For nearly two months in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, Michael Burry’s portfolio was highly successful thanks to his massive investments in Chinese technology stocks.
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) was particularly notable in Q1 as it was, for a time, well over 50% in the green as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom moved to the People’s Republic thanks to the tsunami caused by DeepSeek’s R1.
Michael Burry loses $3.7 million in a day on his China investment
Though BABA shares remain significantly in the green in 2025, the overall situation has changed rapidly and the formerly highly successful portfolio now threatens to become a major loser.
Specifically, Scion Asset Management’s three biggest holdings erased $3.76 million from the portfolio on Friday, April 4, as Alibaba stock suffered a 9.89% loss to $116.54, JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) 7.74% to $36.81, and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) plunged 8.21% to $82.43.
Out of the three, BIDU shares are the biggest losers. The technology giant has already flipped into the red in the year-to-date (YTD) chart, making Burry’s stake in the company an outright loser in 2025.
Michael Burry set to lose $6 million in a day on his China investment
The Monday, April 7 sessions threaten to be just as damaging, provided the American depository of the three firms sufferers as much as their listings in China did.
On the back of the Liberation Day reciprocal tariff announcement and China’s reciprocal tariffs to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, Hong Kong’s benchmark HSI index fell 13.22% on the day, while the mainland CSI 300 and CSI 1,000 are down 7.05% and 11.39%.
Similarly. Alibaba is, by press time, 17.98% in the red in the East Asian country, while Bidu fell 14.01%, and JD.com 15.51%.
Should the three tech firms match their China performance in the U.S. stock market – as they frequently do and as the Monday pre-market indicates – Michael Burry will lose $6.3 million, as BABA shares would end Monday at $95.59, BIDU at $70.88, and JD at $31.10.
Lastly, it is worth pointing out that it is uncertain if The Big Short trader saw the writing on the wall and sold his stake in the companies earlier in 2025 while they were trading higher or if he, perhaps, even missed out on the Q1 rally and capitulated in January as the upcoming 13-f filing covering the trimester will not be public until mid-May.
Disclaimer: The featured image in this article is for illustrative purposes only and may not accurately reflect the true likeness of the individuals depicted.
