Michael Burry Sells Entire Portfolio Except One Stock in Q1; Places $186M Put Calls on Nvidia, China Stocks

In a drastic portfolio reshuffle, legendary investor Michael Burry, who bet against the 2008 housing market crash to net £528 million ($700 million), sold out his entire portfolio in Q1 except for one stock.

According to a 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Burry offloaded all holdings in Alibaba, PDD Holdings, Baidu, Oscar Health, JD.com, Bruker Corp., American Coastal Insurance, VF Corp., Magnera Corp., Canada Goose Holdings, HCA Healthcare, and Molina Healthcare in a sale worth tens of millions of dollars.

However, he doubled his stake in Estée Lauder, buying 100,000 shares of the company during the March-ended quarter to own a total of 200,000 shares worth £9.95 million ($13.20 million).

The beauty giant has struggled somewhat over the past year amid economic roadblocks in China and US recession fears, which is reflected in the 13% year-to-date stock price decline.

However, the stock has gained over 23% in the past month to hover around £48.87 ($64.79) in early Friday trading. Burry's move comes at a time when Estée Lauder's new CEO, Stéphane de La Faverie, is steering the company through a transformation to tackle weak demand in key markets such as the US and China.

That's not all.

Burry placed bearish put calls on several China stocks, including a £19.95 million ($26.45 million) put call on Alibaba for 200,000 shares, £17.85 million ($23.67 million) on PDD Holdings for 200,000 shares, £12.4 million ($16.45 million) on JD.com for 400,000 shares, £9.59 million ($12.72 million) on Trip.com for 200,000, and £6.93 million ($9.2 million) on Baidu for 100,000 shares.

However, his biggest put call was on AI giant Nvidia of £73.57 million ($97.54 million) for 900,000 shares. Scion managed over £150 million ($199 million) as of March-end, according to the filing.

The strategy reversal for companies like Alibaba and Nvidia could be linked to Burry's current aversion to semiconductors, citing that the sector's fundamentals don't justify the extremely high valuations.

Chinese tech stocks soared in 2025 following DeepSeek's launch, with companies like Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, and PDD Holdings posting substantial gains. However, the rally lasted until US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement, which imposed exorbitant rates on imports from China.

However, these tech stocks could face upward pressure after Washington and Beijing recently agreed on a 90-day tariff reprieve to bring rates down to 30% from a record 145%. Stocks like Alibaba, Trip.com, and PDD Holdings have posted double-digit gains in the past one month.

While Nvidia has been impacted amid the dynamic geopolitical situation and trade policies, reflected in the 0.38% stock price gain YTD, shares rebounded 30% in the past month as investors hope for better tariff outcomes.

Burry is known for his contrarian market bets, and his historic trade during the 2008 global financial crisis was chronicled in the award-winning film 'The Big Short.' Since then, he has made notable investment decisions and showcased strategic foresight, some of which include investing in water assets and predicting future scarcity.

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