Investor Bill Ackman: Sold Alphabet, Added Microsoft, Betting on AI Infrastructure

Organized & Compiled: Shenchao TechFlow

Guest: Bill Ackman, CEO and Founder of Pershing Square Capital Management

Host: Nicole Lapin, Money Rehab

Podcast Source: Money News Network

Original Title: Which Companies Bill Ackman Is Bullish and Bearish on Right Now

Air Date: July 20, 2026

Disclosure: Pershing Square manages approximately $14 billion in assets, concentrated in 11 US stocks, with revenue derived from management fees and performance-based compensation. This discussion focuses on macro market and individual stock judgments. Ackman personally does not hold Bitcoin or gold. The interview includes promotional content for PSUS (the publicly traded fund under Pershing Square).

Key Takeaways

Bill Ackman manages one of Wall Street's most concentrated hedge fund portfolios: $14 billion spread across just 11 stocks, with the top five holdings accounting for 78% of the fund. In this interview, he revealed some specific moves: he recently sold Alphabet and added $2 billion to Microsoft, betting on hyperscalers' AI infrastructure boom. He didn't overcomplicate things. The core logic is simple: buy companies with high predictability and earn compound interest. His biggest concern for the market isn't valuation, but the possibility of highly leveraged players being forced to exit en masse at some point. Regarding Bitcoin and gold, his exact words were, "I don't know if it's worth $50,000, $70,000, $5,000, or $1 trillion, but I don't need to know. Investing just means knowing what you know and what you don't know."

Highlights of Key Insights

AI is the Main Theme, Everything Else is Noise

• "This is a very special point in history. AI is driving a huge wave of entrepreneurship, providing extremely low-cost access to intelligence for a very broad population."
• "The biggest companies are competing to build models that lead to superintelligence. They are grabbing land, building data centers, and filling them with GPUs. It's a land grab."
• "I'm less inclined to bet on frontier model companies. Open-source models are getting better and better. People will soon be able to get a model good enough to solve most problems at a low cost or for free."

Every Stock in the Portfolio is Carefully Selected

• "There were some companies we always wanted to buy but were too expensive before. Amazon, Meta, Uber, and Microsoft are on that list. A lot of money is chasing 'the new new thing' – semiconductors, memory – wherever the profit is. We're focused on areas that can deliver high compound returns over the next three to five years."
• "Uber is very cheap now because the market thinks Tesla's robotaxis will disrupt it. But I think consumers will still open the Uber app to get a ride. What they want is the cheapest, fastest way to get from A to B."
• "Wondering which giant will win? SpaceX is the only place you can rent 100,000 GPUs, and it offers incredible returns. My only concern is the price. At a $6-7 trillion market cap, the imagination space shrinks."

No Bitcoin or Gold, Because They Are Speculative

• "Satoshi is a genius. If I had read the whitepaper when Bitcoin was 20 cents, I might have bought some. But I don't buy it because it doesn't generate yield. A company has value because it generates future cash flows. Gold and Bitcoin are only worth what someone else is willing to pay. That's not investing; that's speculating."
• "I've indirectly invested in blockchain companies through some VC funds. I'm technically very interested. But trading various coins isn't my thing."

The Market's Biggest Fear Isn't High Valuations

• "The market isn't cheap in some places, but looking at the overall P/E and saying it's expensive or not doesn't mean much. Today's top companies – Nvidia, Microsoft, Google – are of much higher quality than the top companies 20 years ago and deserve higher valuation multiples."
• "My biggest concern is that there are too many leveraged players in the market. If some external shock occurs, people panic and sell. Those using leverage will be forced to liquidate, triggering a chain reaction. If you don't use leverage and own good companies, and you don't need the money tomorrow, a big drop is actually an opportunity to add to your positions."
• "Don't borrow money to buy stocks. That's how you get wiped out. Carl Icahn pledged his own stocks with leverage. His $20 billion net worth turned into $3-4 billion. Even the rich can lose big."

Stay Away from Day Trading Options

• "I don't like this trend of day trading options. That's just gambling. No one can predict whether a stock will go up or down in a single day, unless you have inside information. It's a crazy game."

"We Don't Predict the Future; We Just Notice What Others Miss"

Nicole Lapin: Your moves in 2008 made it seem like you could see the future. What did you see?

Bill Ackman: So-called foresight is often just carefully studying the present and finding similar cases in history. In the years before 2008, we saw a bunch of companies doing crazy things: bond insurers, with AAA ratings as good as government credit, were guaranteeing high-risk mortgages, collecting small premiums, and showing all profit on their books. It was unsustainable. It wasn't predicting the future. It was seeing a problem in the present and knowing it would eventually blow up.

As for the future, markets will always fluctuate. I don't know the specific trigger, but there's a massive amount of speculation in the market, with both professional and retail investors using a lot of leverage. If I can give you just one piece of advice: don't borrow money to trade stocks. Also, don't bet the money you need to live on.

How These 11 Stocks Were Selected

Nicole Lapin: Pershing Square only holds 11 to 12 stocks. Why such concentration?

Bill Ackman: We look for the best businesses in the world, ones that can stand the test of time, are unlikely to be disrupted by AI, and ideally are beneficiaries of AI.

Our portfolio includes some companies we always wanted to buy but were too expensive until recently. Amazon, Meta, Uber, and Microsoft are on that list. A lot of money is chasing areas that have recently made money in the market, like semiconductors and memory. We're focused on assets that can deliver high compound returns for us over the next three to five years.

Brookfield also perfectly fits this model. It's an asset manager in private equity, real estate, infrastructure, especially power and energy-related businesses. The wave of data center construction requires massive infrastructure, and Brookfield is right in that position. It manages money for others, earning equity and fees from it. It's a great business.

Nicole Lapin: You recently bought $2 billion worth of Microsoft while selling some Alphabet. Are you no longer bullish on Alphabet?

Bill Ackman: Two things are very important to us: business quality and price. We want to buy at a price that offers an attractive return. Sometimes a stock we own rises to a level where future returns fall below our threshold, so we sell it. Selling Google isn't because we don't like it. It's still a fantastic company. It's just that its price reached a point where future returns were lower than taking that money and buying Microsoft.

Microsoft is now around $387 a share. If you want to buy Microsoft at $310, you don't need to wait for it to drop to that price. You can buy PSUS instead. PSUS is a publicly traded fund we manage, currently trading at a 22% discount to its net asset value. This basket holds Microsoft.

Ackman's Most Bullish and Bearish Views

Nicole Lapin: Let's play a game called "Bullish or Bearish." Gold?

Bill Ackman: No opinion. I don't buy gold, although I have bought jewelry for my wife. My father bought gold many years ago, around the 70s, and held onto it. It's not a great investment. I told him to sell it when gold went above $4,000, and he listened. I'd rather own businesses that can compound.

The problem with gold is that it's only worth what someone else is willing to pay, and it provides no return. Every asset I invest in generates some kind of yield: profit, dividends, rent. I only see gold as speculation, not investment.

Nicole Lapin: What about Bitcoin?

Bill Ackman: I don't buy it either. Very similar to gold. Satoshi is a genius. If I had read the whitepaper when Bitcoin was 20 cents, I might have bought some. But I don't know if it's worth $50,000, $70,000, $5,000, or $1 trillion. The beauty of investing is that you don't need to have an opinion on every category. You just need to know what you know and what you don't know. I don't understand Bitcoin, and I don't understand gold, so I stay away from both.

I have indirectly invested in companies focused on blockchain and crypto through some VC funds. Technically, I am very interested. But trading various coins isn't my thing.

Nicole Lapin: Chipotle?

Bill Ackman: One of our most successful investments. We bought in during its food safety crisis and helped bring in Brian Niccol. He later left for Starbucks, and the successor management faced some challenges. I think the company is in a good position long-term, but I don't have a strong directional view on the stock at its current price.

Nicole Lapin: Starbucks?

Bill Ackman: A very talented CEO is running it. But Starbucks has pushed prices quite high for a long time, and I don't think there's much room left for price increases. The customer experience has also been declining, and Brian is trying to bring it back.

Nicole Lapin: Treasury bonds?

Bill Ackman: Treasury bonds are a place to park cash. But if I had to choose, I would prefer to hold high-quality companies long-term rather than bonds.

The Risks He Truly Worries About

Nicole Lapin: What's the next crisis? Could there be a second 2008?

Bill Ackman: There's always something to worry about. First, the U.S. government spends more than it collects. We have about $34 trillion in national debt and are constantly issuing more bonds to cover the deficit. Making matters worse, the AI infrastructure boom is causing many companies to also issue debt to raise funds, leading to a surge in demand for credit, while the government itself is issuing even more bonds. So much supply needs to be absorbed by investors, which could lead to higher interest rates.

The second risk is more damaging: there are too many leveraged players in the market. If some external shock comes from the side, people panic and sell. Those who borrowed money will be forced to liquidate, and the chain reaction will drag more people into selling. Stock prices could fall a lot.

But if you run a portfolio without leverage, hold a group of high-quality companies, and you don't need the money tomorrow, then this is your opportunity to add positions. If you are carrying margin debt, you will be forced to liquidate at the bottom, which is the last thing you want to do.

Buffett's secret is longevity. He designed Berkshire Hathaway so it would never face a margin call, allowing it to compound continuously. Some years we were up 30%, 40%. Some years we were down. This year we are down slightly. That's okay. You don't need to make money every year. You need to survive and let good companies compound.

Nicole Lapin: Is the overall market expensive right now?

Bill Ackman: Some places are expensive. But saying the market's P/E is 21 now versus a historical average of 17, and concluding it's overvalued, isn't very useful. Market value depends on future earnings, and earnings have been consistently beating expectations, growing faster than most of history. Moreover, the current largest companies by market cap – Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Meta – are of much higher quality and faster-growing than the top companies of 20 years ago. They deserve higher valuation multiples.

If Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are all cheap, it's hard to say the entire market is expensive.

A Roadmap for Young People

Nicole Lapin: If someone has $1,000 to invest now, what would you suggest?

Bill Ackman: Find a few companies that don't use a lot of leverage, that you like, that you admire, and that always seem to make the right decisions. And you must believe deeply: if the stock market shut down for ten years tomorrow, you would still be willing to hold it for ten years.

Don't invest in whatever is hottest right now. Invest in what you believe can stand the test of time. The value of a business is the sum of all its future cash flows. You need to be confident it can survive for a long time.

Where to start specifically? Often, as a consumer, you discover great things before Wall Street does. Many of Tesla's earliest shareholders were retail investors. Institutions didn't understand how great it was. Look at what products and services you admire and use in your life. Think about whether it can withstand competition. Amazon. Every time I want to buy a book, I go to Amazon. You might have also experienced the pharmacy in New York, where everything is locked behind plastic barriers, and you have to find a staff member to get it. Amazon delivers in two hours. Who can compete with that?

Nicole Lapin: What do you think of young people day trading options every day?

Bill Ackman: It's just gambling. No one knows whether a stock will go up or down in a single day. Unless you have inside information.

Nicole Lapin: What's the formula for success?

Bill Ackman: It's all the basics: show up on time, do a little more than what's asked, keep your word, under-promise and over-deliver. If you go into an