Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Buys $2.2B of Uber and Hertz Shares in Q1, Dumps Nike

Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman made several changes to his hedge fund's portfolio in Q1. He significantly increased his position in transportation and car rental companies while slashing stakes in hospitality companies and consumer discretionary brands.

For the quarter ended 31st March, Ackman added Uber Technologies to his portfolio, purchasing a whopping 30.3 million company shares for £1.64 billion ($2.20 billion).

Ackman also purchased 2.29 million shares of Hertz Global in Q1, increasing the hedge fund's stake in the car rental company by 17.98% or 2.29 million shares to own a total of 15 million shares worth £44.22 million ($59.10 million).

At the same time, Ackman sold 2.44 million shares or nearly half of his stake in global hospitality company Hilton Worldwide Holdings. Furthermore, he sold all his Nike holdings of 18.77 million shares, worth £868.10 million ($1.16 billion), based on Monday's closing price of £46.46 ($62.08) per share.

Transportation, Car Rental Firms on a Roll

Uber has been innovating solutions to make activities like morning commutes, food delivery, or last-minute grocery runs affordable for its millions of customers in a high-inflationary environment. The company is also striving to balance rising airport travel costs by partnering with Delta Air Lines as its exclusive rideshare and delivery partner in the US. Uber's collaboration with Waymo is also enabling customers to complete trips in autonomous vehicles. The service is available in Austin at the moment.

Uber's attempt to grow its businesses across multiple segments appears to be working as gross bookings in Q1 jumped 14% YoY to £32.03 billion ($42.8 billion) while revenue increased 14% from a year earlier.

'We kicked off the year with yet another quarter of profitable growth at scale, with trips up 18% and even stronger user retention,' stated CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in the earnings press release. 'Supported by the consistent strength of our core business, we continue to build towards the future, including five new autonomous vehicle announcements in just the last week.'

Meanwhile, Hertz Global noted in its Q1 earnings release that its transition to a more efficient and cost-effective vehicle fleet helped the company achieve a £68.85 million ($92 million) YoY improvement in direct operating expenses due to its cost-cutting measures. The company claims that fleet management, revenue optimisation, and cost efficiency are helping it enhance operational performance, build a robust financial foundation, and position the business for long-term value creation.

Faltering Consumer Sentiment

Nike's revenue fell 9% to £8.45 billion ($11.3 billion) in fiscal Q3. Store foot traffic and app downloads also dropped markedly as elevated inflation and macroeconomic volatility softened consumer demand for discretionary brands, with no clear outlook for a rebound.

Meanwhile, Hilton Worldwide Holdings trimmed its 2025 room revenue growth forecast late last month as the US tariff policy and trade war severely affected consumer spending on travel. The hotel operator faces potential headwinds as consumer sentiments in the US fell for four consecutive months in April in tandem with high inflation forecasts.

'Travellers are largely in a wait-and-see mode as the rapidly changing macro environment continues to unfold,' CEO Chris Nassetta said on the earnings call.

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