President Donald Trump's Investment Team Dumped AMD in August and Bought Up to $25 Million in One of the Cheapest "Magnificent Seven" Stocks

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • President Donald Trump’s independent, third-party investment team has made more than 29,000 trades in stocks, exchange-traded funds, and debt securities since January 2025.

  • Up to $5 million in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) stock was sold in August, and historical precedent may explain why.

  • Meanwhile, the biggest buy in Trump’s portfolio is a historically inexpensive AI applications powerhouse.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices ›

Several of the world's savviest billionaire money managers oversee hundreds of trades per quarter. But this pales in comparison to President Donald Trump's independent, third-party investment team, which has executed more than 29,000 trades in stocks, exchange-traded funds, and debt securities since January 2025.

According to the latest U.S. Office of Government Ethics filing, the president reported 517 trades in August. This included Trump's investment team dumping up to $5 million in Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stock, and a mammoth purchase of up to $25 million in one of Wall Street's cheapest "Magnificent Seven" stocks, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META).

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Donald Trump is standing on the White House South Lawn with an American flag waving in the background.

President Trump's investment team executed 517 trades in August. Image source: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok.

AMD gets shown the door

No trend is hotter and more directly responsible for lifting Wall Street's major stock indexes to new heights than the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out. An enormous amount of capital is being spent on data center hardware, with AMD at the center of this AI revolution.

Advanced Micro Devices' AI-accelerating Instinct chips allow AI software and systems to make split-second, autonomous decisions. Although Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the graphics processing unit (GPU) kingpin, AMD's less costly GPUs should successfully chip away at Nvidia's near-monopoly market share over time.

So, why did Trump's independent investment team sell between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 worth of AMD stock in August? Historical precedent may hold the biggest clue.

While almost no one disputes the long-term growth potential that AI brings to the table, history shows that every game-changing technology dating back to (and including) the advent of the internet has navigated a bubble-bursting event. These bubbles form and subsequently burst because investors consistently overestimate the pace of optimization for tech-driven innovations.

Although demand for GPUs remains strong and persistent supply shortages are buoying AMD's pricing power, it'll likely take years for businesses to optimize their AI solutions. Eventually, investors' lofty expectations aren't met, leading to a bubble-bursting event. If the AI bubble does burst, AMD would presumably be hit hard.

A person is writing and circling the word "Buy" beneath a dip in a stock chart.

Image source: Getty Images.

Donald Trump's investment team piled into Meta Platforms

At the other end of the spectrum, there was only one trade executed in August with an amount ranging from $5,000,001 to $25,000,000: a purchase of Meta Platforms shares.

Meta remains as dominant as ever in the social media arena. In June, it attracted an average of 3.6 billion daily active people to its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Given that no other social media platforms come close to this figure, Meta typically commands exceptional ad-pricing power.

But it's Meta's integration of generative AI solutions into its ad platform that may have excited Trump's third-party investment team. Enabling advertisers to tailor static and video messages to users can improve click-through rates and enhance Meta's already impressive ad pricing.

Meta also recently announced plans to develop a cloud infrastructure business with its excess GPUs to sell AI compute. This would leave Meta less vulnerable to an AI bubble-bursting event, should one occur.

However, the greatest lure of Meta Platforms' stock is its valuation. Entering October, Meta was the second-cheapest Magnificent Seven stock, based on future cash flow. The company's foundational social media operations, coupled with its high-margin AI segments, should lead to a rapid expansion in cash flow in the coming years.

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Sean Williams has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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