Billionaire Bill Ackman runs Pershing Square, one of the 20 most successful hedge funds in the world as measured by net gains since inception, according to LCH Investments. That makes him a good source of inspiration for individual investors
Ackman made a number of trades in the second quarter, but the two listed below warrant closer inspection:
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Ackman sold his stake in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), an AI stock up 100% in 18 months.
Ackman started a position in Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), a mega-cap stock down 42% from its record high.
Here’s what investors should know about Alphabet and Netflix.
Bill Ackman speaks at an event for the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance. Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet: The stock Bill Ackman sold
Alphabet reported strong financial results in the second quarter despite missing estimates on the bottom line. Revenue rose 24% to $120 billion, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Meanwhile, GAAP operating income (which eliminates unrealized gains from its investment in SpaceX) increased 31% to $41 billion.
Alphabet is primarily a digital advertising company supported by a plethora of popular web properties, such as Google Search and YouTube. Advertising products and services still account for more than two-thirds of total revenue, but cloud computing has become an increasingly consequential part of the big picture.
Google Cloud revenue rose 82% in the second quarter, the fifth consecutive acceleration, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. For the first time, the company earned revenue by selling custom AI accelerators called tensor processing units (TPUs) to external customers, representing an attempt to compete more directly with the market leader Nvidia.
Meanwhile, CEO Sundar Pichai said Gemini APIs (i.e., interfaces that let outside companies integrate Gemini models into their own applications) now process about 22 billion tokens per minute, up from 16 billion one quarter earlier. Pichai also said 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Gemini Enterprise, an AI platform for business work.
In total, Google gained two percentage points of market share in cloud infrastructure and platform services in the past year, and custom chips and proprietary models could certainly drive further share gains in the future. Google Cloud is running circles around its two largest rivals, Amazon and Microsoft, which reported cloud revenue growth of 37% and 43%, respectively, in the most recent quarter.
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So, why did Bill Ackman sell his shares? While Alphabet is well-positioned for long-term growth, it faces near-term headwinds related to AI infrastructure spending. In the second quarter, Alphabet reported negative free cash flow for the first time as a public company. It also raised its 2026 capex guidance to $200 billion, up from $91 billion last year.
Negative free cash flow could make the stock volatile as bulls and bears squabble about whether the company is spending too much money on AI infrastructure. Indeed, the stock fell sharply following the second-quarter earnings report, and still trades 2% below the pre-report level as of Sept. 4.
Netflix: The stock Bill Ackman bought
The streaming industry has become much more crowded over the last decade, but Netflix is still the dominant player by virtually every important metric. It has more monthly active users, generates more revenue, boasts better retention rates, and accounts for a larger percentage of TV viewing time than any other subscription streaming service.
In turn, Netflix has a data advantage. With deep insight into viewing behavior, the company has an edge when personalizing content and making production decisions. Indeed, Netflix consistently produces more engaging content than its rivals. Among the 10 most-watched original streaming series and movies in the final week of August, Netflix made four of the series and six of the movies.
Netflix is down 42% from its high in June 2025, primarily because the market is worried about the company’s growth prospects after it failed to win bidding wars for Warner Bros. Discovery and Roku. However, I think the market is underestimating Netflix. The company has pricing power in the streaming space, a market forecast to grow at 10% annually through 2030, and it has largely untapped opportunities in advertising, live sports, and theatrical releases.
Wall Street estimates Netflix’s earnings will increase at 21% annually over the next three years. That makes the current valuation of 24.7 times earnings look cheap. Indeed, most analysts view the stock as undervalued. Netflix has a median target price of $94 per share, which implies 20% upside from the current share price of $78. Patient investors should feel comfortable buying a small position today.
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Trevor Jennewine has positions in Amazon, Nvidia, and Roku. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix, Nvidia, Roku, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Billionaire Bill Ackman Sells Alphabet Stock and Buys a Mega-Cap Stock Down 42% From Its High was originally published by The Motley Fool