Two stocks billionaire Bill Ackman is buying

Billionaire super-investor Bill Ackman pumped money into sportswear giant Nike and asset manager Brookfield while cutting his stake in Google, Chipotle, Hilton, and Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands International. 

Ackman also trimmed his stake in railway giant Canadian Pacific. These changes indicate he is betting on the American consumer coming under increasing pressure and spending to slow. 

Ackman’s journey into investing began in his early years when he interned at a real estate development company in his hometown of Chappaqua, New York.

He later attended Harvard Business School, where he honed his investment skills and developed his investing philosophy.

After graduating, Ackman founded his own hedge fund, Gotham Partners, which focused on value investing and activism.

In 2004, Ackman launched Pershing Square Capital Management, where he continued using his unique investing approach to build a highly concentrated portfolio of carefully selected stocks.

Ackman is highly respected in investment circles. His Pershing Square Holdings hedge fund has compounded annually at a rate of 16.1% for nearly two decades.

Ackman’s investment strategy is focused on identifying companies with strong growth potential that are undervalued by the market.

He looks for companies with a competitive advantage, a strong management team, and a clear growth path.

Once he has identified a company he believes in, he takes an active approach to investing, using his influence as a shareholder to push for changes he believes will increase the company’s value.

This approach has been highly successful for Ackman, with many of his investments resulting in significant long-term returns.

Despite his success, Ackman’s portfolio is notably small, consisting of just a few carefully selected positions.

This is because he believes in investing only in companies that he has thoroughly researched and understands rather than simply diversifying his portfolio for the sake of it.

This approach allows him to maintain a deep understanding of the companies he invests in, giving him an edge over other investors who may be spread too thin.

Pershing Square’s portfolio

Investors with over $100 million under management are mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file a 13F report within 45 days of the end of the last quarter. 

These investors are mandated to outline their portfolio holdings at the end of the quarter, revealing to the public how they are investing their money. 

Ackman’s 13F filing revealed that he cut significantly his investments in Chipotle and Hilton, perhaps indicating he predicts a slowdown in consumer spending in the US.

To this end, he also trimmed his investment in Restaurant Brands International. Ackman may have also dumped Chipotle shares ahead of the news that its CEO is leaving to take over the helm at Starbucks. 

The table below shows Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management’s share portfolio on 30 June 2024, valued at $10.4 billion. 

Company	Percent of Portfolio	Change	Value
Hilton Worldwide	18.76%	Reduce 2.49%	$1,953,390,000
Chipotle Mexican Grill	17.34%	Reduce 22.54%	$1,805,270,000
Restaurant Brands International	15.64%	Reduce 0.88%	$1,628,541,000
Alphabet (Google) Class C	13.30%	Reduce 19.51%	$1,384,377,000
Howard Hughes	11.74%	No change	$1,221,991,000
Canadian Pacific Railway	11.32%	Reduce 0.86%	$1,178,245,000
Alphabet (Google)	6.97%	Reduce 8.46%	$726,139,000
Brookfield Corp.	2.73%	Buy	$284,736,000
Nike	2.20%	Buy	$229,135,000