Microsoft instead of Google: how billionaire Bill Ackman's portfolio has changed

Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, opened a position in Microsoft in the first quarter of 2026, immediately making it one of the fund's five largest assets. The investor also increased investments in Amazon, but the quarter was weak for the portfolio: its value fell by $1.8 billion. At the end of March, the fund's public assets were valued at $13.7 billion and were distributed among only 10 companies.

Pershing Square's only new position in the first quarter was Microsoft. The fund's stake in the company is valued at $2.09 billion and takes up 15.3% of the portfolio. In terms of position size, Microsoft became the fourth largest asset of the fund.

Ekman called Microsoft an attractive long-term idea and took advantage of the stock's decline after the quarterly report. The fund started buying securities in February, when, according to the investor, the market gave a good entry point: the position was able to be formed at a multiple of about 21 to the forecasted annual profit - about the level of the market and noticeably below the average level of Microsoft over the past few years.

Pershing Square increased its investment in Amazon by buying 1.8 million shares in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter, the stake in Amazon was valued at $2.39 billion and held 17.4% of the portfolio.

The major cut in the portfolio was Alphabet. Pershing Square has almost completely phased out its position in parent company Google to free up cash to buy Microsoft. The combined holdings of both classes of Alphabet stock in the portfolio dropped from about 13.8% to 0.7%. Eckman emphasized that the sale should not be seen as a bet against Alphabet: he said the fund maintains a long-term optimistic view of Google's business, but because of capital constraints used the money from the sale of the Alphabet stake to buy Microsoft.

Pershing Square completely liquidated its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings: Ackman sold all 3 million shares, which at the end of 2025 was valued at $870 million and held 5.6% of the portfolio.

The fund reduced its position in Brookfield by 3% by selling 1.7 million shares. The investment firm's stake fell from 18.1% to 17.6%, but the company retains the first position in Ackman's portfolio. The stake was valued at $2.42 billion at the end of the quarter.

Uber was also affected by the reduction. Pershing Square reduced its position in the cab service by 1%, reducing the company's share to 15.7% of the portfolio; at the end of the quarter, the stake was valued at $2.15 billion. In addition, the fund sold a 1% stake in Restaurant Brands, the owner of the American fast food chain Burger King. But due to the growth in the price of securities on the stock exchange, the value of the package increased: from $1.56 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $1.67 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

At the end of the first quarter of 2026, Pershing Square Capital Management's public portfolio included just 10 companies. Ackman's portfolio remains concentrated, with the top five positions accounting for about 78% of the fund's total investments. The largest investments are Brookfield Corporation (17.6%), Amazon (17.4%), Uber (15.7%), Microsoft (15.3%), and Restaurant Brands International (12.2%).

During the quarter, the value of Pershing Square Capital Management's portfolio fell by 11.7% to $13.7 billion. Almost all of the fund's largest investments showed negative dynamics: the stake in Brookfield fell by $401.8 million, in Uber - by $313.3 million, in Howard Hughes Holdings - by $311.2 million and in Meta - by $242.4 million.

After first quarter deals, technology was the largest sector in the portfolio, accounting for 31% of Pershing Square's assets. Cyclical consumer goods occupy 29.6%, financial services - 18.1%, communications sector - 11.8%, real estate - 9.5%.

The hedge fund's Form 13F report data reflects the portfolio's condition as of March 31 and does not take into account any rotation of securities the fund may have done thereafter.

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In the "Guru Portfolios" section on Oninvest you can track the structure and changes in the portfolios of the world's largest investors and funds. The service allows you to analyze the largest positions, new ideas and changes in asset shares based on 13F reports, as well as compare the dynamics of portfolios over time.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor