Berkshire Hathaway received another sizable payout from its largest stock holding this week, as Apple sent the conglomerate a quarterly dividend check worth $61.9 million on February 12, 2026.
Key Takeaways
Berkshire received $61.9 million from Apple, part of a $210+ million dividend week.
Apple still leads the portfolio, but payouts are lower after stake reductions.
American Express is the fastest dividend grower, while Coca-Cola remains Berkshire’s biggest cash engine.
Apple’s massive buybacks quietly increase Berkshire’s ownership over time.
The payment is part of a broader dividend haul for Berkshire, which collected more than $210 million in distributions over the same week from multiple portfolio companies. Even after years of trimming its Apple stake, Buffett’s firm continues to generate hundreds of millions annually from the iPhone maker alone.
The latest dividend of $0.26 per share implies Berkshire currently holds about 238 million Apple shares. At the present payout rate, that translates into roughly $247 million in annual income from Apple – a sharp contrast to previous years when Berkshire owned more than 900 million shares and was pulling in close to $800 million per year from dividends.
Despite those reductions through 2024 and 2025, Apple still represents roughly 22-23% of Berkshire’s listed equity portfolio, keeping its position as the company’s largest common stock holding.
Since Buffett first invested in 2016, the total gain – combining capital appreciation and dividends – exceeds $140 billion.
Dividend Week Extends Beyond Apple
Apple was only part of the February income wave. Berkshire also received $124.3 million from American Express, $13.7 million from Constellation Brands, and $3.5 million from Mastercard.
Buffett has long described dividend-paying stocks as the “secret sauce” behind Berkshire’s compounding engine. But not all payouts in his portfolio are created equal.
American Express has emerged as the fastest dividend grower among Berkshire’s major holdings. Its annual dividend growth recently topped 17%, far outpacing Apple. Over the past two and a half years, its stock performance has also rivaled Apple’s contribution to Berkshire’s overall portfolio value.
Then there is Coca-Cola – Buffett’s classic cash generator. Berkshire has not added to its Coca-Cola position since 1994, yet the stake now produces about $816 million in annual dividends. With an original cost basis of roughly $1.3 billion, the yield-on-cost exceeds 60%, meaning Berkshire effectively recovers more than half its initial investment every year through dividends alone.
Apple, by contrast, offers the lowest yield among the trio and relatively modest dividend growth. However, it plays a different strategic role. In fiscal 2025, Apple returned $106.1 billion to shareholders, allocating more than $90 billion to share repurchases. Those buybacks quietly increase Berkshire’s ownership percentage without requiring Buffett to deploy additional capital.
While headline figures often focus on market value swings, weeks like this highlight something more durable: Berkshire’s ability to generate enormous cash flows simply by holding stakes in high-quality businesses. For Buffett, dividends are not just income – they are fuel for the next investment cycle.
