Bill Ackman adds Netflix, Visa, Mastercard in 6-stock portfolio overhaul

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square disclosed six new holdings including a 3.15 million-share Netflix stake, its biggest portfolio overhaul in years.

"Netflix has since effectively won the streaming wars," Pershing Square said in its second-quarter investor letter, adding it expects the company to compound revenue at a double-digit rate.

The new positions also include Visa, Mastercard, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange and eye-care firm Alcon. Ackman said he believes the firms' earnings are set for strong growth, which he views as the greatest driver of investment value over time. Shares were acquired starting in the second quarter and will be held in funds including Pershing Square USA, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April.

The additions come as Ackman's funds lag the market. Through July, Pershing Square USA was down 3.5 percent for the year and London-listed Pershing Square Holdings was down 9.2 percent, compared with a 13 percent gain for the S&P 500. Ackman is expected to discuss the investments on an analyst call Thursday, with the new names set to appear in 13-F filings Friday.

The Netflix purchase marks a return to a stock Ackman sold at a loss in 2022. Pershing Square first bought 3.1 million shares in January 2022 at prices near $400, investing about $1.1 billion, then exited at around $225 in April after Netflix reported its first subscriber decline in a decade, locking in losses of more than $400 million.

The streaming company has since recovered, with subscriber growth driven by a password-sharing crackdown and a cheaper ad-supported tier. Netflix now counts more than 325 million paid members globally, and Pershing Square said content cash spending has grown at a 2 percent annual rate since 2021 even as revenue compounded in the low double digits. The company converts roughly 90 percent of earnings into free cash flow, which it deploys into a $55 billion buyback program.

Netflix trades near $74, about 21 times forward earnings, after falling roughly 50 percent from its June 2025 peak. The decline followed a failed $82.7 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming assets, from which Netflix walked away in February, collecting a $2.8 billion termination fee.

Microsoft remains Pershing Square's top holding at 12.4 percent of the portfolio, followed by Uber at 12 percent and Meta Platforms in third. Ackman added Microsoft this year after its stock dropped following an earnings report, arguing the software giant would rebound as investors acknowledged its AI investments.

The overhaul caps a busy year for Ackman, who listed both his hedge fund and Pershing Square USA on the NYSE, exited an estimated $1.5 billion position in Universal Music Group after the company rejected his $65 billion takeover bid, and turned 60.

The new stakes show Ackman's conviction that large-cap, cash-generative businesses are trading below intrinsic value as markets focus on AI. Investors will watch the analyst call Thursday and the 13-F filings Friday for position sizes and entry prices.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.