8 Billionaire Money Managers Dumped Micron in the Second Quarter, With Several Favoring This Foundational AI Stock Instead
Key Points
Quarterly-filed Form 13Fs let investors track which stocks Wall Street's most successful billionaire fund managers are buying and selling.
More than a half-dozen billionaire investors pared or exited their fund's stakes in Micron Technology in the second quarter, and profit-taking may not be the entire story.
Meanwhile, five prominent billionaires are piling into a globally dominant chip manufacturer that's essential to the AI data center build-out.
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Although earnings season -- the six-week period where a majority of S&P 500 companies report their operating results -- is often considered the pinnacle of each quarter, don't overlook the importance of quarterly Form 13F filings with regulators. A 13F provides investors with a snapshot of the stocks that Wall Street's savviest money managers bought and sold in the latest quarter.
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks remained a popular trade for billionaire asset managers during the second quarter. According to Aug. 14-filed 13Fs, more than a half-dozen billionaire investors dumped shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), while several others piled into world-leading chip fabrication company Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM).
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Eight billionaires hit the brakes on Micron in the June-ended quarter
Arguably, no group of stocks in the AI hardware arena has been hotter in the first-half of 2026 than memory and storage solutions providers. Micron reached the trillion-dollar market cap plateau and, as of Aug. 19, has gained 228% year-to-date, with insatiable demand for its high-bandwidth memory sending its stock into the stratosphere.
Nevertheless, eight billionaires pared or exited their fund's stakes in Micron in the second quarter, including:
- Ken Griffin's Citadel Advisors
- David Siegel's and John Overdeck's Two Sigma Investments
- Israel Englander's Millennium Management
- David Tepper's Appaloosa
- Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office
- Steven Cohen's Point72 Asset Management
- Cliff Asness's AQR Capital Management
With the understanding that some of these funds hedge their common stock positions with options, profit-taking was likely the No. 1 sell-side catalyst. Micron's shares effectively quadrupled between March 30 and June 25, providing billionaire investors with ample opportunity to lock in substantial profits.
But historical precedent may also be behind this selling activity. History shows that when memory providers are trading at single-digit forward price-to-earnings ratios and enjoying otherworldly pricing power is precisely when investors should sell.
Image source: Getty Images.
Taiwan Semiconductor is the new apple of billionaires' eyes
At the other end of the spectrum are five billionaires who can't seem to get enough of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (commonly known as "TSMC"). The second-quarter buyers include:
- Terry Smith's Fundsmith
- David Tepper's Appaloosa
- Ken Fisher's Fisher Asset Management
- Dan Loeb's Third Point
- Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office
Additionally, TSMC is the No. 1 holding for billionaires Chase Coleman of Tiger Global Management and Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management.
The attraction to TSMC is almost certainly related to its foundational role in the AI data center build-out. As of the third quarter of last year, it held a whopping 72% share of global contract chip manufacturing. TSMC has been rapidly expanding its monthly chip-on-wafer-on-substrate capacity to meet the insatiable need for graphics processing units in high-compute data centers.
Booking contracts well in advance has translated into exceptional pricing power for Taiwan Semiconductor. According to consensus estimates from Wall Street analysts, TSMC is on track to more than double its earnings per share between 2025 and 2027.
Although advanced chips make up the bulk of TSMC's growth, the company also has strong ties as a manufacturer of chips for smartphones, next-generation vehicles, and Internet of Things innovations.
While TSMC wouldn't be immune to an AI bubble-bursting event, should one arise, it would arguably be in much better shape than Micron Technology to navigate a challenging environment.
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Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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