Michael Burry, of ‘The Big Short’ fame, made millions of dollars by deftly navigating the 2008 subprime mortgage collapse. However, he hasn’t been resting on his laurels since. Through his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, Burry remains an active investor.
The renowned trader has made several missteps since. In January 2023, he recommended selling stocks, but neither a pullback nor crash ensued. Credit where credit is due, however, he recanted this stance in March of the same year. Then, in August, he revealed a major short position targeting the semiconductor sector, which also failed to pan out.
While that might not have been Burry’s year, 2024 certainly was, as his portfolio netted an approximate return of 74.24%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 25% gain.
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Starting with September of 2024, Scion Asset Management has gravitated toward Chinese equities. As of late February 2025, it certainly seems to be paying off.
While the latest 13F filing has shown that Michael Burry is gradually trimming his exposure to overseas stocks, his holdings are still significant — and his largest holding, Alibaba, is simultaneously the portfolio’s best-performing.
Mirroring Michael Burry’s BABA stock investment in January would have netted significant returns
At the start of the year, Alibaba stock (NYSE: BABA) was changing hands at a price of $84.95. Since then, it has been on a steady ascent.
Late January saw the Chinese tech giant’s release of Qwen 2.5 max, its own artificial intelligence (AI) model, in the aftermath of the overnight success of DeepSeek. In mid-February, a crucial partnership with Apple was announced, which will see Alibaba integrate AI features into iPhones in China.
The company’s Q4 2024 earnings call saw a double beat, while its CEO stated that the business would invest more in AI and cloud computing in the next 3 years than it had in the entirety of the previous decade.
By press time on February 27, the price of Alibaba shares had increased to $140.96, marking a 66.24% increase on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.
Accordingly, a $1,000 investment in BABA shares made on January 1, 2025, would now be worth $1,662 — in other words, it would have secured a $662 profit.
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