Billionaire Investor Stanley Druckenmiller Eliminated His…
Key Points
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Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller is considered one of the best investors of all time.
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Druckenmiller’s family office invests across all sectors and carefully watches the macro picture.
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In the fourth quarter, Druckenmiller purchased a “Magnificent Seven” stock that has not fared well, due to tariffs and what many investors have considered a lagging artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.
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NASDAQ: AMZN
Amazon
Market Cap
$2.2T
Today’s Change
(1.82%) $3.73
Current Price
$209.00
Price as of February 24, 2026 at 11:52 AM ET
Selling what many believe to be a clear beneficiary of AI
Meta has not had the best recent performance, with its stock down about 11% over the past year. Druckenmiller and his team will trade in and out of positions on a fairly short-term basis, so it’s not unheard of for Duquesne to buy a stock in one quarter and then sell it a few quarters later.
This also means Druckenmiller isn’t always taking a long-term view, so it’s possible that the legendary investor got tired of waiting for the stock to bounce back. However, after Meta’s recent earnings report earlier this year, which came after Druckenmiller sold the stock, investors began singing Meta’s praises again, particularly as CEO Mark Zuckerberg guided for $115 billion to $135 billion in capital expenditures in 2026.
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NASDAQ: META
Meta Platforms
Today’s Change
(0.20%) $1.29
Current Price
$638.54
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$1.6T
Day’s Range
$628.98 – $639.15
52wk Range
$479.80 – $796.25
Volume
326K
Avg Vol
16M
Gross Margin
82.00%
Dividend Yield
0.33%
The good news for Meta is that it’s a clear beneficiary of AI, and those benefits are evident in its improving ad business. Meta can leverage AI to create ads that better align with customer interests, thereby increasing engagement. But there are risks, whether from competition from other large social platforms TikTok that will also leverage AI.
Investors may also be concerned about Zuckerberg’s significant spending habits. After all, the company seemed to go all in on the metaverse, which never really panned out. This division, called Reality Labs, has generated tens of billions of dollars in operating losses since 2020.
I think Meta is ultimately in a decent spot, given that investors can clearly see how AI is improving their business. Still, it’s important to hold the company accountable and ensure that the tremendous capex is generating strong returns for holders.
Buying the dip on this unloved “Magnificent Seven” stock
During the fourth quarter, Druckenmiller’s fund increased its Amazon (AMZN +1.82%) position by 69% to roughly $170 million at the end of 2025. The fund also purchased 100,000 call options on the stock in the quarter.
Amazon’s stock is down 9% over the past year, compared with the broader S&P 500‘s (^GSPC +0.56%) nearly 13% return. The stock has struggled for several reasons. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have challenged the e-commerce part of the business, which sources many of its products from China and also has many third-party sellers based outside the U.S.
Expand
NASDAQ: AMZN
Amazon
Today’s Change
(1.82%) $3.73
Current Price
$209.00
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$2.2T
Day’s Range
$203.25 – $209.45
52wk Range
$161.38 – $258.60
Volume
1.1M
Avg Vol
47M
Gross Margin
50.29%
Investors have also been concerned about Amazon’s cloud AI strategy, compared to its peers. The company recently said it plans to spend a whopping $200 billion in capital expenditures this year, much of which will go to building data centers and other infrastructure needed to support the demand the company is seeing for AI compute. The market is no longer as rewarding for companies planning large AI-related capex, as they want to see returns, so Amazon is going to have to prove that this spending makes sense.
That said, Amazon trades at slightly under 29 times trailing earnings, which is cheap compared to its past trading range over the past five years. At some point, Amazon may get more relief on the tariff front. The company is also a leader in robotics and plans to integrate the technology into its warehouses, which is expected to yield significant savings.
While Amazon’s success on the AI front is not a given, the company’s strong e-commerce and cloud businesses should make it a durable company for many decades to come.
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About the Author
Bram Berkowitz is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering financials, technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends. Before The Motley Fool, Bram worked in equity research covering bank stocks and as a reporter for local publications. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in economics from Syracuse University.
Stocks Mentioned
Amazon
NASDAQ: AMZN
$209.00 (+1.82%) $+3.73
S&P 500 Index
SNPINDEX: ^GSPC
$6877.19 (+0.58%) $+39.44
Meta Platforms
NASDAQ: META
$638.54 (+0.20%) $+1.29
*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
Sumber Artikel:
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