‘The Big Short’ investor Michael Burry’s decision to allocate more than 40% of his portfolio to three Chinese technology giants in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 yielded major returns after the People’s Republic took the artificial intelligence (AI) spotlight in late January.
The escalating trade war, however, reversed many of the gains, with the same three companies that dominate Scion Asset Management’s holdings retracing heavily in recent months.
Michael Burry’s portfolio at the start of the 2025 trade war
Assuming Burry’s holdings remained level since December 31, 2024, his stake in Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) was worth $14.8 million on February 3 – the first trading day after the tariff escalation started in earnest – while the Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) holdings were worth $10.9 million, and JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) were worth $12 million.
Simultaneously, ‘The Big Short’ investor’s biggest non-Chinese holdings, Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) and Molina (NYSE: MOH), stood at $8.3 million and $8.1 million, respectively, and, together with the three tech stocks, accounted for 62.1% of the portfolio.
How Michael Burry’s portfolio fared during the trade war?
Between February 3 and the closing bell on April 17, the latest full trading day, BABA shares rose 10.40% and reached $108.87, indicating that the stake is, at press time, worth $16.3 million.
Within the same timeframe, BIDU stock fell 5.84% and hit $82.59, while JD declined 13.3% to $34.70. The stake in the two Chinese companies is worth a total of $20.7 million as of press time on April 21.
Despite not being affected by the Trump tariffs, EL shares crashed 34.19% to $54.47, meaning the stake is now worth $5.4 million. MOH stock slid 0.97% and reached $322.19, meaning Scion Asset Management’s holdings fell to $8 million.
Is ‘The Big Short’ Burry winning or losing amid the tariffs?
In total, Michael Burry’s top five portfolio positions were worth $54.1 million on February 3 and were worth $50.4 million on April 21, meaning they lost 6.84% of their value, a $3.7 million drop.
Interestingly, the total value of Scion Asset Management’s five biggest holdings were reported as approximately $48.4 million on December 31, meaning that, under the assumption Burry did not rebalance his portfolio in Q1 or in the first months of Q2, the famed trader is up $2 million on the equity despite the turmoil.
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