The impact of artificial intelligence, especially over the past year, has led portfolios to shift from traditional value stocks to growth stocks, while preserving diversification. Major hedge funds are increasingly adding the magnificent seven stocks to their diversified lists or increasing their existing bets. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, through his Pershing Square Capital…
The impact of artificial intelligence, especially over the past year, has led portfolios to shift from traditional value stocks to growth stocks, while preserving diversification.
Major hedge funds are increasingly adding the magnificent seven stocks to their diversified lists or increasing their existing bets.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, through his Pershing Square Capital Management, also appears to be playing by this playbook.
In its latest 13F filing, Pershing Square revealed surprising new stakes in Meta Platforms (META) as of December 31, 2025. It also increased stakes in Amazon (AMZN), spotlighting two companies that are different but interconnected in the growing AI era.
The filing, covering positions as of Dec 31, 2025, shows Pershing Square’s total portfolio is around $15.5 billion, with over 12 equity positions, reflecting the firm’s preference for concentration while also maintaining diversity in the types of stocks held.
Based on past disclosures, Ackman’s Pershing Square now holds approximately 2.7 billion META shares, representing 11% of its portfolio.
Photo by Michael Ostuni on Getty Images ·Photo by Michael Ostuni on Getty Images
META looks like an interesting bet, particularly as several other firms, including Lone Pine Capital and Third Point LLC, reduced their Meta positions in their recent quarters.
Those moves could be triggered by META’s increased AI spending, as evidenced by its recent Q4 earnings report, or by the company’s 10% year-over-year decline in stock price.
Billionaire Bill Ackman, founder & CEO of Pershing Square, is an activist investor widely known for his conviction-based investing style.
Ackman became famous for shorting MBIA, a bond insurer, and for his unique style of investing in undervalued stocks and making long-term bets on a handful of holdings. This includes companies such as Uber and Chipotle (which he exited this Q4), as well as his long-standing bets on Howard Hughes Holdings and Restaurant Brands International.
Fund manager buys and sells
Nonetheless, Meta has shown strong momentum and closed 2025 on a bullish note, rewarded by investors, as evidenced by the stock being up 7% this past quarter.
Q4 revenue $59.89 billion, up 24% year over year.
Ad revenue $58.1 billion, making up most of Meta’s revenue
Net Income $22.8 billion
Operating margin 41%
Capital Expenditures $72.22 billion for the full year 2025.
But the most consequential highlight of the earnings came from its aggressive AI infrastructure expansion plans in the US.
Meta expects 2026 capital expenditure to be between $115 and $135 billion, largely to support its Meta Superintelligence Labs and core AI systems.
As ads are a primary source of revenue for the social media giant, and its Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and WhatsApp continuously provide personalized content on users’ feeds. Which is why AI expenditures are relevant, as Meta intends to personalize content to “show each person content that helps them improve their lives in the ways that they want.”
This will impact how agentic shopping tools are used to “find just the right very specific set of products from the business,” noted Zuckerberg in the company’s earnings call.
So, while expenses pile up from litigation, current social media bans in Australia, and EU regulations that demand fewer personalized ads, Meta expects losses, yet it has promised increased operating income in 2026.
The biggest change outside the new Meta addition is Amazon, which now accounts for 14% of the portfolio. The firm now owns around 9.6 million Amazon shares, a 64% change from the previous holding of this AI stock.
Ackman’s long-standing bet on Brookfield is the firm’s largest holding, accounting for 18% of its portfolio, a position earlier held by Uber, which has dropped from 20% to 15.90% of Pershing’s portfolio.
Brookefield (BN) 18.15%
Uber (Uber) 15.90%
Amazon (AMZN) 14.28%
Alphabet Class C (GOOG) 12.46%
Meta (META) 11.37%
Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 10.05%
Howard Hughes Holding (HHH) 9.69%
Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) 5.60%
Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) 1.37%
Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG) 0.64% Source: WhaleWisdom
Pershing’s AI bets are clearer in this context, and both Amazon and Uber emerge notably here.
Amazon, through its AWS (Amazon Web Services) division, remains one of the dominant cloud computing providers and is also powering its enterprise through new AI adoptions.
Amazon’s 2023 investment in Anthropic, now up to $8 billion, is delivering much bigger gains, as Anthropic recently announced a valuation of $380 billion. While the company’s stock, down 11% year-to-date, has not been in its favor, it has reported solid Q4 results amid multiple layoffs, with increased focus on new AI deals and expansions.
Uber is also stepping up its AI game, as noted in its recent earnings report, where it expanded on its intention to prioritize expansion in the autonomous vehicle space and further steady its global footprint.
On the other hand, the firm sold all its Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) shares in the past quarter, exiting the position.
Related: Cathie Wood buys $46 million of tumbling tech stock
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
