This AI Giant Is Among the Top 5 Holdings of Billionaires David Tepper, Philippe Laffont, and Stephen Mandel Jr. -- and It's Not Nvidia

Globe and Mail

03-06-2025

Investors, including billionaires, have generated enormous returns by investing in Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) in recent years. The artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant climbed more than 800% from the start of 2023 through the end of last year as demand for its products and services soared. And with the AI market forecast to reach beyond $2 trillion a few years down the road, it's likely Nvidia will continue to benefit.
But it's important to remember that Nvidia isn't the only attractive AI bet to be found. In fact, right now, some of the world's top investors are favoring another AI giant over Nvidia. This particular player is among the top five holdings of billionaires David Tepper of Appaloosa Management, Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management, and Stephen Mandel Jr. of Lone Pine Capital.
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This company, like Nvidia, already has brought in billions of dollars in revenue thanks to AI -- and could win as the AI boom continues. Let's find out more.
These billionaires like technology stocks
First, it's important to note that these three billionaires have significant positions in technology stocks, with other such players among their top 10 holdings. So they clearly believe in the AI revolution and are setting themselves up to potentially gain as AI becomes more and more a part of our daily lives and the operations at businesses of every size. For example, Tepper and Mandel each have three Magnificent Seven stocks among their 10 most heavily weighted holdings, and Laffont has four.
So, which company has caught the eye of these technology-focused investors? None other than AI powerhouse Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). As of the first quarter of the year, Amazon is the third biggest stock position in Tepper's $8.3 billion portfolio, the second-biggest in Laffont's $22 billion portfolio, and the third- largest in Mandel's $11 billion fund.
Here are the details:
Tepper holds 2,510,000 Amazon shares, and the stock represents 5.7% of the portfolio.
Laffont holds 10,753,808 Amazon shares, and the stock represents 9.02% of his portfolio.
Mandel holds 4,352,740 Amazon shares, and they represent 7.15% of his portfolio.
This is according to the billionaires' 13Fs, filings that managers of $100 million or more must submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission on a quarterly basis.
Is this AI player right for you?
Now the question is: These billionaires clearly see Amazon as a fantastic AI investment, but is it right for you too? After all, though billionaires have demonstrated their investment expertise, some of their moves may not suit your investment strategy or comfort with risk. It's important to take these elements into consideration before diving in.
You probably are most familiar with Amazon thanks to its e-commerce business. It's built an empire in the area, and one that extends around the globe. The operation helps the company generate billions of dollars in revenue year after year, and its extensive fulfillment network and popular subscription program Prime offer it a significant competitive advantage, or moat.
But Amazon also is becoming a leader in AI, using the technology to streamline those e-commerce operations and even developing and selling AI products and services to customers through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit. In fact, due to Amazon's aggressive push into the AI space, AWS recently delivered a $117 billion annual revenue run rate. So Amazon already is generating significant growth from this hot technology.
Well positioned for a win
And since AWS is the world's leading cloud services provider, it's in the perfect spot to capture more and more business. As AWS customers develop AI projects, they have all that they need right at their fingertips on AWS -- from access to top chips like Nvidia's to a fully managed service that tailors popular large language models to a customer's needs.
The AI buildout continues, and AWS is set to gain from this and from the next stages of AI, as customers apply AI to their businesses more and more.
Meanwhile, Amazon offers a solid track record of earnings growth and has demonstrated its ability to manage turbulent times and go on to grow. For example, the company revamped its cost structure when higher inflation hurt earnings a few years ago and returned to growth within a year.
All of this shows that Amazon is well positioned to benefit from the AI boom, but the stock also offers you security thanks to its well-established and profitable e-commerce and cloud businesses. And this means that, whether you're a cautious or aggressive investor, you may, like the billionaires, want to make Amazon one of your key AI bets.
Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now?
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adria Cimino has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.