These Billionaire Investors Keep Betting on AI Infrastructure Despite Recession Fears
The stock market is hitting record highs amid an oil shock, rising inflation, and tanking consumer sentiment. But everyone, even billionaires, is going all-in on AI.
By Johnny Rice
The stock market has been ripping, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all near record highs. Given this is happening while inflation is rearing its head and consumer sentiment hits all-time lows, it's making some investors uneasy.
Many are rotating out of the high-flying artificial intelligence (AI) stocks fueling the market's all-time highs, but not these billionaires. Looking at the latest 13F disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), there are still some major AI bulls among Wall Street's biggest names.
David Tepper, Chase Coleman, and Bill Ackman have all doubled down on AI, especially infrastructure. Here's a look at what each has been up to recently.
David Tepper is betting big on AI infrastructure
David Tepper's Appaloosa Management nearly doubled its Amazon position last quarter, making the cloud and AI giant his single largest bet. Four of his top five holdings now tie directly to AI infrastructure: Amazon, Micron Technology, Alphabet, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Tepper also opened a new position in Sandisk and added significantly to Vistra, the power company that's become a proxy for data center energy demand. The one notable cut was Microsoft, slashed by 82%.
Chase Coleman's Tiger Global is loading up on chips
Chase Coleman's Tiger Global runs a $22.8 billion portfolio, nearly half of which is in five names, all AI-related -- Alphabet, Nvidia, Amazon, TSMC, Meta Platforms.
Last quarter, he expanded his AI bets, especially in chips, adding 49% to his TSMC stake and nearly doubling his Applied Materials position. He added more Broadcom and Nvidia as well.
Bill Ackman likes Microsoft
Bill Ackman has the most concentrated portfolio of the group, with Pershing Square Capital Management holding just 11 positions worth $13.7 billion. While Coleman cut his Microsoft position, Ackman added a major stake. Ackman said he believes the company is a durable franchise temporarily out of favor because investors are spooked by its massive capital expenditures.
Ackman also added to his Amazon position while slashing Alphabet by 95%. All in all, nearly 40% of his fund is invested in AI-related stocks.
The takeaway
So what should you do with this? Honestly, not much.
Tracking these sorts of moves can be useful directionally, revealing where the "smart money" generally sees opportunity. It can show you if fund managers are playing defense amid economic headwinds.
But remember that 13F filings are backward-looking snapshots, reflecting trades up to 45 days stale; they don't show short positions or any hedges; and most importantly, fund managers can be -- and often are -- wrong. These trades are information, nothing more.