Billionaire Bill Ackman Sells Alphabet, Buys Uber Stock, Sees 266% Return Since 2023

Billionaire Bill Ackman sold 772,000 shares of Alphabet, trimming his position 7%, and bought 30.3 million shares of Uber, his largest holding at 19% of the portfolio. Ackman praised Uber's leadership and called it "one of the best-managed and highest-quality businesses in the world." Alphabet is the largest adtech company and a leader in autonomous driving technology, while Uber has returned 266% since January 2023.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman made significant moves in his portfolio during the first quarter of 2025. Ackman sold 772,000 shares of Alphabet (GOOGL), trimming his position by 7%, and bought 30.3 million shares of Uber (UBER), making it his largest holding at 19% of his portfolio [2]. These moves come amidst a backdrop of Alphabet's dominance in the adtech industry and its leadership in autonomous driving technology, while Uber has seen a substantial return of 266% since January 2023.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, remains the largest adtech company globally. In 2024, Alphabet captured more than a third of global digital ad spending, largely due to its popular web properties like Google Search and YouTube [1]. However, the company faces increasing competitive pressure from Amazon and generative AI platforms like OpenAI and Perplexity. Despite these challenges, Alphabet's Google is the third-largest public cloud in terms of infrastructure and platform services (CIPS) revenue, capturing 12% of CIPS spending in the first quarter of 2025 [1].

Beyond its core businesses, Alphabet's Waymo is an early leader in autonomous driving technology. Waymo already provides commercial autonomous ride-sharing services in five U.S. cities and plans to launch in at least two more in 2026 [1]. The company's robotaxi fleet is also being tested in several other U.S. cities, delivering more than 250,000 paid rides per week [1].

Uber, on the other hand, has seen remarkable growth, with its stock returning 266% since January 2023 [2]. Ackman praised Uber's leadership and called it "one of the best-managed and highest-quality businesses in the world" [2]. Uber's dominance in the global ride-sharing market makes it a logical partner for autonomous driving companies looking to launch robotaxi services.

Ackman's decision to sell Alphabet shares and buy Uber shares reflects his belief in Uber's long-term growth potential. While Alphabet continues to be a leader in several key areas, Uber's strong performance and growth prospects in the ride-sharing and autonomous driving sectors have made it an attractive investment for Ackman.

References:
[1] https://www.aol.com/1-no-brainer-trillion-dollar-080300310.html
[2] https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/07/19/bill-ackman-sell-alphabet-buy-robotaxi-stock-266/