D. E. Shaw Stock Portfolio: Top 10 Stocks to Buy

9. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

D. E. Shaw’s Stake: $1.1 Billion

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) represents another long-term bet by D. E. Shaw. The fund has held a position in the company since the first quarter of 2018. Back then, this stake comprised 4.8 million shares. D. E. Shaw grew this to 9.7 million shares just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing exposure to the travel firm during this time and then buying up the shares again as travel demand rebounded. In the third quarter of 2020, the fund held just 171,000 shares in the firm, but increased this to over 10 million shares by the third quarter of 2021. Another period of trimming followed, though not as radical as the one during the pandemic. Latest filings show that the fund owned 5.5 million shares in the firm, up 66% compared to filings for the previous quarter.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is transitioning from a simple hotel site to a full-service travel ecosystem. Hedge funds support this bullish thesis. For example, latest data shows that transactions for the company involving more than one travel component grew in the high 20% range in 2025. Another important milestone for the company is that over 50% of bookings now come directly through the app, which drastically reduces reliance on expensive Google search ads and improves margins. Additionally, generative AI tools used by Booking have already led to a 10% decrease in average cost per booking by automating routine customer inquiries.