Bill Ackman’s Q2 portfolio changes are drawing fresh attention on September 7: Pershing Square exited its remaining Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares and established a position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). The pair offers two different ways to monetize AI, with very different demands on cash.
What the filings actually show
At Q1’s end, Pershing reported 32,376 Alphabet Class A shares and 311,726 Class C shares. Its Q2 parent-company filing contained neither class, alongside 13,081,465 Netflix shares valued at $934 million. The manager explicitly moved its reporting into the parent’s filing. These are quarter-end disclosures, not September trades, and they do not identify which sale funded which purchase.
Netflix, Inc. is using AI to improve discovery, advertising and production. Its July 16 shareholder letter described those applications and maintained an approximately $3 billion full-year advertising revenue forecast. Better targeting and more accessible ad buying can increase the value of viewing hours without requiring a matching increase in content spending.
Pershing’s investment letter argues that Netflix’s scale and slower content-cost growth support expanding margins. The challenge is sustaining engagement and pricing: Netflix’s Q3 revenue forecast implies 11.7% growth, below Q2’s 13.4%. Its second-quarter free cash flow also fell to $1.5 billion, partly reflecting higher tax payments associated with the Warner termination fee.
Alphabet Inc. has more direct infrastructure exposure. Google Cloud revenue grew 82% in Q2, and Alphabet’s operating income increased 30%. That demand supports continued investment, but $44.9 billion of quarterly capital expenditures exceeded operating cash flow, producing negative $5.9 billion of free cash flow. Returns on the new capacity must justify the cash consumed today.
Ackman’s view is one among many
Insider Monkey’s database showed 275 Alphabet Class A holders in Q2 2026 versus 265 in Q1, up ten. Berkshire increased its Class A shares approximately 45%, even as Pershing eliminated its residual position. Netflix’s count fell 23 to 121 from 144; Pershing’s position was newly established, so a percentage increase from zero is undefined.
Netflix had 90,512,500 shares sold short at August 14, or 2.20% of float and three days to cover. That snapshot describes outstanding positions, not their motives.
Netflix offers a more direct route from AI improvements to advertising returns, though slowing growth tests execution. Alphabet’s faster cloud expansion brings greater funding demands and more dependence on sustained utilization of expensive capacity. Ackman’s trade sharpens that comparison; subsequent margins and cash conversion will determine how well either opportunity rewards shareholders.
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