GoBull Research | Bill Ackman Portfolio Report
GoBull Research details Pershing Square's US equity holdings as of March 31, 2026, with AUM at $13.714 billion and a heavily concentrated portfolio where the top 7 positions account for 97.8% of the 11-total holdings; key moves include near-complete exit of Alphabet (>95%), a new ~$2.1 billion stake in Microsoft (5.654 million shares), and a 19.19% increase in Amazon—the underlying thesis: strict valuation discipline led to decisive profit-taking as Alphabet's AI premium peaked, redeploying capital into Microsoft after its pullback on capex concerns to rotate into AI exposure with stronger earnings visibility and a more integrated B2B ecosystem.
- Liquidity swap and efficiency upgrade: exiting Alphabet entirely and initiating Microsoft is a textbook buy-the-dip—locking in profits as Google's AI valuation peaked, rotating capital into Microsoft, which had pulled back on capex concerns yet offered stronger earnings certainty.
- Infrastructure-grade defense: Brookfield (17.62%) as global real asset manager, Amazon as AWS compute floor, Uber as dominant ride-hailing network, QSR as franchise inflation hedge — together a physical base immune to tech cycles, resisting capital entropy.
- Concentration IS the moat: 97.8% of capital in 7 firms with global dominance and pricing power. Rejecting mediocre diversification, riding each firm's sector dominance to hedge macro risk.
- Sector rotation from Alphabet to Microsoft and Amazon signals capital reallocation toward AI assets with stronger earnings certainty and B2B ecosystem lock-in, boosting capital efficiency.
Pershing Square's Q1 portfolio executed a strategic pivot from Alphabet to Microsoft, anchored Amazon in cloud and digital infrastructure to bolster offensive positioning, and built counter-cyclical resilience via Brookfield, Uber, and QSR as the physical-economy backbone—a precision move reallocating liquidity and upgrading efficiency.
Specifically, Microsoft as a new initiating position comprises $2.093 billion, or 15.26% of the portfolio, reflecting a medium-term bullish thesis on Copilot enterprise subscription monetization, LLM ecosystem moat, and enterprise productivity infrastructure. Amazon has been elevated to second-largest overweight at 17.39%, balancing AWS GPU rental offensive optionality with e-commerce free cash flow defensive attributes. Alphabet Class C and Class A shares have been reduced by 94.9% and 95.2% respectively, retaining only approximately $100 million in symbolic exposure, marking the phase-out of Google's AI valuation expansion thesis. Uber, QSR, and Meta saw near-zero adjustments, reflecting strategic commitment to physical networks and consumer infrastructure. The portfolio fundamentally anchors capital in highest risk-adjusted infrastructure-grade quality assets, dynamically rebalancing internally to hedge macro uncertainty.
- Microsoft, Ackman's new blockbuster AI infrastructure bet, boasts Copilot enterprise subscriptions and a robust LLM ecosystem moat; valuation appeal significantly enhanced.
- Amazon AWS + e-commerce combo: strong moat, robust cash flow
- Portfolio extremely concentrated; top 7 positions make up 97.8%, making single-name volatility a outsized driver of returns. Short-term pullback risk in holdings warrants attention.
- Ackerman exits Alphabet near-fully, holds ~$100M, says AI premium valuation lacks safety margin
Ackman's core investment philosophy rests on three principles: First, exchange absolute concentration for absolute moats—rejecting mediocre diversification by concentrating 97.8% of capital in seven globally dominant enterprises. Second, unified long-term thinking with dynamic valuation discipline, executing textbook profit-taking and rolling strategies on Alphabet. Third, building infrastructure-grade defense systems where the essence of these positions is they're foundational operating protocols of modern society—including physical asset management (Brookfield), global computing cloud infrastructure (Amazon, Microsoft), dominant mobility networks (Uber), and consumer franchises (QSR)—effectively hedging against capital entropy from fiat currency overprint.
A. Key Highlights
- Reporting Period: As of March 31, 2026 (based on mid-May 2026 13F filings).
- AUM (U.S. equity long positions): $13.71 billion.
- Concentration: Extreme concentration — top four holdings account for 66%, top seven combine for 97.8%.
- Strategic Anchor: Leverages top-tier physical and digital infrastructure to combat capital entropy, while rotating AI compute assets with precision to maximize capital efficiency across macro cycles.
- Major Portfolio Changes & Rationale:
- Core moves: Sold nearly all Alphabet (Google) shares (>95%), deployed ~$2.1 billion to build a new position in Microsoft (MSFT), and aggressively added 19%+ to Amazon (AMZN).
- Underlying logic: Rigid valuation discipline. Locked in profits as Alphabet's AI-premium valuation peaked, rotating capital into Microsoft — which had pulled back on CapEx concerns — to shift toward AI assets with superior earnings visibility and stronger B2B ecosystem moats.
B. Portfolio Breakdown
The portfolio holds 11 names, forming a barbell defensive structure of "long-run compounding" and "concentrated conviction." Full untrimmed data:
| Holding | Ticker | Shares (10K) | Market Value | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield Corp | BN | 5,969.7 | $2.42B | 17.62% |
| Amazon | AMZN | 1,145.2 | $2.39B | 17.39% |
| Uber | UBER | 2,995.8 | $2.16B | 15.71% |
| Microsoft | MSFT | 565.4 | $2.09B | 15.26% |
| Restaurant Brands Intl | QSR | 2,264.5 | $1.67B | 12.20% |
| Meta Platforms | META | 266.1 | $1.52B | 11.10% |
| Howard Hughes | HHH | 1,885.2 | $1.19B | 8.70% |
| Seaport Ent. | SEG | 502.4 | $108M | 0.79% |
| Alphabet Class C | GOOG | 31.2 | $89M | 0.65% |
| Hertz Global | HTZ | 1,524.1 | $70M | 0.51% |
| Alphabet Class A | GOOGL | 3.2 | $9M | 0.07% |
(Note: Data based on Q1 2026 13F filings. Brookfield trimmed 2.78% but remains the top holding; Alphabet Class C and A shares reduced 94.9% and 95.2%, respectively.)
C. Key Portfolio Changes & Execution Rationale
Ackman's Q1 activity was essentially a capital rotation and efficiency upgrade within top-tier tech:
1. AI compute infrastructure swap: Dumping Google, buying Microsoft heavily
- Execution: Unloaded ~$2 billion of Alphabet; in February 2026, as Microsoft pulled back on Azure growth deceleration and surging AI CapEx, bought 5.65 million MSFT shares against the tape.
- Deep logic: Ackman first built the Google position in late 2023 and fully captured its AI-driven valuation expansion. This rotation isn't a bearish call on Google — he simply believes the safety margin has evaporated. Microsoft, with its deeper moat in Copilot enterprise subscription monetization, workflow penetration, and LLM ecosystem, offers superior risk-reward. Textbook buy-the-dip.
2. Reinforcing cloud & digital infrastructure: Scaling up Amazon aggressively
- Execution: Added 1.84 million AMZN shares — a 19.19% QoQ surge — elevating it to the portfolio's second-largest position.
- Deep logic: AWS is the underlying infrastructure for global compute and cloud storage, boasting powerful network effects and near-irreplaceability. Paired with e-commerce's robust free cash flow generation, Amazon is the perfect blend of "defensive (cash flow)" and "offensive (AI compute leasing)."
3. Maintaining strategic conviction on physical networks & consumer infrastructure
- Execution: Minimal adjustments (<1%) to UBER (15.71%), QSR (12.20%), and META (11.10%); Brookfield (17.62%) remains the primary anchor.
- Deep logic: Uber's two-sided network monopoly, QSR's franchise inflation-hedging attributes, and Brookfield's deep ties to global real assets (power, infrastructure) collectively build a resilient foundation immune to any single technology cycle.
D. Core Investment Philosophy & Strategy
This 13F filing reveals Pershing Square's underlying playbook for navigating complex macro environments:
- Absolute concentration = absolute moat: Rejecting mediocre diversification. Ackman concentrates 97.8% in 7 names, signaling a strategy to find globally dominant businesses with ultra-wide moats and pricing power. These companies are themselves "indices" — holding them is the optimal hedge against external risk.
- Long-term conviction unified with dynamic valuation discipline: Holding quality assets is long-termism — but long-termism isn't rigid holding. The Alphabet exit proves strategic flexibility: continuously hunting the highest risk-adjusted return within the system for capital reallocation, keeping capital in its most efficient engine at all times.
- Infrastructure-grade defense (combatting capital entropy): Whether it's the physical asset management giant (Brookfield), global logistics and compute network (Amazon), monopoly-level ride-hailing network (Uber), or enterprise productivity backbone (Microsoft), what Ackman is buying fundamentally comes down to the underlying protocols of modern commerce. As long as human economic activity continues, these infrastructures will keep extracting value — effectively hedging against fiat currency oversupply and systemic capital depreciation.