Billionaire stock pickers Bill Ackman (Pershing Square) and Daniel Loeb (Third Point) executed completely opposite trading strategies on mega-cap technology stocks in early 2026. According to Q1 regulatory 13F filings, the two legendary investors flipped positions on Microsoft and Alphabet, signaling a highly selective approach to the “Magnificent Seven.”
The Big Tech Split:
- Microsoft ($MSFT): Bill Ackman built a major new position starting in February 2026 after a price drop, citing undervalued growth in M365 and AI. Conversely, Daniel Loeb completely liquidated his position, selling 925,000 shares and exiting a core stake held since late 2022.
- Alphabet ($GOOGL): Daniel Loeb expanded his portfolio by purchasing 175,000 shares in Q1. Meanwhile, Bill Ackman aggressively sold down the majority of his Alphabet holding in Q1 and fully exited the remaining position in Q2 to finance his Microsoft bet.
- Meta Platforms ($META): In a rare moment of alignment, both Pershing Square and Third Point established brand-new positions in Meta during Q1, betting heavily on the social media giant’s AI-driven advertising capabilities.
The Strategic Shift: Once famous as Wall Street’s loudest activist investors who publicly forced corporate breakups and fired CEOs, both Ackman and Loeb have adopted a much quieter, passive approach. Their current filings show they are simply picking high-conviction tech compounders and riding along. More importantly, their divergence proves that institutional investors are no longer buying the “Magnificent Seven” as a monolith, but are instead aggressively picking individual winners.