Ackman Returns to Netflix
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Re-enters Netflix with New Stake After Past Loss
Key Points
Netflix claims the world’s largest television entertainment subscriber base, boasting over 300 million global subscribers.
Netflix is trading around $74.21 with a GF Value of $100.51, implying about a 26.2% undervaluation relative to intrinsic value.
Pershing Square’s prior Netflix position in early 2022 was built with over $1 billion invested at about $400 per share and was liquidated in April 2022 after the first subscriber decline, resulting in losses exceeding $400 million; Netflix later rallied to around $700 in 2023.
Pershing Square’s portfolio shows top positions in Microsoft, Uber, and Meta, with Microsoft at 1.52 million shares (about 12.4%), Uber at 7.63 million shares (about 12%), and Meta at 913,501 shares, illustrating a mix of tech and social-media exposure alongside Netflix.
Pershing Square framed Netflix as having 'effectively won the streaming wars' and projected double-digit revenue growth with margins expanding as content costs rise more slowly than revenue, noting a substantial discount in Netflix’s current valuation.
Bill Ackman is back in Netflix — four years after a costly exit. His hedge fund, Pershing Square, has opened a new 3.15 million-share stake in Netflix, worth about 4.9% of its portfolio, according to Yahoo Finance. The move marks Ackman's return to a stock he last owned in early 2022, when he lost more than $400 million in just three months.
The Netflix buy is part of Pershing Square's biggest portfolio overhaul in years. Ackman added six new positions in total, including Visa, Mastercard, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, and Alcon, according to Quartz. The move signals a sharp pivot toward blue-chip, high-conviction bets.
A $400 Million Lesson That Came Full Circle
Ackman first bought Netflix in early 2022, pouring over $1 billion into the stock at around $400 per share. When Netflix reported its first-ever subscriber decline that April, he sold everything — locking in losses of more than $400 million, according to Yahoo Finance. The exit looked smart at the time. It wasn't.
Netflix stock later surged to around $700 by 2023. Now it trades near $1,100. Ackman's early exit cost his fund a massive gain. This time, Pershing Square is betting the stock still has room to run, citing a GF Value estimate of $100.51 against a current price of roughly $74.21 — implying about 26% upside, per Simply Wall St.
Pershing Square Says Netflix Has Won the Streaming Wars
Ackman's team made a bold call: Netflix has 'effectively won the streaming wars.' Pershing Square projects double-digit revenue growth ahead, with margins expanding as content costs grow more slowly than revenue, according to Street Insider. That's a key shift — for years, content spending was Netflix's biggest drag on profits.
Netflix now has over 300 million global subscribers, making it the world's largest TV entertainment platform. Its ad-supported tier is growing fast. Password-sharing crackdowns have added millions of paying users. Pershing Square believes these moves strengthen Netflix's long-term margin story, per Simply Wall St.
Six New Stocks Signal Pershing Square's Broader Overhaul
Netflix isn't the only new name in the fund. Ackman added Visa, Mastercard, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, and Alcon in the same sweep, according to Yahoo Finance. The purchases represent Pershing Square's largest portfolio restructuring in several years. The fund is moving toward a tighter, more concentrated group of holdings.
Pershing Square's existing top positions include Microsoft at 1.52 million shares — roughly 12.4% of the portfolio — and Uber at 7.63 million shares, about 12%, per Yahoo Finance. Meta is also in the mix at 913,501 shares. Netflix now slots in alongside that tech-heavy core as a fresh high-conviction bet.
Why Ackman Sees Value Where Others See a Mature Business
Netflix skeptics argue the easy growth is over. Ackman disagrees. Pershing Square points to revenue diversification — ads, live events, games — as proof the company is still in early innings of monetization. Content costs, historically the biggest expense, are expected to grow slower than overall revenue going forward, according to Street Insider.
The fund's GF Value analysis puts Netflix's intrinsic value at $100.51 per share — well above its current trading price — suggesting a 26.2% discount to fair value, per Simply Wall St. For Ackman, that gap is the opportunity. He is betting that the market hasn't fully priced in Netflix's next phase of growth.
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