Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman's Pershing Square exited its Alphabet position in Q1 2026 (after reducing it by 95% beginning in Q4 2025), reallocating capital to Amazon and Microsoft to capture better growth opportunities in artificial intelligence and cloud services.
- • Amazon is now Pershing Square's fourth-largest holding at approximately 10% of reported assets, with the position valued at $3.04 billion and representing 19.34% of the fund's stock portfolio as its largest individual holding.
- • Ackman's Amazon thesis centers on two growth engines—AWS and e-commerce—with the fund projecting earnings growth exceeding 20% annually, driven primarily by AI demand on AWS and margin expansion in retail operations.
- • AWS revenue growth accelerated from 17% year-over-year in Q2 2025 (when Ackman initiated his position in April 2025) to 37% in the most recent quarter, validating Ackman's AI-driven thesis and representing the fastest growth rate in more than four years.
- • Amazon's Q2 operating income jumped 43% to $27 billion on 20% total revenue growth, demonstrating the margin expansion and operational leverage that underpins Pershing Square's investment case.
Summary
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management executed a significant portfolio reallocation in the first half of 2026, exiting its long-held Alphabet position while establishing and expanding stakes in Amazon and Microsoft. The firm began reducing its Alphabet exposure in the fourth quarter of 2025, ultimately eliminating the position entirely by Q1 2026 after cutting it by 95% overall. In a May 16, 2026 post on X, Ackman stated that proceeds from the Alphabet sale funded the new Microsoft investment, though the broader strategic shift reflects his assessment that Amazon offers superior near-term growth prospects.
Amazon has become Pershing Square's largest single stock holding, now accounting for approximately 10% of the firm's reported assets and representing 19.34% of its stock portfolio, with a market value of $3.04 billion. Pershing Square initiated this position in April 2025 and has since continued to build it, despite a modest Q2 trimming. Ackman's investment thesis centers on Amazon's dual growth engines: AWS and core e-commerce operations, both of which are demonstrating the acceleration patterns he anticipated.
The AWS performance has been particularly compelling. At the time of Ackman's initial April 2025 investment, AWS was growing at 17% year-over-year in Q2 2025. By the most recent quarter, that growth rate had more than doubled to 37%—the fastest expansion in over four years—driven substantially by surging demand for artificial intelligence tools and infrastructure. Amazon's consolidated results support the broader investment thesis: total company revenue grew 20% year-over-year in Q2, while operating income surged 43% to $27 billion, demonstrating significant margin expansion in the retail business alongside AWS acceleration.
Pershing Square's mid-year investor update emphasized expectations for Amazon's earnings to grow at more than 20% annually, with continued AI-driven opportunities on AWS and structural e-commerce tailwinds driving the outlook. According to available sources, Ackman's investment thesis "has played out almost exactly as he predicted" since the April 2025 entry point. The strategic pivot away from Alphabet—once a substantial position—reflects Ackman's view that mega-cap technology stocks required better valuations and clearer near-term catalysts, while Amazon's combination of hyperscale cloud infrastructure, dominant market position, and margin leverage provides more compelling risk-reward at current levels.
Amazon has become Pershing Square's largest single stock holding, now accounting for approximately 10% of the firm's reported assets and representing 19.34% of its stock portfolio, with a market value of $3.04 billion. Pershing Square initiated this position in April 2025 and has since continued to build it, despite a modest Q2 trimming. Ackman's investment thesis centers on Amazon's dual growth engines: AWS and core e-commerce operations, both of which are demonstrating the acceleration patterns he anticipated.
The AWS performance has been particularly compelling. At the time of Ackman's initial April 2025 investment, AWS was growing at 17% year-over-year in Q2 2025. By the most recent quarter, that growth rate had more than doubled to 37%—the fastest expansion in over four years—driven substantially by surging demand for artificial intelligence tools and infrastructure. Amazon's consolidated results support the broader investment thesis: total company revenue grew 20% year-over-year in Q2, while operating income surged 43% to $27 billion, demonstrating significant margin expansion in the retail business alongside AWS acceleration.
Pershing Square's mid-year investor update emphasized expectations for Amazon's earnings to grow at more than 20% annually, with continued AI-driven opportunities on AWS and structural e-commerce tailwinds driving the outlook. According to available sources, Ackman's investment thesis "has played out almost exactly as he predicted" since the April 2025 entry point. The strategic pivot away from Alphabet—once a substantial position—reflects Ackman's view that mega-cap technology stocks required better valuations and clearer near-term catalysts, while Amazon's combination of hyperscale cloud infrastructure, dominant market position, and margin leverage provides more compelling risk-reward at current levels.
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