Bill Ackman says two sectors are propping up the entire stock market
Key Points
- Semiconductors and tech hardware produced close to 85% of the S&P 500's first-half gains, Pershing Square Holdings said.
- The two sectors make up 8% of the index's companies and 22% of its market value.
- Over 90% of S&P 500 companies contributed less than 2% of the index return, and nearly 40% fell.
- Pershing Square bought Visa, Mastercard, Netflix, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange and Alcon, and sold Alphabet, Universal Music Group and Hertz.
- The fund's own shares fell 22.5% in Sterling over the half, widening its discount to 33.3%.
Two of the S&P 500’s 24 sectors delivered close to 85% of the index’s gains in the first half of 2026, according to Pershing Square Holdings.
The London-listed fund set out the figures in its interim report, published on Thursday (13 August).
Semiconductors and tech hardware and equipment account for 8% of the companies in the index and 22% of its market value, the report said, and between them they produced almost all of the rise recorded over the six months to 30 June.
The two sectors supply what the fund’s managers describe as the picks and shovels for AI infrastructure.
More than 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 contributed under 2% of the index’s overall return across the same period, and close to 40% of them went backwards on share price.
The index itself rose around 10% over the six months and 13.7% in the year to 11 August. Pershing Square Holdings is a constituent of the FTSE 100 and trades on the London Stock Exchange, and the S&P 500 is the benchmark most global and US tracker funds follow.
Bill Ackman, Chief Executive of the fund’s investment manager, and Chief Investment Officer Ryan Israel put their name to the shareholder letter containing the analysis.
Both argue that the concentration has left large parts of the market trading below what the businesses are worth, and that the fund has used the gap to buy. Their conclusions are forecasts rather than statements of fact, and the report carries a warning that actual outcomes may differ.
New positions
Pershing Square took six new positions over the period:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Netflix
- S&P Global
- Intercontinental Exchange
- Alcon
It sold out of Universal Music Group and Alphabet in the first half, and exited Hertz in July.
Chairman Rupert Morley described the run of purchases as one of the most productive periods of new investment in the firm’s history.
The fund’s own numbers were not as fun to read. Net asset value per share fell 12.6% over the six months, and the share price fell 22.5% in Sterling terms, widening the gap between the two from 23.4% to 33.3%. That gap stood at 34.9% on 11 August.
The board authorised a $100 million buyback in May and raised the quarterly dividend for 2026.
