Latest news with #BillAckman
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
If I Could Only Buy 1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock, It Would Be This Monster "Magnificent Seven" Member Approved by Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman
Earlier this year, Bill Ackman bought a megacap AI stock -- joining Warren Buffett as a high-profile shareholder. Ackman and Buffett are both value investors, making the timing of Ackman's purchase particularly brilliant. While the markets have been moving higher over the last several weeks, Amazon remains my top pick. 10 stocks we like better than Amazon › Bill Ackman is a billionaire investor and serves as CEO to the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Throughout the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, Pershing Square's primary exposure to the stock market's latest megatrend has been through a position in Alphabet. Recently, however, Ackman made headlines after it was revealed that Pershing Square complemented its Alphabet position with another member of the "Magnificent Seven": Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Interestingly, Amazon is one of the few technology stocks featured in Warren Buffett's portfolio at Berkshire Hathaway. Let's explore why billionaire investors like Buffett and Ackman may have taken a liking to Amazon. Moreover, I'll break down why the e-commerce and cloud computing giant is my top pick among AI stocks. Ackman and Buffett built their fortunes in different ways. Buffett is best known for building positions in globally recognized brands and holding onto these stocks over the course of many years or even decades. In addition, many of Buffett's most lucrative investments have come from companies that consistently buy back stock or pay a dividend. Lastly, Buffett generally sticks to industries such as financial services, energy, and consumer goods -- rarely exposing Berkshire to more volatile markets such as the technology sector. On the other hand, Ackman tends to be a bit more industry-agnostic compared to Buffett. Moreover, from time to time Ackman will also profit from more sophisticated trading techniques that involve derivatives. One philosophy that Buffett and Ackman do share, however, is their love for value stocks. Neither investor is known for chasing momentum or overpaying for a stock trading with a lofty valuation. The chart above benchmarks Amazon's price action relative to other megacap AI and cloud computing stocks. While each stock above faced some pressure earlier this year, Amazon's decline was more pronounced relative to its peers -- specifically throughout April. This is when Ackman pounced, buying the dip in Amazon stock during a period of notable valuation contraction. Furthermore, I think Amazon's diversified ecosystem spanning online shopping, cloud computing, subscription services, logistics, robotics, grocery delivery, streaming and entertainment, and more is another factor that played a role in the tech giant earning a spot in both Berkshire's and Pershing Square's portfolios. By operating across so many different end markets, Amazon is able to thrive under various economic conditions while also appealing to several different customer demographics. Buffett and Ackman may favor business models like this as it helps mitigate risk factors such as cyclicality, seasonality, and growth unpredictability. Given the ideas explored above, Amazon may not appear to be a traditional AI opportunity. But over the last few years, Amazon has quietly been transforming its business through a series of AI-driven investments. For starters, the company invested $8 billion into a start-up called Anthropic. Anthropic has become a key integration in Amazon Web Services (AWS), leading to sustained acceleration across revenue and profitability in the company's cloud computing business. Amazon is also deploying AI robotics throughout its fulfillment centers. This move has the potential to generate significant cost savings by bringing new levels of automation and efficiency to the company's warehouses. Moreover, while companies like IonQ or Rigetti Computing fetch the majority of attention in the quantum computing arena, Amazon is developing its own line of chipsets: Trainium, Inferentia, and Ocelot. Based on forward earnings multiples, Amazon stock isn't exactly a bargain right now. My hunch is that Amazon's diverse business and robust growth prospects may make the company appear to be more of a safe haven relative to other volatile, unpredictable opportunities in the AI realm. Even so, I don't think Amazon has experienced the same level of valuation expansion that some of its Magnificent Seven peers (e.g., Microsoft, Nvidia) have over the last couple of years. Furthermore, given how many different businesses AI stands to disrupt within the Amazon ecosystem, I think the company is uniquely positioned for sustained periods of robust growth. With that in mind, I think Amazon still has significant upside and I see a position in the stock as a superior opportunity compared to its peers. Investors with a long-run time horizon may want to consider initiating a position in Amazon stock despite its slight premium right now. Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $713,547!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $966,931!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,062% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 177% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Oracle. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. If I Could Only Buy 1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock, It Would Be This Monster "Magnificent Seven" Member Approved by Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman was originally published by The Motley Fool
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Wall Street shivers over ‘hot commie summer' after Mamdani's success
When Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described socialist, won New York's mayoral Democratic nomination last week over a seasoned but scandal-scarred veteran, the city's financial elite had a meltdown. This was the start of 'hot commie summer' in the city, New York hedgevfund billionaire Daniel Loeb posted to X. John Catsimatidis, billionaire CEO of grocery chain Gristedes and friend of Donald Trump, warned on Fox Business: 'If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move.' CNBC financial news channel anchor Joe Kernen compared New York to Batman's crime-riddled Gotham. ' They're taking Wall Streeters and making them walk out onto the ice in the East River, And, and then they fall through. I mean there is a class warfare that's going on.' With five months until the mayoral election proper, the 1% are revolting, led by loquacious billionaire hedge funder Bill Ackman, who said he and others in the finance industry are ready to commit 'hundreds of millions of dollars' into an opposing campaign. 'The risk/reward of running for mayor over the next 132 days is extremely compelling as the cost in time and energy is small and the upside is enormous.' Ackman said he was 'gravely concerned' because he believed the leftwing candidate's policies would trigger an exodus of the wealth that would destroy the tax base and undermine New York's public services. The city under Mamdani, he posted on Wedneday, 'is about to become much more dangerous and economically unviable.' In 2021, the top 1% of New York City taxpayers paid 48% of taxes – up from 40% in 2019, according to a report from the city's finance department. But at the same time, New York has become an increasingly unaffordable city for those outside the 1% – especially for people of color. In a post a day later, Ackman said: 'The ability for New York City to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on New York City being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden. Unfortunately, both have already started making arrangements for the exits.' 'Terror is the feeling,' Kathryn Wylde, the chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, which represents top business leaders, told CNBC on Tuesday. Gerard Filitti, senior legal counsel at the Lawfare Project, a pro-Israel thinktank, non-profit and litigation fund, and a New Yorker with strong ties to the finance industry, said Mamdani's nomination 'marked a dangerous turning point for the city'. 'There's big concern that businesses and the economy will be hurt. There's already a move by business leaders and entrepreneurs to consider a move outside of the city, taking jobs and tax dollars with them, at time when the front-running candidate promises to make even more change that could destroy the economy,' Filitti said. The anger was not necessarily purely economic. Wall Street's decision makers have been shaken after seeing their preferred candidate, Andrew Cuomo, pushed aside despite the millions they poured into his campaign. Fix the City, Cuomo's political action committee (Pac), raised a record $25m to help see off Mamdani. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg alone gave $8.3m to the Pac. 'These are billionaires who are giving hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars to Andrew Cuomo precisely because they know we are going to tax them to make life a little bit more affordable here, in the most expensive city in the United States,' Mamdani told the New York Times before the election. 'They know they can count on Cuomo because Cuomo has a track record of rewarding the political donors.' New York's moneyed class argues it's not about them but the future of the city. 'When you look at what New York City is and has been historically – a bastion of trading and the center of world capitalism, the engine of economic growth and prosperity, the stock market, an the inspiration for other world economies to develop their markets and economies in line with New York – and now what were seeing is an economy and quality of life that is slowly deteriorating,' said Filitti. 'Now we have a front-running Democrat candidate who is promising even more radical change and that change is a threat to the structure of New York and the way people identify with New York City,' Filitti added. It's an argument the rich have made many times before. Many of the 1% threatened to leave after former mayor Bill de Blasio called for raising their taxes to pay for the losses the city experienced after the Covid pandemic. Wall Street poured millions into mayor Eric Adam's 2021 campaign for office to see off more progressive candidates. They won those fights; this time, they lost. A former Wall Street CEO told Politico: 'These titans of Wall Street and titans of finance are used to getting their way. They didn't get their way. They got the opposite of their way. They got a guy who couldn't be more disliked by them – and vice versa.' Wall Street's vision for the city is probably far from that shared by many other residents of a sprawling metropolis that traditionally has played host to vibrant immigrant communities from all over the world, many of them poor. It is of course, host to the Statue of Liberty on whose base is written the famous lines: 'Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' Manhattan was also the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street protests in the US back in 2011, which occupied the downtown Zucotti Square – blocks from Wall Street – and eventually saw protests spread across the rest of the country and the world. Democratic progressives were quick to celebrate Mamdani's victory. 'Your dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city. Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,' wrote representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another progressive who won out against a more establishment candidate. Another longtime critic of Wall Street and the billionaire class also saw a change in politics as usual. 'The American people are beginning to stand up and fight back. We have seen that in the many Fighting Oligarchy events that we've done around the country that have drawn huge turnouts. We have seen that in the millions of people who came out for the No Kings rallies that took place this month in almost every state. And yesterday, we saw that in the Democratic primary in New York City,' senator Bernie Sanders wrote in The Guardian. Millions will now be spent attacking Mamdani. But he has seen off one well-funded attempt to derail his campaign. Whether or not his campaign has the momentum to last until November, remains to be seen. But Wall Streeters have been put on notice that New York, and the changing nature of the Democratic party, may no longer be as amenable to their interests, or their vision for New York.
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Wall Street gets the chills in New York's ‘hot commie summer'
Wall Street is, to put it mildly, not keen on the prospect of a socialist mayor of New York. It's 'officially hot commie summer', said billionaire money manager Dan Loeb. 'Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country,' said hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, warning an exodus of wealthy taxpayers could cost New York up to $10 billion. Young people will get a 'refresher on the outcome of Marxism', said Bitcoin billionaire Tyler Winklevoss. 'Suicide by mayor,' said investment strategist Jim Bianco. Their target? Zohran Mamdani , the democratic socialist now favoured to become New York's next mayor. READ MORE Mamdani's plans include rent freezes, free childcare, free buses and public grocery stores, funded by tax hikes on the wealthy. Much of his wish list requires state approval, and Governor Kathy Hochul has already rejected proposed tax hikes. Still, the symbolism alone has unnerved the moneyed classes. Billionaire doomsaying isn't new. Investors made similar threats about leaving New York when Bill de Blasio ran in 2001, only to stay put once he was elected. Mamdani is clearly further left, and his rhetoric is fierier. Nevertheless, for all the talk of leaving for Florida or Texas, New York still offers what they can't: density, talent, infrastructure and prestige. Wall Street may squirm in this ideologically hostile summer, but flight may be harder than fury.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has no-nonsense reply to Zohran Mamdani
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has no-nonsense reply to Zohran Mamdani originally appeared on TheStreet. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman expressed grave concerns over Zohran Kwame Mamdani's victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, calling it an indicator of "political decay." The son of filmmaker Mira Nair, Mamdani's unorthodox Bollywood-themed election campaign and Queens background have appealed to a substantial number of voters. Earlier, the young politician went after his primary challenger, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, for counseling cryptocurrency exchange OKX while a federal investigation was pending against it. Mamdani's assertion was based on a news report that Bloomberg published on April 2. New York is a major center of crypto adoption in the U.S. and the city's current mayor, Eric Adams, is a strong Bitcoin proponent. In a recent conversation with TheStreet Roundtable, he talked about the opportunity offered by Bitcoin to those historically overlooked by Wall in contrast, offers an alternative economic agenda to the city. On June 26, the Pershing Square Foundation founder Bill Ackman posted on X that Mamdani is an "avowed socialist" and lacks the necessary skillset to run a $2 trillion city economy. Ackman added that Mamdani's policies, such as defunding the police and implementing managed food systems, would derail the way the city is run if enacted. He added: "New York City under Mamdani is about to become much more dangerous and economically unviable." While acknowledging Mamdani's considerable 'charisma" and skill as a campaigner, Ackman said the competition was weak and Democrats were old, adding it was "embarrassing" to see their establishment figures align with the 33-year-old. Now, Ackman has stated that he is willing to sponsor a write-in candidate for Mayor of New York, but he would like to solicit suggestions from the isn't the only industry leader who is upset with Mamdani's recent win. Cameron Winklevoss, the billionaire founder of the Gemini crypto exchange, also seems skeptical of Mamdani's chances in the general election in November. However, crypto traders on Polymarket were nearly unanimous in predicting that Mamdani would win the primary, with over 99% of the bets placed on his victory. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has no-nonsense reply to Zohran Mamdani first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 26, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill Ackman's Portfolio Strategy: Should You Ditch Diversification?
Despite being one of the most successful hedge fund managers, Bill Ackman has a surprisingly concentrated portfolio. Expert investors are divided on the concept of diversification, but Ackman clearly isn't a believer. It depends on how comfortable you are with certain types of investments. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › One of the most popular ways investors get ideas for stocks to take a closer look at is by examining what stocks billionaires own. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is a unique case, because while most billionaire money managers maintain portfolios of dozens of stocks, Ackman doesn't. In fact, you can count the number of different stocks Ackman invests in on two hands. With that in mind, here's a closer look at Ackman's stock portfolio and whether it's as important to maintain a diversified portfolio as you may have heard. Bill Ackman manages the Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund, which has roughly $12 billion worth of stocks in its portfolio. But it often surprises investors that the entire portfolio is invested in just 10 stocks, two of which are relatively small investments. In fact, about half of Ackman's capital is invested in just three stocks: Uber (NYSE: UBER), Brookfield Corporation (NYSE: BN), and Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH). In a nutshell, Ackman is very thorough in his research and only puts money into stock in which he has a very high conviction. He will regularly release elaborate presentations to investors detailing the rationale behind each trade and has historically produced excellent long-term results. Since the fund's inception in 2004, Ackman has generated 15.9% annualized returns for his long-term investors. Diversification can be a good thing. Of course, putting too much of your money into any single stock can result in large swings in your portfolio, and the same can be said about investing too much in any single industry. On the other hand, it can make sense to not diversify if you know a certain industry or type of stock very well. For example, if you understand artificial intelligence deeply and are confident in your abilities to evaluate AI stocks, it can make sense to have more of your money concentrated in that area. It can also make sense to not diversify if you don't understand certain industries well. Warren Buffett tends to avoid technology stocks, for example. Speaking of Buffett, he has a famous quote on diversification, saying that it is "protection against ignorance," adding, "It makes little sense if you know what you're doing." Other experts use the term "deworsification" to describe overdiversifying a portfolio beyond what is necessary. Whether you should be diversified or concentrated depends on how knowledgeable you are when it comes to investing, whether you know certain areas of the stock market better than others, and other factors. But the key takeaway is that there isn't one correct approach. As a personal example, I own about 35 to 40 stocks at any given time, but know the financial and real estate sectors best, so you'll find about 40% of my stock portfolio invested in them. On the other hand, there's absolutely nothing wrong with spreading your money around if being too concentrated is beyond your comfort level. To be perfectly clear, a concentrated portfolio approach is inherently riskier than a diversified one. The majority of investors should exercise extreme caution before allocating a lot of money to any single stock or industry. As a final thought, Bill Ackman is not only an excellent investor but also has a lot more risk tolerance than the average person, in the sense that he could lose a lot of money and still be a billionaire. The same goes for Warren Buffett, who has about two-thirds of Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) portfolio invested in a handful of stocks, or any of the other investing heavyweights. It's important to take your own expertise and risk tolerance into account. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $383,569!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,025!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $689,813!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Matt Frankel has positions in Berkshire Hathaway, Brookfield Corporation, and Howard Hughes. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Brookfield, Brookfield Corporation, Howard Hughes, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Bill Ackman's Portfolio Strategy: Should You Ditch Diversification? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
