Ackman Adds $2.1B Microsoft Stake as Gates Foundation Completes Exit

As of May 18, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has established a 5.65-million-share Microsoft position worth roughly $2.1 billion, funded largely by reducing Alphabet holdings. The move follows the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust’s final sale of 7.7 million shares for $3.2 billion in Q1, executed to accelerate grantmaking and wind down the endowment by 2045. Microsoft shares closed at $422.07 on May 15 after a 0.42% dip and remain down about 11% year-to-date amid $190 billion capex concerns, though strong Azure and AI momentum persist.