Warren Buffett Made Apple Berkshire Hathaway's Single Largest Stock Position: $10,000 Invested 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Roughly $122,400 Today

Warren Buffett reportedly first came to recognize the appeal of iconic consumer tech giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in 2016 after seeing how distraught one of his close friends became when he thought he had lost his iPhone.

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Over the next several years, Buffett would go all-in on Apple, making it Berkshire Hathaway 's (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) No. 1 equity position. At one point, the stock's impressive growth pushed the conglomerate's stake higher to such a degree that it accounted for 40% of the value of its stock portfolio.

While Berkshire has sold a considerable amount of its Apple stock in recent years, it still accounts for 20% of Berkshire's roughly $360 billion stock portfolio. If you, as a retail investor, had bought $10,000 worth of Apple shares 10 years ago, not long after Buffett started accumulating them, your stake, with dividends reinvested, would be worth roughly $122,400 today.

Buffett has always had a knack for identifying companies that have the capacity to benefit consistently from incredible brands. Just look at some of Berkshire's longtime holdings: Coca-Cola , American Express , and Alphabet are positions he initiated.

A good brand is not just about marketing. Good brands help build competitive moats , which lead to pricing power. When it comes to consumer tech and hardware, few rivals can boast a brand as strong as Apple's.

The company has developed game-changing products from the iPhone to AirPods to the Apple Watch, each of which has captured impressive market share.

According to Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter, Apple controlled 54% of the U.S. smartphone market by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) share of shipments. That was flat year over year, although the numbers have been fairly volatile on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

Globally, Apple holds a smartphone market share of 21%, slightly behind Samsung 's 23%.

Another interesting thing about Apple that I'm sure Buffett and the Berkshire team have absolutely loved over the years is how shareholder-friendly the company is.

Notably, under former CEO Tim Cook, Apple repurchased hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of its stock. Those buybacks reduced the number of outstanding shares, giving all of the remaining shareholders a bigger piece of the pie and increasing earnings per share .