Key Takeaways:
- Bill Ackman exited Pershing Square’s entire Alphabet position during Q2.
- Pershing Square opened a new $934 million position in Netflix.
- Alphabet delivered strong revenue growth despite rising AI infrastructure spending.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman sold his Alphabet stake and made a Bill Ackman Netflix investment during the second quarter of 2026, as Pershing Square reshaped its portfolio and added six new investments. The fund’s move came as Alphabet faced concerns over rising AI infrastructure spending, while Netflix shares remained well below their previous record high.
Bill Ackman exits Alphabet and buys Netflix shares
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman and his fund Pershing Square made major portfolio changes during the second quarter of 2026. The prominent hedge fund exited its entire holding in Alphabet during the quarter.
At the same time, the firm opened a brand-new position in Netflix shares. Pershing Square’s Q2 2026 13F filing showed 13,081,465 Netflix shares valued at about $934 million and no remaining Alphabet position.
Netflix was one of six new investments added by Pershing Square during the period, alongside Visa, Mastercard, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange and Alcon. This means the portfolio change was broader than a simple move from Alphabet into Netflix.
The latest Bill Ackman Netflix investment marks Ackman’s return to the streaming company after he previously owned and sold the stock in 2022. The latest investment therefore represents a return to the streaming company.
Netflix shares were about 42% below their June 2025 record high as of August 2026.
Alphabet reports strong revenue and cloud growth
Alphabet posted strong financial results in the second quarter of 2026. Total revenue rose 24% year over year to $119.8 billion, marking the company’s 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.
Google Cloud revenue surged 82% to $24.8 billion, driven by demand for AI infrastructure, enterprise AI solutions, and other cloud services.
Furthermore, Alphabet said the Gemini app had reached 950 million monthly active users, up significantly from earlier periods.
Alphabet also continues to trade at a valuation that some investors consider relatively low compared with its growth rate, but the exact price-to-earnings multiple changes with the stock price and earnings estimates. Alphabet’s Class A shares were up about 8% year to date as of September 4, 2026.
Investors weigh massive artificial intelligence spending
Alphabet raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $195 billion–$205 billion, up sharply from $91 billion in 2025, as it expands AI infrastructure.
The company also reported negative free cash flow in the second quarter, adding to investor concerns about the near-term financial impact of its AI investments.
Pershing Square’s shareholder letter noted that market concentration around AI infrastructure companies was creating opportunities to deploy capital elsewhere. However, the firm did not explicitly say that this prompted its Alphabet exit.
For Netflix, Pershing Square highlighted strong free cash flow, profitability, scale, competitive advantages, and attractive valuation relative to expected earnings growth as key parts of its investment case.
The Bill Ackman Netflix investment highlights Pershing Square’s broader strategy of reallocating capital as investors reassess opportunities in an AI-heavy market.
