Bill Ackman has made his biggest portfolio overhaul in years, adding six companies to Pershing Square’s holdings as the billionaire investor broadens his exposure to businesses he expects to deliver strong earnings growth, according to a report by Reuters.
The new positions include streaming giant Netflix, payments groups Visa and Mastercard, eye-care company Alcon, exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange and financial information provider S&P Global. Ackman said the purchases began during the second quarter and will be held across his investment vehicles, including Pershing Square USA, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in April.
The additions represent a notable expansion for a manager whose funds have traditionally concentrated on fewer than a dozen companies. Ackman said he sees earnings growth as the key long-term driver of investment value and believes the new holdings have attractive prospects on that basis.
Netflix is a particularly notable addition. Ackman previously held the stock in 2022 but exited at a loss after a sharp decline in the streaming company’s shares.
The latest changes come after Ackman added Microsoft earlier this year, arguing that the software group’s valuation did not fully reflect the potential benefits of its substantial investment in artificial intelligence. Microsoft shares have subsequently recovered strongly.
The portfolio changes also come against a more challenging recent performance backdrop for Pershing Square. Through July, Pershing Square USA had fallen 3.5% for the year, while London-listed Pershing Square Holdings was down 9.2%. That compares with a roughly 10% total return for the S&P 500 over the same period.
Other major holdings include Uber Technologies, Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, as well as mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The newly disclosed positions are expected to feature in Pershing Square’s latest 13F filing, providing investors with a fuller picture of the firm’s US equity holdings. Such filings are closely followed across the investment industry for indications of where prominent managers are deploying capital.
The portfolio changes also underline Ackman’s evolution from activist investor to a more conventional value-focused manager. Once known for high-profile campaigns aimed at forcing corporate change, he has in recent years adopted a less confrontational approach, favouring private discussions with management teams while continuing to pursue concentrated investments in companies he believes are undervalued.
