Bill Ackman
Pershing Square Capital
Profile & Investment Philosophy
Bill Ackman executed one of the quarter's most significant trades in Q1 2026, initiating a massive new position in Microsoft funded by a 95% reduction in his Alphabet stake. This rotation reflects Ackman's conviction in enterprise software and AI leadership. Following his exit from Hilton, Ackman's Pershing Square remains highly concentrated in high-quality, "simple and predictable" businesses like Amazon, Uber, and Brookfield.
Track Record
Pershing Square Capital has compounded at roughly 16.5% annually since inception in 2004, beating the S&P 500's ~10.2%. After dismal years in 2015-2017 (Valeant disaster, Herbalife short), Ackman returned to form with +58.1% in 2019, +70.2% in 2020 (largely thanks to a $27 million CDS hedge that printed $2.6 billion), +26.9% in 2021, and steady double-digit gains through 2024. AUM grew from $500 million in 2004 to roughly $20 billion in 2026. Pershing Square Holdings (PSH) trades on Amsterdam and London exchanges as a closed-end vehicle with around $15 billion NAV.
Signature Trades
Current Strategy (2026)
Pershing Square runs a concentrated 8-12 stock portfolio. As of Q1 2026, top holdings include Brookfield Corp, Restaurant Brands International, Chipotle, Howard Hughes Holdings, Hilton, Alphabet, and Nike — the latter a 2024 build after a brand and execution stumble. Uber was a notable 2025 add. Ackman has been vocal on rates, predicting the 10-year stabilizes around 4-4.5% as fiscal deficits constrain Fed cuts. He's also pursued the Pershing Square USA closed-end fund IPO (withdrawn 2024, restructured 2025) and built a public profile on geopolitical and political commentary that occasionally rattles institutional LPs. The strategy remains long-only quality compounders with activist nudges where governance can be improved.
BMI Counter-Take
Ackman is a brilliant analyst with a Twitter problem. The portfolio quality is high — Brookfield, Chipotle, Hilton are genuine compounders — but the public commentary on politics, geopolitics, and rates increasingly makes him a meme stock manager rather than a fund manager. BMI's view: the Nike build looks early but defensible (brand moats heal), and Uber is a sharp call. The pulled USA IPO was a warning signal — retail demand isn't institutional capital. We'd own PSH at a NAV discount but not pay premium for the manager. The CDS playbook is unrepeatable; investors expecting another 96x are buying the wrong dream.
Current Portfolio
LATEST 13F 2026-03-31Latest SEC Form 13F filing. Total portfolio value: $13.7 B. Holdings: 11 positions.
| Security | Shares | Δ vs Prev | Value ($) | Portfolio % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield Corp. | 59.7 M | -2.8% | $2.42 B | 17.6 % |
| Amazon Com Inc. | 11.5 M | +19.2% | $2.39 B | 17.4 % |
| Uber Technologies Inc. | 30.0 M | -0.8% | $2.15 B | 15.7 % |
| Microsoft Corp. | 5.65 M | ★ NEW | $2.09 B | 15.3 % |
| Restaurant Brands Intl Inc. | 22.6 M | -1.0% | $1.67 B | 12.2 % |
| Meta Platforms Inc. | 2.66 M | -0.5% | $1.52 B | 11.1 % |
| Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. | 18.9 M | — | $1.19 B | 8.70 % |
| Seaport Entmt Group Inc. | 5.02 M | — | $108 M | 0.79 % |
| Alphabet Inc. | 311,726 | -94.9% | $89.4 M | 0.65 % |
| Hertz Global Hldgs Inc. | 15.2 M | — | $70.3 M | 0.51 % |
SOURCE: SEC Form 13F (2026-05-15). BMI Smart Money Tracker.