In January, legendary billionaire hedge fund supervisor Stanley Druckenmiller struck an enthusiastic tone, suggesting that inventory market returns would surge as a result of “animal spirits” tied to President Donald Trump’s insurance policies.
“I’ve been doing this for 49 years, and we’re in all probability going from essentially the most anti-business administration to the other,” stated Druckenmiller in a CNBC interview. “I’d say CEOs are someplace between relieved and giddy. So we’re a believer in animal spirits.”
It did not appear like Druckenmiller could be proper when shares nosedived from February by means of early April due to harsher-than-expected tariffs. However Druckenmiller is much from a beginner. His been-there-done-that expertise means he is seen loads of political and financial turmoil, and it seems his bullishness wasn’t misplaced.
The S&P 500 has rallied 35% since its April low, and red-hot know-how shares have been a significant purpose for the positive factors. Regardless of issues that IT spending on AI infrastructure would stall this 12 months, the other has occurred. Seemingly, everyone seems to be exploring AI, and spending has surged, taking associated tech shares larger.
Nonetheless, worries persist. The market’s rally has lifted valuations to ranges which have drawn bubble comparisons to the daybreak of the Web. The bears argue that lofty valuations and a “purchase something AI” investor mentality imply a reckoning looms.
Possibly so, however maybe not but. Whereas Stanley Druckenmiller does not disclose his investing selections in actual time, his Duquesne household workplace is required to reveal holdings each quarter in a 13F submitting with the Securities and Change Fee, or SEC. The latest submitting simply hit the tape, and it suggests Druckenmiller does not assume the AI bubble is popping but.
Druckenmiller is likely one of the most profitable hedge fund managers of our time. His hedge fund, Duquesne Capital Administration, managed $12 billion when he closed it to handle his personal cash. He is maybe finest identified for “breaking the Financial institution of England” with famed investor George Soros in 1992, efficiently shorting the British pound sterling and reportedly pocketing over $1 billion in income.
His household workplace, which boasts a portfolio valued at over $4 billion, took new stakes in tech giants Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Meta Platforms (META).
-
Amazon: 437,070 shares valued at roughly $95 million.
-
Alphabet: 102,200 shares valued at about $25 million.
-
Meta Platforms: 76,100 shares valued at roughly $56 million.
Supply: Whale Knowledge.
All three are hyperscalers, a time period used to explain the planet’s largest cloud information suppliers, and every is among the many largest spenders on synthetic intelligence infrastructure, together with Nvidia GPUs, liquid-cooled servers, and the networking gear mandatory to attach them.
Alphabet’s capital expenditures (capex) totaled $24 billion within the third quarter, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, elevated the corporate’s full-year spending outlook to $91 billion to $93 billion, up from roughly $53 billion in 2024.
Amazon’s capex totaled $53 billion in 2023 and $83 billion in 2024. Not too long ago, CEO Andy Jassy said that complete spending will attain $125 billion this 12 months.
It is a comparable story at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms, which plans to spend at the least $70 billion when all is claimed and completed in 2025, up from $39 billion in 2024.
These investments are offering loads of alternatives for the three corporations to develop their companies. Amazon and Alphabet are utilizing information middle spending to seize seemingly insatiable AI app R&D demand from enterprises and governments hungry for compute energy. Meta can use its spending on AI to drive quicker development throughout its social media platforms, together with Fb and Instagram, and enhance upon its Actuality Labs enterprise, which makes sensible glasses and VR headsets.
Whereas Druckenmiller established new positions within the three hyperscalers, none of these positions—at the least for now—are massive sufficient for these shares to rank in his high 10 holdings. Additionally, absent from his portfolio are a few of AI’s largest gamers, particularly Nvidia and Palantir.
Associated: Peter Thiel dumps high AI inventory, stirring bubble fears
Druckenmiller famously purchased Nvidia early on, however offered his stake fully within the third quarter of 2024. He exited his Palantir place within the first quarter of 2025. He additionally seems much less keen about AI infrastructure, provided that he offered his Broadcom (AVGO) stake within the third quarter. He additionally does not personal AI server shares like Dell or Tremendous Micro.
It is also fascinating that he exited Microsoft, one other hyperscaler that’s spending closely on AI, through the third quarter.
Altogether, his strikes could counsel he is extra a fan of corporations more likely to profit from using AI to assist folks store and spend cash, reasonably than infrastructure. Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta all have large consumer-facing companies that may leverage AI. And whereas Microsoft is all over the place because of Workplace 365, it is geared extra in direction of companies and work than delivering adverts or promoting on to customers than these different gamers.
Associated: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire snaps up main tech inventory, trims favourite
This story was initially reported by TheStreet on Nov 16, 2025, the place it first appeared within the Investing part. Add TheStreet as a Most well-liked Supply by clicking right here.