Bill Ackman, the prominent Wall Street investor and manager of London-listed Pershing Square Holdings (FTSE 100), has called on investors to stop criticising tech giants’ large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) investment plans.
In his annual letter to Pershing Square shareholders, Ackman said the recent retreat in the share prices of companies such as Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet collectively part of the “Magnificent Seven” over their multi-billion-dollar AI capital expenditures was unwarranted.
“When a business you own, managed by a management team you trust, announces a large increase in capital spending due to increased demand for its products or services, you should be applauding rather than booing,” Ackman wrote.
The investor noted that the ambitious AI plans, including the construction of new data centres, are aimed at meeting surging demand and driving long-term returns. He argued that these companies have both the financial capacity and track record to invest wisely, and that market scepticism about an “AI cash bonfire” is misplaced.
Ackman, who has shifted focus from consumer groups to high-growth tech stocks in recent years, believes that the biggest companies are likely to produce the strongest returns in 2026. He highlighted ten factors expected to boost the US economy, including $1.2 trillion in infrastructure projects, tax incentives from former President Trump’s legislation, deregulation initiatives, and a pro-business stance that encourages mergers and acquisitions.
Pershing Square Holdings posted strong gains in 2025, with net asset value per share plus dividends rising 20.9 per cent, outperforming the S&P 500’s 17.9 per cent total return. However, the fund has had a weaker start to 2026, reporting a negative 5.2 per cent return in the six weeks to February 10, compared with the S&P’s 1.5 per cent gain. PSH shares closed at £44.20 in London, down 1.5 per cent.
Ackman, widely recognised for his macroeconomic insights and successful interest-rate bets, has previously had mixed results in stock picking, including a poorly timed $1 billion investment in Netflix in 2022.
