Bill Ackman - Perishing Square Capital Management Portfolio
Bill Ackman - Perishing Square Capital Management Q3 2024 Portfolio
Perishing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund managed by Bill Ackman, disclosed 10 security holdings in their SEC 13F filing for the third quarter of 2024, with a total portfolio value of $12,909,898,000
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management Q3 2024 portfolio analysis
BN – Brookfield Corp.
Portfolio Allocation: 13.48%
Recent Activity: Added 377.58%
Shares Held: 32,735,883
Reported Price: $53.15 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,739,912,000
Brookfield Corp. saw a substantial addition, making it the largest position in Ackman’s portfolio. Brookfield is a leading global asset manager with investments across real estate, renewable energy, infrastructure, and private equity. This significant increase reflects Ackman’s confidence in Brookfield’s diversified assets and growth potential.
HLT – Hilton Worldwide Holdings
Portfolio Allocation: 13.16%
Recent Activity: Reduced 17.67%
Shares Held: 7,370,168
Reported Price: $230.50 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,698,824,000
Hilton, a long-standing investment in Ackman’s portfolio, saw a reduction in shares, indicating a potential profit-taking or rebalancing decision. As one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, Hilton remains a significant position, benefiting from global travel recovery and high brand recognition.
CMG – Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
Portfolio Allocation: 12.86%
Recent Activity: No change reported
Shares Held: 28,815,165
Reported Price: $57.62 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,660,330,000
Chipotle remains a core holding with no recent change in allocation. Known for its commitment to quality ingredients and innovation in fast-casual dining, Chipotle has been a strong performer, with growth driven by digital sales and new restaurant openings.
QSR – Restaurant Brands International
Portfolio Allocation: 12.85%
Recent Activity: Reduced 0.61%
Shares Held: 23,000,914
Reported Price: $72.12 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,658,826,000
Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes, remains a key holding with a minor reduction. This position reflects Ackman’s continued interest in the fast-food industry, benefiting from strong brand recognition and a global customer base.
HHH – Howard Hughes Holdings Inc.
Portfolio Allocation: 11.31%
Recent Activity: No change reported
Shares Held: 18,852,064
Reported Price: $77.43 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,459,715,000
Howard Hughes Holdings is a real estate development and management company, focusing on master-planned communities and commercial properties. Its stable position in the portfolio suggests Ackman’s confidence in its potential for growth in high-demand real estate markets.
NKE – NIKE Inc.
Portfolio Allocation: 11.15%
Recent Activity: Added 435.51%
Shares Held: 16,280,338
Reported Price: $88.40 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,439,182,000
NIKE saw a significant increase in shares, marking a new high-conviction bet. As a global leader in athletic footwear and apparel, NIKE’s brand strength and innovation provide potential for long-term growth, aligning with Ackman’s strategy.
CP – Canadian Pacific Kansas City
Portfolio Allocation: 9.86%
Recent Activity: Reduced 0.59%
Shares Held: 14,877,651
Reported Price: $85.54 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,272,634,000
Canadian Pacific Kansas City, a major railroad operator, saw a slight reduction. This company provides critical freight transportation across North America, benefiting from trade and infrastructure development. Ackman’s holding in CP reflects a strategic interest in the transportation sector.
GOOG – Alphabet Inc. CL C
Portfolio Allocation: 9.77%
Recent Activity: No change reported
Shares Held: 7,547,582
Reported Price: $167.19 per share
Value at Reported Price: $1,261,880,000
Alphabet’s Class C shares remain a substantial part of the portfolio. Alphabet, with its leading position in digital advertising and investments in cloud and AI, aligns with Ackman’s interest in high-growth technology companies.
GOOGL – Alphabet Inc.
Portfolio Allocation: 5.12%
Recent Activity: No change reported
Shares Held: 3,986,488
Reported Price: $165.85 per share
Value at Reported Price: $661,159,000
The Class A shares of Alphabet provide additional exposure to the tech giant, with a strong focus on digital innovation and diversification. The dual holding underscores Ackman’s high conviction in Alphabet’s future growth potential.
SEG – Seaport Entertainment Group
Portfolio Allocation: 0.44%
Recent Activity: New Buy
Shares Held: 2,094,673
Reported Price: $27.42 per share
Value at Reported Price: $57,436,000
Seaport Entertainment Group is a new addition, representing a small stake in the portfolio. This investment might indicate Ackman’s interest in the entertainment sector, exploring potential growth in leisure and entertainment as consumer spending in these areas recovers.
Analysis of Bill Ackman’s Q3 2024 Portfolio Strategy
1. Significant Shift Toward Brookfield Corp and NIKE
The large additions to Brookfield and NIKE showcase Ackman’s focus on diversified assets and iconic brands with growth potential. These moves indicate a strategic pivot to high-conviction investments in asset management and consumer goods.
2. Balanced Exposure to Hospitality, Real Estate, and Fast-Casual Dining
Holdings in Hilton, Howard Hughes, and Chipotle underscore Ackman’s interest in industries poised for recovery or stable growth, with a strong emphasis on real estate, hospitality, and dining.
3. Continued Focus on Technology and Innovation
The substantial position in Alphabet (Class C and Class A shares) shows Ackman’s confidence in Alphabet’s role in tech innovation, particularly in digital advertising, cloud services, and artificial intelligence.
Conclusion
Bill Ackman’s Q3 2024 portfolio for Pershing Square Capital Management emphasizes high-conviction bets in asset management, iconic consumer brands, and technology. The portfolio reflects a balanced approach, capturing potential growth in hospitality, real estate, and fast-casual dining, while also reinforcing his commitment to tech and diversified assets. This combination positions Pershing Square to capitalize on both economic resilience and industry-specific growth opportunities.
Who is Bill Ackman ?
May 11, 1966:
· William Albert Ackman was born in Chappaqua, New York.
1988:
· Ackman graduates from Harvard University with a degree in economics.
1989:
· Ackman joins Goldman Sachs as an investment banker.
1992:
· Ackman leaves Goldman Sachs to start his own hedge fund, Gotham Partners, with $3 million in capital.
2002:
· Gotham Partners loses 40% of its value due to a bad bet on the telecom industry.
2003:
· Ackman launches Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company based in New York City.
2007:
· Ackman becomes widely known for his high-profile battle with the management of Target Corporation. He acquires a stake in the company and pushes for changes to maximize shareholder value.
2008:
· During the financial crisis, Ackman bets against the bond insurers MBIA and Ambac, predicting their downfall. This bet ultimately proves successful, earning Ackman’s fund billions of dollars in profits.
2011:
· Ackman takes a significant stake in J.C. Penney and becomes its largest shareholder. He attempts to implement major changes in the company’s strategy and leadership, but his efforts fail, resulting in substantial losses for his fund.
2014:
· Ackman becomes involved in a highly publicized short-selling campaign against Herbalife, a multi-level marketing company. He accuses Herbalife of being a pyramid scheme and places a billion-dollar bet against the company’s stock.
2017:
· Ackman exits his short position on Herbalife, admitting that the campaign was not as successful as he initially anticipated. The bet resulted in significant losses for his fund.
2020:
· Ackman gains attention for his early warning about the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a series of interviews, he expresses his concerns about the virus and calls for a nationwide shutdown.
2020:
· Pershing Square Capital Management launches a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH). The SPAC raises $4 billion, making it the largest-ever IPO of a SPAC at the time.
2021:
· PSTH fails to complete a merger deal within its two-year deadline, resulting in the dissolution of the SPAC. Ackman announces plans to launch a new SPAC in the future.
2022:
· Ackman advocates for Universal Music Group (UMG), a division of Vivendi, to go public. Pershing Square Tontine Holdings II (PSTH II), Ackman’s new SPAC, agrees to merge with UMG, valuing the music label at around $40 billion.
2023:
· The merger between PSTH II and Universal Music Group is completed, and UMG starts trading on the Amsterdam Euronext stock exchange.
Interesting facts
Ackman is known for his activist investing approach, often taking significant stakes in companies and pushing for changes to increase shareholder value.
He has been involved in several high-profile battles with company management and has made large bets on both long and short positions.
Ackman is a prominent philanthropist. In 2016, he signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes.
He is a well-known advocate for education reform and has supported various organizations focused on improving public schools.
Ackman has a background in real estate and initially worked at his father’s company before venturing into the world of finance.
Bill Ackman's Investing Principles
I’m not emotional about investments. Investing is something where you have to be purely rational and not let emotion affect your decision making – just the facts.
Bill Ackman
Investing is a business where you can look very silly for a long period of time before you are proven right.
Bill Ackman
Short-term market and economic prognostication is largely a fool’s errand, we invest according to a strategy that makes the need to rely on short-term market or economic assessments largely irrelevant.
Bill Ackman
I think most investors overdiversify because they’re lazy. They haven’t done enough research into any of their companies. If they’ve got 200 positions, do you think they know what’s going on at any one of those companies at this moment?
Bill Ackman
What the market tells you in the short term is what a certain subset of people believe. That doesn’t mean they’re right.
Bill Ackman
We invest generally in very good companies that have lost their way. And with better management, enormous value can be created.
Bill Ackman
In the investing business you need a high degree of confidence but you also need a high degree of humbleness and you have to balance those two… Humbleness comes from mistakes.
Bill Ackman
If you can’t predict the cash flows, you don’t know what it’s worth. If you don’t know what it’s worth, you can’t invest.
Bill Ackman
If you’re investing for the long-term, you want to invest in businesses that have very little debt.
Bill Ackman
We expect to continue to concentrate the substantial majority of our capital in about 8 to 12 investments, and estimate that our typical holding period will be long-term, typically four or more years.
Bill Ackman
It’s safest to invest in businesses that aren’t controlled. Unless the controlling shareholder is someone that we trust, unless it’s someone that has a great track record for taking care of all the minority investors, it can be a risky proposition to invest in because you’re at the whim of the controlling shareholder.
Bill Ackman