Ackman's Q2 2026 Overhaul: Six New Positions and Two Big Exits at Pershing Square

Few concentrated portfolios change shape as dramatically as Bill Ackman's. Pershing Square's Q2 2026 13F, covering the quarter ended June 30, showed one of its biggest reshuffles in a while: six new positions, two full exits, and meaningful moves in the largest holdings. Here is what the filing shows and how to read it.

The new positions

According to press coverage of the filing, Pershing Square opened six new positions: Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), Netflix (NFLX), S&P Global (SPGI), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Alcon.

Visa and Mastercard each came in at roughly $1.1 billion, and Netflix at about $934 million. Sizes for the other three were not widely reported. Even so, the theme is clear: payment networks, financial data and exchange infrastructure, plus one consumer-media franchise. These are businesses with recurring, toll-road style revenue, which is a hallmark of Ackman's long-standing preference for simple, predictable, dominant companies.

The Netflix entry is worth a closer look. Reports noted the stock traded around 26 times earnings, below its five-year average closer to 36x, after a roughly 32% decline over the prior year. That is a classic pattern for a concentrated value-oriented buyer: a high-quality business at a de-rated multiple. If you want to see which other large managers hold or have exited Netflix, our overlap tool shows it side by side.

The exits

Two positions disappeared entirely. Alphabet (GOOGL) was sold in full, and so was Universal Music Group, a stake worth about $1.5 billion. Fully exiting a position that size is a strong signal, because a manager running a roughly 12 to 15 name book cannot afford idle capital. Every dollar in one name is a dollar not in another.

Trims and adds in the core

Amazon was cut by more than 25% but not eliminated. It remains a top-four holding at around $2.0 billion, or about 10% of the disclosed portfolio. Microsoft went the other way: Pershing added roughly 10% to bring it to about $2.3 billion, around 12% of the portfolio, making it slightly larger than Amazon.

This is a good reminder that a 13F is a snapshot of changes, not a verdict. Trimming a winner can be about position sizing and risk, not a loss of conviction. Adding to Microsoft while trimming Amazon looks more like rebalancing within the mega-cap bucket than an exit from it.

How to use this signal

A few cautions apply before copying any 13F move:

• The data is lagged. The filing reflects June 30 holdings and was published in mid-August. Prices and the manager's own views may have moved since. See our guide on using the 13F lag.
• A 13F shows only long US equity positions. It omits shorts, most derivatives and non-US holdings, so it is never the whole portfolio.
• Concentration cuts both ways. Ackman's high-conviction sizing means each change is meaningful, but it also means results are lumpy.

A useful way to apply this is to check whether the new Pershing names appear elsewhere. If payment networks or exchange operators are also being added by other top managers, that is a sector-level signal rather than a single-manager idea. Our investors page lets you browse each manager's holdings, the flow page shows where capital is moving quarter to quarter, and the macro consensus view rolls up positioning across the whole group.

The takeaway

Pershing Square's Q2 move rotated away from Alphabet and Universal Music, trimmed Amazon, added to Microsoft, and rebuilt around payments, financial infrastructure and a de-rated streaming leader. Whether or not you agree with the bets, the pattern is consistent with how Ackman has always invested: own a handful of dominant businesses, and act decisively when price and quality diverge. The next filing, covering Q3, is due in mid-November, and it will show whether these positions were built up further or left alone.

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Data sourced from public SEC 13F filings. Educational research only — not investment advice.