Two shares billionaire Carl Icahn is selling

Superinvestor Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises sold its entire stake in two companies, Occidental Petroleum and Conduent, but added two new stocks to its portfolio, Caesars Entertainment and Centuri Holdings.

This was revealed in Icahn’s 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a quarterly requirement for investors managing over $100 million (approximately R1.79 billion).

Icahn, the founder and controlling shareholder of the diversified holding company Icahn Enterprises, was born in Queens, New York, in 1936.

After studying philosophy at Princeton University, he began his career as a stockbroker and eventually started his own investment firm in 1968.

By the 1980s, Icahn had gained global notoriety for his aggressive investment style and had become one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.

Known as an ‘activist investor’, Icahn is famous for acquiring large stakes in companies with declining share prices and pressuring management to make shareholder-friendly changes.

Throughout his investing career, Icahn has been involved in several high-profile corporate battles, including his successful effort to break up RFR Nabisco and his unsuccessful attempt to take over Time Warner.

Despite his long track record of success, 2023 was a challenging year for Icahn and his firm. The value of Icahn Enterprises plummeted by 53%, which resulted in a significant reduction in Icahn’s personal net worth, with losses exceeding $2 billion (R35.84 billion).

The situation worsened in May 2023 when Hindenburg Research, a prominent short-selling firm, publicly targeted Icahn Enterprises.

Hindenburg accused the company of being “significantly overvalued” and suggested that its financial structure resembled a “Ponzi-like economic structure”, causing further scrutiny and volatility for the company.

Throughout his career, Icahn has navigated numerous market cycles and challenges, yet his resilience and strategic acumen continue to make him a central figure in the investment world.

His latest moves, as revealed in the SEC filing, indicate that he remains active and focused on adapting to the ever-changing market landscape.

Icahn Enterprises’ portfolio

The second quarter of 2024 saw notable changes to Icahn Enterprise’s stock portfolio.

The firm bought a stake in Caesars Entertainment, a Nevada-based hotel and casino entertainment company, adding 2.4 million of the company’s shares to its portfolio.

Icahn Enterprises also bought 2.5 million shares in Centuri Holdings, a utility infrastructure services company.

The biggest change to Icahn’s portfolio came from it selling its entire stake of 16 million shares in Occidental Petroleum, a company engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas.

This investment previously made up 5.96% of Icahn’s portfolio, one of its biggest stakes.

The firm also dumped all of its 38 million shares in the business services provider company, Conduent. 

Icahn Enterprises significantly increased its stake in its own shares by buying an additional 38 million shares – a 5.84% increase from Q1 2024.

Following Icahn Enterprises, the firm’s top holdings are CVR Energy at 16.47%, Southwest Gas Holdings at 7.15%, and International Flavors & Fragrances at 3.29%.