Michael Burry’s latest 13-F filing, submitted on May 15, shows a radically different portfolio setup at the end of the first quarter (Q1) 2025, than at the end of 2024.
The famed investor and manager replaced his previous holdings, including the long-standing Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) stock bet, and instead focused on a series of targeted put options and a single long position.
Michael Burry’s only Q1 2025 long position
During the first three months of 2025, Michael Burry doubled Scion Asset Management’s investment in Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) from 100,000 shares worth $7.5 million on December 31 to 200,000 shares worth $13.2 million on March 31.
The multinational cosmetics corporation’s equity fell 10.79% during Q1, presenting an apparent buying opportunity during that time frame. However, with its press time price of $63.67, EL stock is 6.19% down since Q2 started.
Michael Burry’s Q1 short positions
The remaining six portfolio positions all took the shape of put options between January 1 and March 31. Put options enable their holder to sell a stock at a pre-determined strike price and are a type of bearish bet.
During Q1, Michael Burry executed such trades on Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), Trip.com Group (NASDAQ: TCOM), JD.com (NASDAQ: JD), PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD), Alibaba, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA).
On March 31, the six positions were worth between $9.2 million and $97.5 million, and the entire portfolio, with its seven holdings, was worth $199 million. Interestingly, though the number of investments dropped 46.15% from 13, the value skyrocketed 157.36% from the $77.4 million recorded on December 31.
The Big Short trader gives up on bullish BABA stock bet
While Alibaba stock has been noted for being a large and stubbornly-held long position in the Burry portfolio, there were signs the famed investor is not certain about the direction BABA equity will go.
In Q3, 2024, The Big Short trader reported owning 200,000 Alibaba shares worth $21 million and $17.9 million in put options for the Chinese technology and e-commerce giant.
In Q1, BABA stock’s performance and broader economic factors were particularly favorable for profiting from a long position and then replacing it with a short bet. Alibaba began 2025 at $84.95, rose 73.71% to the March 17 high above $147.50, and ended the period 55.66% in the green at $132.23.
On the other hand, the performance of technology equity since Q2 started casts some doubt on Burry’s logic. BABA is down a relatively modest 6.30% since March 31 but 24.69% up from April 8 lows.
Michael Burry resurrects his bet against semiconductors
The Nvidia bearish bet is also interesting. On the one hand, it is the largest position in the portfolio with a disclosed March 31 value of $97.5 million. For comparison, the BABA bet was filed as being worth $26.4 million.
On the other hand, it appears a continuation of Michael Burry’s 2023 bet against the semiconductor industry, showcasing he likely held and holds the opinion that the fundamentals do not back the sky-high valuation.
Burry’s bearish positions have additional gravitas for his attested ability to recognize a looming catastrophe and profit from it, as with The Big Short of the Great Recession.
Lastly, it is worth remembering that the latest 13-F filing covers the period ending on March 31, while the market bottomed in early and mid-April, meaning it is possible that Scion Asset Management’s portfolio changed radically once again mere weeks into Q2.
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