10% position, $2 billion heavy bet! Bill Ackman "bottom-fishing" Meta

Renowned hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is betting that Meta can win in the artificial intelligence race. His Pershing Square fund has established a Meta position worth about $2 billion, accounting for 10% of the fund’s capital and making it one of the largest holdings in the company.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Pershing Square disclosed this investment at its annual investor meeting on Wednesday. The company began building its Meta position in November last year, with an average cost of $625 per share. At that time, investors were concerned about Meta’s massive spending in the AI field, which led to its stock price dropping about 13% over the past six months, creating a buying opportunity for Pershing Square.

Pershing Square believes that Meta’s business model is one of the most obvious beneficiaries of AI integration. In its investor presentation, the fund stated that AI will enhance Meta’s content recommendation and personalized advertising capabilities, and may also open up new opportunities in wearable devices or enterprise AI digital assistants.

As of Wednesday’s market close, Meta’s stock price was $669, up about 14% since Pershing Square began its position. However, unlike the market reaction caused by Ackman’s previous investments, Meta’s stock price was basically flat on the day the position was disclosed. In April last year, Ackman’s investment in car rental company Hertz caused its stock price to soar more than 50%.

Continuation of Concentrated Investment Strategy

Ackman is known for his highly concentrated investment portfolio. By the end of 2025, Pershing Square only held 13 stocks, including other major technology companies such as Alphabet and Amazon. In recent months, the fund has liquidated two long-term holdings—Chipotle Mexican Grill and Hilton Worldwide.

Meta has become the fund’s third largest tech holding. This allocation reflects Ackman’s preference for a few high-confidence targets rather than a diversified investment strategy.

Pershing Square Holdings returned 20.9% last year, surpassing the S&P 500 index’s total return of 17.9%. Alphabet, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac were its main contributors. However, the fund fell 2.5% in January this year.

From the time Meta position was built to the end of 2025, its stock has risen 11%, and as of February 9 this year, it has risen another 3%. This performance provided support for Pershing Square’s overall return.

Besides Meta, Pershing Square made other large investments in 2025. The fund invested $900 million in real estate company Howard Hughes Holdings, and provided up to $1 billion in support for its acquisition of insurance company Vantage Group Holdings.

It is worth noting that Ackman is a follower of Warren Buffett. He hopes to develop Howard Hughes into a diversified holding company similar to Berkshire Hathaway. This strategy demonstrates that his investment vision has gone beyond mere stock picking and turned toward deeper corporate value transformation.

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