"The Big Short" Burry's first quarter: On the eve of tariffs, nearly fully liquidated! Bought put options on NVIDIA and Chinese concept stocks
Michael Burry liquidated almost all of his stocks in the first quarter, including 150,000 shares of Alibaba and 125,000 shares of Baidu, retaining only Estee Lauder. Burry doubled his position in Estee Lauder to 200,000 shares, with a total value of $13.2 million
The investment world "prophet" strikes again, completing a strategic retreat before Trump initiated the trade war: almost completely liquidating stock holdings and instead heavily buying put options on NVIDIA and Chinese concept stocks.
According to the 13F regulatory filing released on Thursday, hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who accurately predicted the 2008 real estate market crash, almost cleared all his stock holdings in the first quarter of 2025, retaining only shares of Estee Lauder, while establishing put option positions on NVIDIA and several Chinese tech companies.
Heavily Buying Put Options on NVIDIA and Chinese Concept Stocks
The 13F regulatory filing shows that in the first quarter, Burry's Scion Asset Management bought put options on NVIDIA. The document specifically notes that these put options on NVIDIA and other companies "may be used to hedge long positions that do not need to be reported in the 13F."
Meanwhile, Burry completely exited Alibaba, selling all 150,000 shares he held, resulting in a 16.42% reduction in his portfolio. He also liquidated all 125,000 shares of Baidu, leading to a 13.61% decrease in his portfolio. These Chinese tech giants were major holdings for Scion in previous quarters.
It is noteworthy that Burry began reducing his investments in Chinese tech stocks starting in the fourth quarter of last year, decreasing his exposure to JD.com and Alibaba.
Estee Lauder — The Only Long Bet
In this aggressive portfolio overhaul, Burry retained only Estee Lauder as his stock holding.
According to the 13F filing, Scion doubled its position in Estee Lauder to 200,000 shares, with a total value of $13.2 million, accounting for 6.63% of the current portfolio.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2025, Burry's portfolio included seven sectors, primarily focused on defensive consumer goods, which is essentially his holding in Estee Lauder.
