Ackman buys Microsoft as Loeb exits the stock for Alphabet

Billionaire investors Bill Ackman and Daniel Loeb made different bets on two of the world’s largest technology companies.

Bill Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, built a new position in Microsoft. On the other hand, Daniel Loeb’s Third Point exited the software giant entirely, according to quarterly regulatory filings and public disclosures.

The two investors also diverged on Alphabet. Third Point added to the Google parent during the quarter, while Ackman sharply reduced Pershing Square’s position and later exited the remainder.

Ackman, Loeb execute opposite trades

Ackman wrote on X that Pershing began buying Microsoft shares in February after the stock fell following the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings report.

“We began building our position in MSFT in February following a meaningful share price decline after the company reported its fiscal Q2 2026 results,” Ackman wrote in a public post on X.

“We were able to establish our position at a valuation of 21 times forward earnings, broadly in line with the market multiple and well below Microsoft’s trading average over the last few years.”

Pershing Square’s Q1 13F filing showed the fund owned about 5.65 million Microsoft shares valued at ~$2.09 billion at quarter-end, representing ~5.3% of its disclosed U.S. equity portfolio, immediately making Microsoft one of the fund’s largest positions.

As two of the largest forces in equity markets — growing index ownership and increasing amounts of capital controlled by extremely short-term-oriented, leveraged, volatility-intolerant investors — converge, we have found occasional opportunities to acquire some of the most…

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) May 15, 2026

Loeb’s Third Point executed a different trade.

Regulatory filings showed the hedge fund sold its entire Microsoft position during the quarter, ending a stake it had held since late 2022. At the same time, Third Point added ~175,000 Alphabet shares.

Both firms opened new positions in Meta Platforms in Q1.

Will aggressive AI spending bring more profits?

Ackman clarified Microsoft’s long-term infrastructure investment should not be treated as near-term cost pressure.

“Microsoft’s headline multiple does not reflect the value of Microsoft’s approximately 27% economic interest in OpenAI,” Ackman said. He assured investors of the company’s competitive position in enterprise software.

“Microsoft 365 and Azure are two of the most valuable franchises in enterprise technology,” he commented. Microsoft projects capital expenditures will be ~$190 billion in 2026. This amount is a sharp acceleration as the company expands data centers and AI infrastructure.

Loeb did not elaborate further on his decision to sell Microsoft or increase exposure to Alphabet.

Hedge funds are thus becoming increasingly selective within the “Magnificent Seven” group of mega-cap technology stocks.

Ackman is deeply positioning Microsoft in enterprise software and cloud infrastructure as AI tools spread across workplaces. Loeb appears to see Alphabet upside at current valuations.

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