Billionaire Bill Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, has acquired stakes in Amazon following a notable decline in its stock earlier this year, the firm announced on Thursday.
The company’s stock reached a high of $242.06 in February but has since fallen more than 30%. This drop has been attributed to delays in tech advancements, particularly after China introduced a more affordable language model, alongside concerns that President Trump’s tariffs might disrupt supply chains.
“This was a unique and attractive time as the company felt it could overcome the slowdown,” commented Ryan Israel, the chief investment officer at Pershing, during a call with analysts.
Israel mentioned that there has been longstanding admiration for Amazon, especially evident as share prices surged following the introduction of tariffs in April.
He pointed out that Amazon continues to do well, reporting revenue growth exceeding 20% per share.
Following this news, Amazon’s shares experienced an uptick of over 2% on Thursday, closing at $203.05.
This investment by Pershing Square in the e-retail giant was initially reported by Bloomberg.
In its latest earnings report, Amazon reported growth in first-quarter cloud revenue but forecasted operating income below expectations, which disappointed investors.
During a shareholders meeting, CEO Andy Jassy sought to alleviate concerns regarding the implications of tariffs, asserting that there had been no noticeable decline in consumer spending or rising prices.
However, economists caution that Trump’s steep tariffs could lead to increased costs for retailers, especially those heavily dependent on Chinese imports, which may force them to pass along these costs to consumers.
While Amazon claims it remains unscathed, several other large retailers have had to revise their annual forecasts downward or have reported falls in consumer spending as the impact of Trump’s trade policies becomes clearer.
Target, for instance, recently lowered its full-year outlook after experiencing a challenging first quarter due to reduced consumer spending and pressure from tariffs, alongside backlash related to moves on diversity efforts.
Earlier this year, Amazon executives had warned that tariffs could complicate the business landscape.
Reports surfaced last month indicating that the e-commerce giant had intended to incorporate additional tariff-related costs directly on product labels on its website.
Following an angry call from Trump to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the company promptly abandoned these plans.
