Pershing Square Makes Major Bet on Meta’s AI Ambitions

Meta US30303M1027

In a significant portfolio move, billionaire investor Bill Ackman has established a substantial new position in Meta Platforms through his hedge fund, Pershing Square. The investment, valued at approximately $2 billion, signals a strong vote of confidence in the social media giant's strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence, despite the company's ongoing heavy expenditures.

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, Pershing Square has allocated roughly $2 billion to Meta stock, making it one of the fund's largest holdings and accounting for about 10% of its total portfolio. Fox Business detailed that the position was accumulated starting in November, with an average entry price of $625 per share. The investment was formally disclosed during Pershing Square's annual investor meeting on Wednesday.

The fund's rationale centers squarely on AI. In its investor presentation, Pershing Square characterized Meta's business model as one of the "clearest beneficiaries" of widespread artificial intelligence integration. Specific areas where the hedge fund anticipates material improvements include content recommendation algorithms, the relevance and delivery of personalized advertising, and new opportunities in enterprise-focused wearables and AI-powered digital assistants.

Strategic Shift: Capital Expenditures Climb as Metaverse Focus Adjusts

This bullish stance comes as Meta reallocates resources, shifting emphasis away from its virtual reality Metaverse initiatives and toward AI-driven projects. The company's fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 report outlined aggressive capital expenditure plans for 2026, projecting spending between $115 billion and $135 billion. These funds are earmarked primarily for early-stage expansion of AI infrastructure.

This strategic wager is placed against the backdrop of persistent challenges within Meta's Reality Labs division. Fox Business notes that the unit has accumulated losses totaling $83 billion since 2020. Just last month, Meta eliminated approximately 1,500 jobs within Reality Labs, representing nearly 10% of the division's workforce. The company is now directing more of its hardware focus toward AI-enhanced smart glasses.

Portfolio Reshuffle at Pershing Square

The new Meta investment aligns with a broader rebalancing of Pershing Square's holdings. The fund also maintains positions of around $2 billion in Uber and $1.3 billion in Amazon, as reported by Fox Business.

Concurrently, the hedge fund has announced a complete exit from its Hilton stake. This follows Pershing Square's earlier sale of its long-held position in Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Pershing Square Holdings delivered a strong performance in 2025, gaining 20.9% according to the Wall Street Journal, which outpaced the S&P 500's total return of 17.9%. However, the fund recorded a decline of 2.5% for January of this year.

Meta's own shares have shed roughly 13% over the past six months. Pershing Square attributes this decline to investor apprehension over the scale of the company's AI investments. In its presentation, the fund labeled Meta's stock as "significantly undervalued" relative to its anticipated AI-driven growth potential.

@ boerse-global.de | US30303M1027 PERSHING