Activist investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point LLC made major changes in its portfolio in the third quarter of 2025.
Let’s look at the performance of some Magnificent Seven stocks in the second half of 2025 held by Dan Loeb.
Strength in AI Drives Microsoft Growth
As of Sept. 30, 2025,Third Point increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 175% to 1.1 million shares.
Microsoft witnessed strong earnings acceleration over the last couple of quarters, driven by Cloud and AI growth. Consequently, the company beat consensus estimates in both the fourth-quarter FY25 and the first-quarter FY26.
In October, Microsoft signed a new definitive agreement with OpenAI to support the company’s formation of a public benefit corporation (PBC). Following the recapitalization, Microsoft will hold a stake of approximately 27% in OpenAI Group PBC valued at roughly $135 billion.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives says the next stop for Microsoft could be joining Nvidia in the $5 trillion market capitalization club and adds that “it remains clear that FY26 remains the true inflection year of AI growth for Microsoft.”
In the last year, Microsoft declined 0.47%, underperforming the iShares U.S. Technology ETF (NYSE:IYW), which gained about 18.88%. Also, the company significantly lagged compared to its closest peers, Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), which fell roughly 5.61% year-to-date.
Meta Benefiting from AI & Data Center Expansion
As of Sept. 30, 2025, the activist investor boosted his stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 47% to 220,000 shares.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta’s investment in smart glasses and augmented reality devices could eventually turn into “an extremely profitable business.”
The Facebook and Instagram parent plans to invest more than $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028 to expand AI technology, data centers, and workforce capabilities — a move it says will help advance its vision of “personal superintelligence” for everyone.
Also, Meta revealed plans to invest more than $1 billion in the construction of a data center in Wisconsin that will support artificial intelligence work.
The analyst said AI is helping the company put more relevant content in front of its users, helping improve engagement times and potential monetization.
In the last one year, Meta declined 1.69%, underperforming the Shares Global Comm Services ETF (NYSE:IXP), which gained about 19.60%.
Also, the company has been underperforming compared to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU), which rose approximately 65.54% and 95.52%, respectively, so far this year.
AI Chips Demand Drives Growth For Nvidia
As of Sept. 30, 2025, Dan Loeb raised its stake to 2.85 million shares from 2.8 million in the second quarter of 2025.
The company beat earnings in the third quarter and provided an above-consensus revenue estimate for the fourth quarter.
Nvidia disclosed that demand for its newest AI chips continues to accelerate, potentially driving total revenue for its Blackwell and Rubin platforms past the previously announced $500 billion target through 2026.
The company’s GB300 platform is set to dominate the AI server market in 2026, making up an estimated 70% to 80% of global AI server rack shipments, while its next-generation Vera Rubin 200 platform is expected to see broader adoption after the third quarter.
Also, the company is expanding in the Middle East through partnership expansion with HUMAIN, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to accelerate sovereign AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the U.S.
This month, Nvidia backed a fast-growing AI infrastructure startup, Baseten, by investing $150 million.
Recently, Trump administration formally approved Nvidia sales of its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China.
In the last one year, Nvidia shares rose 24.55%, compared to the VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMHX), which gained about 25.60% and Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:SHOC), which escalated 51.12% so far this year.
Also, this compares with that of its closest peers, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM), which rose approximately 36.48% and 46.11%, respectively, so far this year.
AWS Remained The Star Of The Show For Amazon
As of Sept. 30, 2025, Third Point raised its stake to 2.81 million shares from 2.71 million in the second quarter of 2025 and 2.35 million shares in the first quarter of 2025.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) surpassed third-quarter earnings estimates and provided. strong fourth quarter outlook, AWS sales rising 20% year-over-year in the quarter.
The company highlighted several platforms seeing progress with AI in the quarter. The company also signed new AWS agreements with several notable companies in the quarter, showing momentum in cloud services demand.
In the last year, Amazon shares declined by around 1.58% compared to the growth of 28.71% in ProShares Online Retail ETF (NYSE:ONLN) and 5.55% in State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLY).
Also, the company’s share growth lags behind its closest peers, Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) and PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), which grew 95.22% and 2.76%, respectively.
Photo: Shutterstock
Recent Comments