Berkshire Hathaway] still holds Apple as one of its most valuable assets."  Understatement of the century - Apple is, by far, Berkshire's biggest holding.  Berkshire owns some $170 BILLION worth of AAPL.  Their next biggest holdings are a mere $25 BILLION each: American Express, and Coca Cola.


    scstrrfpatchythepiratebyronlhydrogenh4y3sjas99bala1234watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 6 of 19
    Wow, that’s a very rigorous analysis.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 19
    Xed said:
    I'd love to hear from the people that think Cook should be let go. 🙄
    I am not one of them.
    jroyjas99watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 19
    Wow, that’s a very rigorous analysis.
    It’s a sound bite quote in a news article, what were you expecting? If you want expert independent analysis, you’ll have to pay for that (go figure!) Or read the highly detailed, freely available reports that the company puts out routinely. Sheesh.
    byronlroundaboutnowmuthuk_vanalingamjas99bala1234watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 9 of 19
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Wow, that’s a very rigorous analysis.
    It's an interview with Yahoo News, not a white paper.  I think there's a strong likelihood that Berkshire Hathaway do their homework.
    byronlroundaboutnowmuthuk_vanalingamjas99watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 19
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    heli0s said:
    Does anyone remember the days when you had to wait for weeks before your iPhone arrived? And that was not a time when Apple was selling millions of units per month, globally. The discipline Cook brought to Apple’s supply chain and operations is remarkable. There is no way the company would have become the juggernaut it is today without his leadership. 
    And launch dates were spaced out for the different countries to help curtail demand. There are 35 counties for the initial launch week of the iPhone 13. I'm not sure why there are 6 other launch weeks with only a smattering of counties, but I'm guessing it's either due to cultural or regulatory reasons rather than spacing out availability if iPhones.


    jas99watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 19
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Xed said:
    I'd love to hear from the people that think Cook should be let go. 🙄
    Well, anonymous posters on tech blogs are about the furthest thing from ‘experts' you can get. Real experts would not have the time nor the inclination to post on some backwater blogs like AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and the like. Tech blog ‘experts’ have useless, unsubstantiated, often misinformed opinions about everything. So when they say Cook needs to be fired you can just laugh heartily.
    viclauyycmwhitejroyjas99jony0
  • Reply 12 of 19
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    Tim Cook has done and continues to do an amazing job and keep the Apple culture alive. The numbers say it all, from profitability to growth to customer loyalty - Apple under Tim Cook just keeps humming along and makes spectacular corporate performance look effortless. Of course it’s very far from actually being effortless. The full spectrum of Apple management, employees, partners, and suppliers who take their cues from Tim Cook are where it all happens. 
    byronljroyjas99watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 13 of 19
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    'Ungodly well-managed'  B)  High praise, indeed. And as far as I can judge - well deserved. 
    hydrogenjas99watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 14 of 19
    lkrupp said:
    Xed said:
    I'd love to hear from the people that think Cook should be let go. 🙄
    Well, anonymous posters on tech blogs are about the furthest thing from ‘experts' you can get. Real experts would not have the time nor the inclination to post on some backwater blogs like AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and the like. Tech blog ‘experts’ have useless, unsubstantiated, often misinformed opinions about everything. So when they say Cook needs to be fired you can just laugh heartily.
    …and so it is—another definitive explanation by @lkrupp ;in his post #9793 😉🙄
  • Reply 15 of 19
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    rundhvid said:
    lkrupp said:
    Xed said:
    I'd love to hear from the people that think Cook should be let go. 🙄
    Well, anonymous posters on tech blogs are about the furthest thing from ‘experts' you can get. Real experts would not have the time nor the inclination to post on some backwater blogs like AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and the like. Tech blog ‘experts’ have useless, unsubstantiated, often misinformed opinions about everything. So when they say Cook needs to be fired you can just laugh heartily.
    …and so it is—another definitive explanation by @lkrupp ;in his post #9793 😉🙄
    One wonders why they hang out here so much, in this backwater of unsubstantiated misinformation, being miserable at everyone.
    h4y3sjas99watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 19
    heli0s said:
    Does anyone remember the days when you had to wait for weeks before your iPhone arrived? And that was not a time when Apple was selling millions of units per month, globally. The discipline Cook brought to Apple’s supply chain and operations is remarkable. There is no way the company would have become the juggernaut it is today without his leadership. 
    Well, that’s sometimes the case still here in Sweden. Most computers have a delivery time of a few months at the moment, same with iPad and Apple Watch, a little better for phones. I have a customer who ordered her iMac in September and is still waiting.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 19
    And yet somehow, 20 years later, iTunes/Apple Music still a bug-ridden, poorly designed app you can't avoid if you have Apple devices.
  • Reply 18 of 19
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    And yet somehow, 20 years later, iTunes/Apple Music still a bug-ridden, poorly designed app you can't avoid if you have Apple devices.
    Don't make your first post asinine. I use Apple devices and I don't use their Music apps on any of my devices. You can even hide the app in iOS/iPadOS if you so desire.

    https://www.imore.com/tired-seeing-apple-music-your-iphone-hide-it
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 19
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    And yet somehow, 20 years later, iTunes/Apple Music still a bug-ridden, poorly designed app you can't avoid if you have Apple devices.
    There are some things about the app I don’t like, but bugs?  I’ve never detected a bug in iTunes.  It’s always just worked.  

    On the other hand, since I finally upgraded to the latest version of MacOS, I had to upgrade from Office 2011 to Microsoft 365.   And it’s a piece of crap.  I don’t understand how an app gets worse after 12 years.  
    watto_cobra
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