Latest news with #DavidE.Shaw
New York Post
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Left-wing hedge fund D.E. Shaw fears ‘reprisals' over DEI from Trump administration: sources
Staffers at the notoriously secretive hedge fund D.E. Shaw fear the wildly lucrative left-wing firm could face 'reprisals' from the Trump administration over its woke DEI policies, The Post has learned. The New York-based powerhouse founded by billionaire David E. Shaw — whose algorithm-driven trades made it the most profitable hedge fund in 2024, raking in $11.1 billion for investors, according to Institutional Investor magazine — has grown remarkably quiet of late when it comes to diversity, equality, and inclusion, sources said. D.E. Shaw did not respond to The Post's emailed request for comment for this article. 8 Billionaire David E. Shaw, who has a long history of donating to Democrats, founded the money-spinning firm in 1988. YouTube/WebsEdge Science The company, which gave a young Jeff Bezos his big break in finance before he set up Amazon in 1994, has promoted DEI policies for years. A June 2019 memo obtained by The Post that was written by managing director Eddie Fishman encouraged staffers 'to display their pronouns' that 'align with their gender identity' in their emails so managers could 'foster an inclusive culture.' 8 The June 2019 memo. Obtained by the NY Post But a review by The Post of archived pages from D.E. Shaw's website shows that its DEI language has since been scrubbed, including references to how the firm 'actively promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion.' Now, its site merely says it's seeking 'talented people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.' One insider said top brass at the Wall Street firm — whose 74-year-old namesake helped bankroll the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — made 'a strategic move' to steer away from full-throated wokeness over fear of catching the attention of the White House. 'There was some concern that aggressive policies would make the firm a target for reprisals by the current administration,' the source said. 'And we were about as aggressive as you could get.' 'They were going 100 miles an hour on DEI in public, only then to drop to zero and fall off a cliff,' said another staffer. 'The communications have certainly been ratcheted back,' claimed a third employee. 'It's not as in-your-face as it once was.' 8 Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott while working at D.E. Shaw. The then-couple quit in 1994 when Bezos set up the online retail giant. REUTERS 8 Top DOJ lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon issued a stern warning to corporate America in a Senate hearing on July 23: 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it.' CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images D.E. Shaw's retreat follows a Supreme Court ruling last month and a White House-led crackdown on corporate DEI policies, which critics say lower performance standards and foster so-called reverse discrimination. Top Department of Justice lawyer Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, issued the starkest of warnings to corporate America during a testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 23. 'The goal is clear: either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it,' the top Trump administration official said. Nevertheless, five sources with direct knowledge of the matter told The Post that executives at the company — founded by computer scientist Shaw in 1988 after he did stints at Stanford, Columbia and Morgan Stanley — are still paying lip service to wokeness to the rank and file. 'They have said internally that our commitment and programs regarding DEI are not changing,' said another senior D.E. Shaw source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'They have themselves in a bit of a bind. They went hardcore DEI to appear progressive and cater to liberal recruits,' a veteran of the firm added. 'Internally, they are putting a brave face on it. But they are now very worried that the administration will start looking into them.' 8 President Trump has ordered the DOJ to crack down on the DEI policies that flourished under the Biden-Harris administration. Bloomberg via Getty Images 8 The woke job placements mysteriously disappeared from the DE Shaw website after The Post approached the firm for comment about its DEI policies. Fearing Trump's ire, the hedge fund appears to have axed its 'inclusive' Bridge internship. The program was set up in 2016 for 'historically underrepresented' groups in finance. The 'woke' job placement schemes still featured prominently on D.E. Shaw's website last week. But they have now been deleted after The Post approached the firm for comment on their DEI policies on Friday. According to an archived version of D.E. Shaw's Campus website — an online recruitment portal — the firm created three programs aimed at diverse recruitment. Its 'Discovery' program was 'designed for students who self-identify as women', while 'Momentum' was aimed at those 'who self-identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community D.E. Shaw also had a program called 'Latitude,' which was 'for students who self-identify as Native American or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.' 8 One scheme called Momentum was open to students who self-identify as part of the 'LGBTQIA+ community.' Other Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Bank of America and Jamie Dimon's JPMorgan Chase have scaled back their public commitments to DEI. The Post reported exclusively how Goldman decided to give woke the boot — on its website at least — when its partners met with CEO David Solomon in Miami in February. The Post attempted to speak to additional employees at D.E. Shaw, but they declined, citing fears of retribution from D.E. Shaw's management, which has even been known to weigh in on whether employees can attend social gatherings with people who have left the company. 'It is definitely something that people are talking about at the firm,' a separate person briefed on the matter told The Post. 'The irony is that the whole firm is still very white and very male,' said another source. 8 Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is one of the biggest names among the DE Shaw alumni. He served both the second Clinton and first Obama administrations. Getty Images The hedge fund's leadership team counts two females, Alexis Halaby and managing director Anne Dinning, amongst its ranks. The firm last made major headlines in 2022 when it was forced to pay a $52 million defamation settlement to one of its former rising stars, Dan Michalow, after an arbitration panel found that it had falsely accused him of sexual misconduct. Michalow, who always denied any wrongdoing, left the company not long after the start of the #MeToo movement, where hundreds of rich and powerful men were accused of sexual misdeeds. Aside from Amazon's Bezos and his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, D.E. Shaw's most famous alum is arguably Lawrence Summers. He served as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and as director of Barack Obama's National Economic Council.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Upstart Holdings' (UPST) Strong Earnings Report Made Maple Tree Capital to Increase Its Holdings
Maple Tree Capital, an investment management company, released its Q1 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Q1 2025 saw a strong start but turned sour due to tariff concerns and macroeconomic fears, leading to a sharp market pullback, with the Nasdaq falling nearly 22% from its highs and the S&P 500 down 20%. Despite the challenges, the firm made significant progress this quarter by averaging in the top-conviction stocks, utilizing covered calls, and exercising patience. Maple's growth-oriented fund, Jonagold, has become a standout performer, greatly surpassing all major benchmarks since its launch in 2023. While Heartwood is still facing difficulties. Maple Tree Capital's Jonagold returned -13.64% in Q1 compared to the Nasdaq's -10.26% return and the Russel 2000's -9.48% return. Maple Tree Capital's Heartwood returned -18.04% in Q1 vs. the S&P 500's -4.27% and the Dow Jones' -0.87% return. In addition, please check the fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025. In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Maple Tree Capital highlighted stocks such as Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST). Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) is a US-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform. The one-month return of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) was -1.65%, and its shares have appreciated by 93.62% over the past 52 weeks. On May 28, 2025, Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) closed at $47.01 per share, with a market capitalization of $4.535 billion. Maple Tree Capital stated the following regarding Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) in its Q1 2025 investor letter: "We significantly increased our investment in Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST), our largest holding, this quarter, following an exceptionally strong Q4 earnings report. In fact, we boosted our position by 12.67%, a significant size increase considering it was already our biggest position. A close-up of a businesswoman using a laptop, being illuminated by the AI-enabled cloud interface sponsored by the company. Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 33 hedge fund portfolios held Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) at the end of the first quarter, which was 39 in the previous quarter. Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) reported revenue of $213 million in Q1 2025, up 67% year-on-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains. In another article, we covered Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) and shared billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. 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
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Five9, Inc. (FIVN): Among Billionaire David E. Shaw's Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN) stands against billionaire David E. Shaw's other small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. David E. Shaw is one billionaire investor whose record speaks for itself on Wall Street. Having founded D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. in 1988 with $28 million in capital, the fund has grown to become one of the most successful and biggest, with a 13F portfolio worth $136.27 billion. Amid the growth, Shaw's hedge fund D E Shaw has also returned significant returns to shareholders. The fund's flagship Composite fund has achieved an annualized net return of 12.7% since inception in 2001, as the Oculus Fund has averaged 13.7% annually since 2004 and has never had a negative year. Shaw's hedge fund was one of the earliest to leverage complex trading algorithms, followed by some form of human-run investing. Consequently, the multi-strategy fund remains the rage on Wall Street, given its solid returns over the years and the growing trend of returning gains to investors. READ ALSO: Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones' 10 Stocks Picks with Huge Upside Potential and Billionaire Quants' Two Sigma's 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. Composite hedge fund gained 18% in 2024, with Oculus outperforming the overall market, soaring 36% and recording its best gain since inception. The better-than-expected returns come on Shaw and the other fund managers deploying systematic and computer-driven trading strategies to identify stocks trading at discounted valuations before they explode. Following the impressive performance in 2024, reports emerged that the hedge fund was planning to return billions of dollars to external clients, as has been the trend. Amid the impressive performance last year, D.E. Shaw & Co. finds itself at a crossroads as the overall stock market has turned bearish. Major US indices have pulled back by about 6% from record highs amid recession concerns and deteriorating macroeconomics attributed to the US trade war. The US Federal Reserve holding interest rates unchanged, waiting to see the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policy, continues to rattle sentiments in the equity market. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate unchanged at between 4.25% and 4.5%, much to the anguish of Trump. In its statement, the Fed noted the uncertainty around the economic outlook. 'Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further,' the statement said. 'The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have raised.' Acknowledging that tariffs could worsen inflation and hinder economic expansion, the statement introduces the likelihood of a stagflation scenario, a phenomenon that has been largely missing from the US economy since the early 1980s. Decision-makers have mostly concurred that the central bank is currently well-placed, as the economy is performing reasonably well at this time, to exercise patience while fine-tuning monetary policy. Amid the economic uncertainty, focus in the equity markets is slowly shifting towards small-cap stocks with significant upside potential. That's partly because large-cap stocks are under pressure after skyrocketing to record highs, resulting in valuations above historical norms. Billionaire David E. Shaw's portfolio boasts of solid small-cap stocks with tremendous upside potential. We combed D. E. Shaw's SEC Q4 2024 13F filings to identify Billionaire David E. Shaw's 10 Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. We then settled on stocks with less than $10 billion in market cap and analyzed why the stocks stand out, as solid investments well poised to generate significant long-term value. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on the stocks upside potential. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). An IT engineer working on a laptop as planograms for a cloud-based virtual contact center platform appear on the monitor. Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN) is a software infrastructure company that provides intelligent cloud software for contact centers. It offers a CX platform that delivers a suite of applications, which enables the breadth of customer service, sales, and marketing functions. The stock is down by about 35%. On May 2, UBS cut FIVN price target from $55.00 to $35.00 but kept a Buy rating, citing a more cautious valuation after its mixed earnings report. The Buy stance stems from Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN) delivering impressive first-quarter results, whereby revenue was up 17% year over year to $278.7 million. Five9 also reaffirmed a full-year revenue growth of 10%, affirming underlying growth. The company also bounced back to profitability with a net profit of $11.57 million from a net loss of $12.39 million delivered the same quarter last year. The better-than-expected results came on Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN), emerging as a leading cloud contact software industry player. Its competitive edge stems from its software spanning traditional phone calls, video calls, emails, and social media. Strong demand for the contact software was the catalyst behind the company's annual revenue rising to record highs of $1 billion. Record results and strong traction in the AI business are one reason Five9 is one of billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stocks with tremendous upside potential. Overall, FIVN ranks 10th on our list of billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of FIVN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than FIVN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST): Among Billionaire David E. Shaw's Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) stands against billionaire David E. Shaw's other small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. David E. Shaw is one billionaire investor whose record speaks for itself on Wall Street. Having founded D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. in 1988 with $28 million in capital, the fund has grown to become one of the most successful and biggest, with a 13F portfolio worth $136.27 billion. Amid the growth, Shaw's hedge fund D E Shaw has also returned significant returns to shareholders. The fund's flagship Composite fund has achieved an annualized net return of 12.7% since inception in 2001, as the Oculus Fund has averaged 13.7% annually since 2004 and has never had a negative year. Shaw's hedge fund was one of the earliest to leverage complex trading algorithms, followed by some form of human-run investing. Consequently, the multi-strategy fund remains the rage on Wall Street, given its solid returns over the years and the growing trend of returning gains to investors. READ ALSO: Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones' 10 Stocks Picks with Huge Upside Potential and Billionaire Quants' Two Sigma's 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. Composite hedge fund gained 18% in 2024, with Oculus outperforming the overall market, soaring 36% and recording its best gain since inception. The better-than-expected returns come on Shaw and the other fund managers deploying systematic and computer-driven trading strategies to identify stocks trading at discounted valuations before they explode. Following the impressive performance in 2024, reports emerged that the hedge fund was planning to return billions of dollars to external clients, as has been the trend. Amid the impressive performance last year, D.E. Shaw & Co. finds itself at a crossroads as the overall stock market has turned bearish. Major US indices have pulled back by about 6% from record highs amid recession concerns and deteriorating macroeconomics attributed to the US trade war. The US Federal Reserve holding interest rates unchanged, waiting to see the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policy, continues to rattle sentiments in the equity market. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate unchanged at between 4.25% and 4.5%, much to the anguish of Trump. In its statement, the Fed noted the uncertainty around the economic outlook. 'Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further,' the statement said. 'The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have raised.' Acknowledging that tariffs could worsen inflation and hinder economic expansion, the statement introduces the likelihood of a stagflation scenario, a phenomenon that has been largely missing from the US economy since the early 1980s. Decision-makers have mostly concurred that the central bank is currently well-placed, as the economy is performing reasonably well at this time, to exercise patience while fine-tuning monetary policy. Amid the economic uncertainty, focus in the equity markets is slowly shifting towards small-cap stocks with significant upside potential. That's partly because large-cap stocks are under pressure after skyrocketing to record highs, resulting in valuations above historical norms. Billionaire David E. Shaw's portfolio boasts of solid small-cap stocks with tremendous upside potential. We combed D. E. Shaw's SEC Q4 2024 13F filings to identify Billionaire David E. Shaw's 10 Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. We then settled on stocks with less than $10 billion in market cap and analyzed why the stocks stand out, as solid investments well poised to generate significant long-term value. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on the stocks upside potential. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A close-up of a businesswoman using a laptop, being illuminated by the AI-enabled cloud interface sponsored by the company. Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) is a financial services company that operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small-dollar loans. The company's growth prospects have received a significant boost owing to the new artificial intelligence Model 18 that accelerates conversion in its platform. Consequently, Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) delivered impressive Q1 2025 results with revenues increasing 67% to $213.4 million, beating analysts' estimates of $201.3 million. Underlying growth was robust as loan originations rose 102% to 240,706 loans. On the other hand, adjusted earnings improved from a loss of $20.3 million to a profit of $42.6 million. Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPST) stands out as one of billionaire David E. Shaw's 10 small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential on diversifying its business away from unsecured consumer loans to auto loans that grew five times in the first quarter to $61 million. Additionally, it has inked a strategic partnership with fintech company One Pay, paving the way for it to target Walmart's customer base. Consequently, Citi analysts have reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, even after cutting the price target to $83 from $108. Overall, UPST ranks 5th on our list of billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of UPST as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UPST but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. 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
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH): Among Billionaire David E. Shaw's Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) stands against other billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. David E. Shaw is one billionaire investor whose record speaks for itself on Wall Street. Having founded D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. in 1988 with $28 million in capital, the fund has grown to become one of the most successful and biggest, with a 13F portfolio worth $136.27 billion. Amid the growth, Shaw's hedge fund D E Shaw has also returned significant returns to shareholders. The fund's flagship Composite fund has achieved an annualized net return of 12.7% since inception in 2001, as the Oculus Fund has averaged 13.7% annually since 2004 and has never had a negative year. Shaw's hedge fund was one of the earliest to leverage complex trading algorithms, followed by some form of human-run investing. Consequently, the multi-strategy fund remains the rage on Wall Street, given its solid returns over the years and the growing trend of returning gains to investors. READ ALSO: Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones' 10 Stocks Picks with Huge Upside Potential and Billionaire Quants' Two Sigma's 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. Composite hedge fund gained 18% in 2024, with Oculus outperforming the overall market, soaring 36% and recording its best gain since inception. The better-than-expected returns come on Shaw and the other fund managers deploying systematic and computer-driven trading strategies to identify stocks trading at discounted valuations before they explode. Following the impressive performance in 2024, reports emerged that the hedge fund was planning to return billions of dollars to external clients, as has been the trend. Amid the impressive performance last year, D.E. Shaw & Co. finds itself at a crossroads as the overall stock market has turned bearish. Major US indices have pulled back by about 6% from record highs amid recession concerns and deteriorating macroeconomics attributed to the US trade war. The US Federal Reserve holding interest rates unchanged, waiting to see the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policy, continues to rattle sentiments in the equity market. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate unchanged at between 4.25% and 4.5%, much to the anguish of Trump. In its statement, the Fed noted the uncertainty around the economic outlook. 'Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further,' the statement said. 'The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have raised.' Acknowledging that tariffs could worsen inflation and hinder economic expansion, the statement introduces the likelihood of a stagflation scenario, a phenomenon that has been largely missing from the US economy since the early 1980s. Decision-makers have mostly concurred that the central bank is currently well-placed, as the economy is performing reasonably well at this time, to exercise patience while fine-tuning monetary policy. Amid the economic uncertainty, focus in the equity markets is slowly shifting towards small-cap stocks with significant upside potential. That's partly because large-cap stocks are under pressure after skyrocketing to record highs, resulting in valuations above historical norms. Billionaire David E. Shaw's portfolio boasts of solid small-cap stocks with tremendous upside potential. We combed D. E. Shaw's SEC Q4 2024 13F filings to identify Billionaire David E. Shaw's 10 Small-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. We then settled on stocks with less than $10 billion in market cap and analyzed why the stocks stand out, as solid investments well poised to generate significant long-term value. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on the stocks upside potential. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A luxurious cruise ship overlooking a stunning horizon, highlighting the variety of its itineraries. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) is a cruise company that operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. Its brands provide accommodations, multiple dining venues, bars and lounges, a spa, a casino, retail shopping areas, and entertainment choices. While the stock is down by about 35% year to date due to weakening cruise demand, it is still one of billionaire David E. Shaw's 10 small-cap stock picks with tremendous upside potential. Despite the lower demand, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) is not planning to offer discounts to attract more ticket sales for its cruises. Instead, it prioritizes strong pricing in anticipation of normalizing demand. Additionally, it is accelerating cost-saving initiatives to maintain profitability. It has already identified about $300 million in potential efficiencies. The Miami-based operator delivered disappointing first-quarter 2025 results as revenues fell 3% year over year on softening demand to $2.13 billion compared to $2.15 billion a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.07, missing estimates of $0.09. Nevertheless, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) maintained its outlook for 2025, anticipating adjusted EPS of $2.05, increasing about 13% year-over-year. However, on May 1, BofA Securities cut Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.'s (NYSE:NCLH) price target from $23.00 to $20.00, keeping a Neutral rating due to declining future bookings, economic uncertainty, and weaker travel demand. Overall, NCLH ranks 6th on our list of billionaire David E. Shaw's small-cap stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of NCLH as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NCLH but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. 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