Long before Warren Buffett became one of Apple’s (NASDAQ:APPL) biggest shareholders, he had a rare one-on-one with the company’s legendary co-founder—and offered up a piece of financial advice Steve Jobs simply… ignored.
In a 2012 interview with CNBC, Buffett shared a surprising weekend phone call he received “one Saturday” from Jobs himself. The Apple CEO opened with a now-iconic question:
“We’ve got all this cash. What should we do with it?”
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Buffett, never short on ideas when it comes to cash, walked Jobs through the standard playbook.
“There’s only four things you could do,” Buffett told CNBC. “Stock buybacks, dividends, acquisitions… and sitting with it.”
Jobs ruled out acquisitions. He wasn’t interested. Buffett then pivoted to buybacks.
“I would use it for repurchases if I thought my stock was undervalued,” Buffett said he told Jobs. “How do you feel about that?”
Jobs didn’t hesitate.
“I think our stock’s really undervalued,” he replied. It was trading around $200.
Buffett’s follow-up was blunt:
“Well, you know, what better can you do with your money?”
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But Jobs didn’t act.
“He didn’t do anything,” Buffett said. “He just liked having the cash.”
Buffett later learned Jobs had apparently told others that Buffett agreed with doing nothing.
“That was not the case,” Buffett added with a laugh.
Jobs passed away in 2011, and it wasn’t until 2012 under Tim Cook’s leadership that Apple began a massive buyback program. Over the next decade, Apple would go on to repurchase more than $467 billion in shares—one of the most aggressive capital return programs in corporate history.
Buffett, for his part, didn’t start buying Apple until Q1 2016, years after that Saturday phone call. At the time, Apple stock traded at about 10 times trailing earnings. Buffett admitted he didn’t know much about iPhones, but he understood customer loyalty—and Apple had plenty of it.
It paid off. By 2025, Apple is Berkshire Hathaway’s largest holding, with about 300 million shares in the portfolio. Even after trimming the position in 2024, it still makes up roughly a quarter of Berkshire’s equity investments.
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Buffett has repeatedly praised Tim Cook’s leadership. At Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK, BRK.B)) 2025 annual shareholders meeting, he stated, “I’m somewhat embarrassed to say Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more money than I’ve ever made for Berkshire.” He added, “Nobody but Steve could have created Apple, but nobody but Tim could have developed it like it has.”
So, what happens when the Oracle of Omaha gives you advice and you ignore it?
In Apple’s case, things still turned out just fine. But if Jobs had listened back then, Apple might’ve gotten a head start on making shareholders very, very happy—with no new product launch required.
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This article Warren Buffett Said Apple’s Steve Jobs Asked, What Should We Do With ‘All This Cash’? — Then Did Nothing That Buffett Told Him What to Do originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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