Billionaire Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management bought a stake in Amazon after shares plunged earlier this year, the firm said Thursday.
Amazon had peaked in February at $242.06, but the stock has plummeted more than 30% over the past few months over concerns US tech giants are falling behind in the AI race after China launched its own low-cost language model and worries that President Trump’s tariffs could slam their supply chain.
“This was a uniquely attractive time as we felt that the company would be able to work through any slowdown” in its cloud business, Pershing’s Chief Investment Officer Ryan Israel said on a call with analysts.
Israel said the firm has long admired Amazon and established the position after the company’s stock price took a dive following the rollout of tariffs in April.
Amazon is “well on its way” to continuing to deliver more than 20% earnings per share growth, he said.
Amazon shares climbed more than 2% on Thursday, closing at $203.05.
The firm’s investment in the e-retail giant was first reported by Bloomberg.
On Wednesday, Amazon reported first-quarter cloud revenue growth and forecast operating income below estimates.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy tried to assuage fears during a shareholder meeting about the impact of tariffs, claiming the company hasn’t seen a decline in consumer spending or an increase in prices.
Economists have warned that Trump’s hefty tariffs could send costs soaring for retailers, especially those heavily reliant on Chinese imports, and force them to pass the additional costs to consumers.
While Amazon said it has escaped unscathed for now, several other major retailers slashed their annual forecasts or reported drops in consumer spending in the most recent quarter as the effects of Trump’s trade war started to take hold.
Target most recently cut its full-year outlook after a tough first quarter hammered by a decline in consumer spending, tariff-related pressures and boycotts over the retailer’s move to revoke DEI programs.
Amazon executives had earlier in the year warned that the tariffs could create a more difficult business environment.
Last month, it was reported that the e-commerce giant was planning to break out the added tariff-related costs on labels next to products on its site.
Trump quickly placed an angry phone call to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the company immediately reversed course on the plan.
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