Billionaire Stan Druckenmiller’s 10 Small and Mid-Cap Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential

9. Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA)

Duquesne Capital’s Stake: $73 Million 

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) has made intermittent appearances in the 13F portfolio of Duquesne Capital. The fund first disclosed a stake in the company in the fourth quarter of 2016. This holding comprised 1.2 million shares. The position was improved to nearly 1.4 million shares in the next quarter but sold off completely within months of that disclosure. A new position, comprising 1.1 million shares, was opened in late 2020 and sold off in early 2021. Filings for the fourth quarter of 2025 show that the fund has once again made a bet on the company, buying almost 1.4 million shares.

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) has started grabbing Wall Street attention in light of recent geopolitical tensions. Hedge funds are treating aluminum as a primary geopolitical hedge in the present environment. In late March 2026, strikes on major Persian Gulf aluminum smelters triggered a massive global supply tightening. Aluminum prices spiked as Middle East production went offline, and Alcoa—as a major North American producer—has been a primary beneficiary. Institutional investors view Alcoa as a safe haven supplier for Western industries, automotive and aerospace, that are moving away from Middle Eastern and Russian dependencies. The finances of the firm also remain strong. For Q4 2025, Alcoa reported adjusted EPS of $1.26, crushing analyst estimates of $0.93 by over 35%. Full-year 2025 adjusted net income rose to $1 billion, up from just $296 million in 2024.