Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has made almost $100 billion on Apple thanks to its record stock rally

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has scored an almost $100 billion gain on its Apple stock.
• The billionaire investor's company owns 981 million shares worth about $132 billion — $97 billion more than the $35 billion cost of its investment.
• Thanks to Apple's stock rally, Berkshire's stake is worth more than Lowe's, Starbucks, or IBM.
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Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has made almost $100 billion from its Apple investment in less than five years.

The famed investor's conglomerate owns around 981 million Apple shares following the four-for-one stock split, giving it a roughly 5.7% stake in the tech titan.

Those shares were worth about $132 billion at the close of trading on Tuesday, and Berkshire spent about $35 billion to build the position between 2016 and 2018, meaning it has scored a $97 billion gain — close to three times its initial investment.

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Apple's stock price has more than quadrupled since Berkshire began investing in the first quarter of 2016, including a 79% surge to an all-time high this year.

As a result, Berkshire has made more money on Apple than either company was worth 20 years ago. Its Apple gain also exceeds Buffett's personal net worth of $82.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Moreover, Berkshire's $132 billion Apple stake now rivals the size of its cash pile, which stood at $147 billion on June 30 and may have shrunk since then due to Buffett's Dominion Energy deal, Bank of America buying spree, and continued stock buybacks.

Berkshire's Apple position accounts for roughly half of the total value of Berkshire's stock portfolio, and represents 25% of its $521 billion market capitalization. The holding is also worth more than the entire market cap of Lowe's ($126 billion), IBM ($110 billion), and Starbucks ($101 billion).