Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years, Adding Netflix, Visa, and Mastercard to Pershing Square. What's the Thesis Behind the Switch?

Key Points Ackman's hedge fund has averaged annual gains of around 16%. That's well above the stock market's average. The portfolio's concentration suggests a lot of confidence. 10 stocks we like better than Netflix › Bill Ackman is the Founder and CEO of the Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund company. Many investors follow his moves, because he's pretty good at investing. Per Pershing Square, the fund's cumulative net gains since its inception in January 2004 are 2,644% as of the end of 2025 -- amounting to an average annual gain of around 16%. That's pretty good, considering that the overall stock market averaged only about 11% over that same period, and its long-term average annual gain is around 10%. It's enough to have made Ackman a billionaire, recently worth $8.9 billion, per Forbes . Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » Image source: Getty Images. Pershing Square's portfolio Ackman is also known for having a very concentrated portfolio, with only 14 holdings as of its 13-F filing for the quarter ending June 30. That kind of concentration is rare, and it reflects a lot of confidence in the fund's holdings. Here's how the portfolio looked at the end of that quarter. Stock Rank in Portfolio Market Value Uber 1 $2.5 billion Microsoft 3 $2.3 billion Amazon.com 4 $2.0 billion Howard Hughes Holdings 5 $2.0 billion Meta Platforms 7 $1.8 billion Visa (NYSE: V) 8 $1.1 billion Mastercard (NYSE: MA) 9 $1.1 billion Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) 11 $934 million Data source: WhaleWisdom.com. Noteworthy additions to the portfolio Additions that may be of the most interest to investors include Netflix, Visa, and Mastercard. Why did Pershing buy them? A key factor is likely simply valuation, as Ackman likes to buy stocks at a fair or low price and hold. These companies are also highly dominant, so he's also betting that great growers will continue to grow and dominate. Netflix Netflix shares were recently down about 32% over the past year (as of Aug. 25). Its shares are arguably undervalued , with a recent price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26, well below the five-year average of 36. The company is still growing, but at a slower clip, due to its size and dominance -- and it's facing more competition than ever. International markets are a good growth driver, though. Visa and Mastercard Visa's shares look more fairly valued, with a recent P/E ratio of 33, close to the five-year average of 32. Its stock has averaged annual gains of nearly 22% over the past 15 years, and it's up 17% over the past year. Mastercard's shares also look fairly to attractively valued, with a recent P/E ratio of 33, a bit below the five-year average of 37. The stock has also averaged annual gains of 22% over the past 15 years, though it's up only 1.6% over the past year (as of Aug. 25). Both are fintech giants , likely to keep growing as more people conduct more financial business electronically. Crypto is a new threat, however, as is the fact that these two companies are so dominant that they may attract additional regulatory oversight. Should you buy stock in Netflix right now? Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Netflix wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $439,308 !* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,286,826 !* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 964 % — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 212% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor , and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 28, 2026. Selena Maranjian has positions in Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Howard Hughes, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

Bill Ackman is the Founder and CEO of the Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund company. Many investors follow his moves, because he's pretty good at investing. Per Pershing Square, the fund's cumulative net gains since its inception in January 2004 are 2,644% as of the end of 2025 -- amounting to an average annual gain of around 16%.

That's pretty good, considering that the overall stock market averaged only about 11% over that same period, and its long-term average annual gain is around 10%. It's enough to have made Ackman a billionaire, recently worth $8.9 billion, per Forbes .

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

Ackman is also known for having a very concentrated portfolio, with only 14 holdings as of its 13-F filing for the quarter ending June 30. That kind of concentration is rare, and it reflects a lot of confidence in the fund's holdings.

Additions that may be of the most interest to investors include Netflix, Visa, and Mastercard. Why did Pershing buy them? A key factor is likely simply valuation, as Ackman likes to buy stocks at a fair or low price and hold. These companies are also highly dominant, so he's also betting that great growers will continue to grow and dominate.

Netflix shares were recently down about 32% over the past year (as of Aug. 25). Its shares are arguably undervalued , with a recent price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26, well below the five-year average of 36. The company is still growing, but at a slower clip, due to its size and dominance -- and it's facing more competition than ever. International markets are a good growth driver, though.

Visa's shares look more fairly valued, with a recent P/E ratio of 33, close to the five-year average of 32. Its stock has averaged annual gains of nearly 22% over the past 15 years, and it's up 17% over the past year.