Bill Ackman’s 2025 Portfolio: Sectors, Stocks & Performance Explained

Pershing Square Capital Management, led by renowned billionaire investor Bill Ackman, is a hedge fund famous for its bold, concentrated value investing strategy. Unlike diversified funds that spread risk across dozens of holdings, Pershing Square targets a small number of companies it believes are undervalued and possess strong long-term growth potential. As of December 31, 2024, the fund’s portfolio—tracked via DATAROMA—comprises 11 stocks valued at $12.66 billion.

In this detailed breakdown, we explore Pershing Square’s holdings, sector allocations, recent moves, performance metrics, and winning and losing bets. We also demonstrate how cutting-edge AI stock analysis—offered through platforms like Sagehood.ai—can complement traditional hedge fund research by offering machine learning in investing and powerful AI investing tools.

Overview of Pershing Square Capital Management

Founded in 2004, Pershing Square Capital Management is headquartered in New York and manages approximately $12.66 billion in assets as of Q4 2024. Bill Ackman, the fund’s CEO and portfolio manager, is celebrated for his activist investing style. He often takes large stakes in companies and advocates for management or structural changes to unlock shareholder value.

The fund emphasizes deep fundamental research, targeting businesses with scalable models, strong leadership, and favorable valuations. Typically, Pershing Square holds 8–12 stocks, making its portfolio one of the most concentrated among major hedge funds. This high-conviction strategy magnifies both upside potential and downside risks.

Retail investors can access Ackman’s strategy via Pershing Square Holdings, a publicly traded vehicle listed on European stock exchanges. The fund is known for its transparency, regularly publishing investor letters and 13F SEC filings. As of Q4 2024, the portfolio reflects Ackman’s confidence in consumer discretionary, real estate, and financials.

Platforms such as Sagehood.ai enhance this transparency further by showing how AI reads the market. Sagehood AI agents use artificial intelligence in finance to scan investor letters, sentiment shifts, macroeconomic indicators, and price action—providing AI-powered stock picks and real-time updates that mirror hedge fund logic.

Portfolio Composition and Industry Allocations

Pershing Square’s $12.66 billion portfolio is tightly concentrated into 11 stocks. According to Q4 2024 DATAROMA filings and 13F disclosures, the sector allocations are as follows:

Consumer Discretionary: 31.24%
Real Estate: 16.04%
Financials: 15.83%
Consumer Staples: 11.84%
Technology: 11.35%
Industrials: 5.43%
Other (cash or hedges): ~0%

This industry breakdown reveals a preference for consumer-oriented and fundamentally stable sectors, with selective plays in tech and industrials. Because of the fund’s concentrated nature, each holding has a meaningful impact on total performance.

For retail or institutional investors seeking to mirror such strategies, AI trading platforms like Sagehood.ai offer AI stock analysis of fund portfolios and sector flows, enabling deeper understanding of macro influences and company-level conviction.

Consumer Discretionary: The Growth Engine

The largest slice of Pershing Square’s portfolio—31.24%—is allocated to consumer discretionary stocks. These include:

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) – 11.74%
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) – 11.01%
NIKE Inc. (NKE) – 8.50%

Ackman sees value in brands that benefit from global expansion and strong consumer demand. Chipotle’s same-store sales and pricing power make it a top performer. Hilton thrives from travel recovery, with its asset-light franchise model. NIKE is a contrarian bet, added during its underperformance phase, signaling Ackman’s belief in its turnaround.

In Pershing Square’s Q3 2024 investor letter, Ackman highlighted Chipotle’s ability to defend margins despite inflation—an insight that aligns with how AI investing tools track consumer behavior and inflation sentiment. Sagehood AI agents use machine learning in investing to identify such resilient names across sectors.

Real Estate: A Long-Term Commitment

Real estate makes up 16.04% of the portfolio and includes:

Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (HHH) – 11.45%
Seaport Entertainment Group Inc. (SEG) – 4.59%

Howard Hughes develops master-planned communities, while Seaport—spun off from Howard Hughes—focuses on entertainment assets. Ackman increased his stake in Seaport by 139.84% in Q4 2024, signaling belief in its experiential value.

While real estate performance has been mixed due to high interest rates, AI-powered stock picks from Sagehood's platform can assess local real estate dynamics and rate sensitivity in real time. By layering in artificial intelligence in finance, investors can better understand the risk-reward balance in cyclical sectors.

Financials: The Core Stabilizer

Financials hold a 15.83% weight, represented solely by:

Brookfield Corp. (BN) – 15.83%

Brookfield is a global asset manager with exposure to infrastructure, real estate, renewables, and private equity. Ackman increased his Brookfield stake by 6.59% in Q4 2024.

This sector has provided steady performance. Ackman has highlighted Brookfield’s consistent cash flow generation, making it a reliable performer. Investors analyzing similar plays can benefit from AI trading platforms that scan institutional ownership, dividend stability, and macro factors like rate shifts.

Consumer Staples and Technology: Strategic Diversifiers

These two sectors round out the mid-tier allocations:

Consumer Staples: Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR) – 11.84%
Technology: Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) – 11.35%

Restaurant Brands owns Tim Hortons, Popeyes, and Burger King, offering stable recurring revenue. Alphabet, meanwhile, is a growth engine with leadership in advertising, YouTube, and cloud services.

While QSR offers balance, Alphabet represents a “winning” tech bet. Sagehood AI agents use AI stock analysis to score companies like Alphabet based on sentiment, earnings momentum, and innovation—proving how AI reads the market faster than traditional analyst models.

Industrials: A Calculated Bet

Industrials account for 5.43% of the portfolio, including:

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CP) – 3.09%
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) – 2.34%

Hertz is a new Q4 2024 addition and a turnaround play. Canadian Pacific offers consistent transport infrastructure exposure. These are still early-stage bets, reflecting Ackman’s interest in undervalued segments.

Top Holdings and Portfolio Weight

As of December 31, 2024, the top five holdings represent over 60% of the fund:

Brookfield Corp. (BN) – 15.83%
Restaurant Brands (QSR) – 11.84%
Chipotle (CMG) – 11.74%
Howard Hughes (HHH) – 11.45%
Alphabet (GOOG) – 11.35%

This level of concentration shows how Ackman’s style differs from typical fund managers. With the right AI investing tools, retail investors can identify similar concentrated bets and understand conviction levels through data analysis.

Recent Portfolio Activity (Q4 2024)

According to DATAROMA and SEC 13F filings:

New Position: Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ)
Increased Stakes:
- Seaport Entertainment (SEG) +139.84%
- NIKE (NKE) +15.29%
- Brookfield (BN) +6.59%
No Sales: No existing positions were exited

Ackman’s bold rebalancing reflects high conviction. Platforms like Sagehood provide tools to track these moves and use artificial intelligence in finance to interpret underlying rationale.

Winning and Losing Industries

Winning:

Consumer Discretionary: Chipotle and Hilton delivered stellar returns.
Technology: Alphabet continued to outperform.
Financials: Brookfield brought stability and yield.

Losing/Neutral:

Real Estate: Howard Hughes lagged due to rates.
Consumer Staples: QSR was stable but not dynamic.
Industrials: Hertz is high-risk; Canadian Pacific had modest impact.

Sagehood’s AI-powered stock picks allow users to see sector momentum shifts and backtest what types of stocks perform well in different macro environments.

Performance Overview and Risk Profile

Pershing Square Holdings reported ~26% net return through Q3 2024, outperforming the S&P 500. Chipotle, Hilton, and Alphabet led performance, while Howard Hughes held it back. The fund’s low turnover strategy increases tax efficiency and reflects long-term conviction.

Ackman’s activist touch—especially with Chipotle and QSR—has sparked operational change. Bloomberg’s February 2025 feature called Pershing Square a “model of concentrated conviction.”

Investment Philosophy and Strategy

Ackman’s approach revolves around:

Concentration: Deep research on a few names
Activism: Strategic engagement with companies
Long-Term Focus: Holding for multiple years

This contrasts with broadly diversified value funds. AI trading platforms now allow investors to mimic this approach, offering custom alerts, stock scoring, and pattern recognition through machine learning in investing.

Comparing Pershing Square to Peers

Unlike Dodge & Cox’s 79-stock portfolio, Pershing Square’s 11-stock structure increases both risk and reward. Both funds share a value orientation, but Ackman’s activist edge creates differentiation.

Market Outlook and Risk Considerations (2025)

As of April 2025, consumer discretionary and tech sectors continue benefiting from macro tailwinds, while real estate and industrials face inflation and operational drag. Ackman’s bets on NIKE and Hertz may either pay off or underperform dramatically.

Platforms like Sagehood.ai, built on artificial intelligence in finance, offer tools for risk modeling, sector rotation alerts, and AI-powered stock picks based on real-time data.

Conclusion: High Conviction Meets High Tech

Pershing Square’s $12.66 billion portfolio as of Q4 2024 reflects Bill Ackman’s commitment to high-conviction, long-duration investing. Key holdings like Chipotle, Brookfield, and Alphabet dominate performance, with standout gains in consumer and tech.

For investors inspired by Ackman’s model, understanding how AI reads the market is critical. With AI stock analysis, AI investing tools, and smart AI trading platforms like Sagehood.ai, investors can adopt similar strategies with far greater efficiency and insight.

Sagehood AI agents are transforming how investors analyze portfolios—blending machine learning in investing with the real-world logic of hedge fund giants.

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