Bill Ackman

The playbook

He announces before he is required to. The quarterly shareholder letter names positions in plain English, often including ones bought after the quarter cutoff that no filing will show for another three months. That makes him unusually checkable in one direction and unverifiable in the other: what the filings cover, they confirm; what they do not cover, you are taking on faith until the next cycle. His letters also read as arguments, not disclosures, so the reasoning is on the record and can be scored later against what the position actually did.

One structural note for anyone following the paperwork: as of the June 2026 quarter the holdings are filed by Pershing Square Inc., the listed parent, not by Pershing Square Capital Management, which now files only a notice pointing at the parent. The old filer name returns nothing.

Receipt history

1. 17 He went all-in on streaming. The filing that proved it landed after he had gone. Jan 26, 2022 tell
2. 08 Named six new investments on Tuesday. Thursday's filing could only prove four. Aug 12, 2026 aligned

What we're watching

• Mid-Nov 2026 Alcon and Intercontinental Exchange were named in the August letter but bought after the quarter cutoff. First filing that can confirm them is the Q3 13F.
• Ongoing Netflix thesis is on the record ("effectively won the streaming wars"). The position is dated and sized, so the argument is scoreable from here.
• Next letter Alphabet is fully exited as of Q2. Watch whether the letters ever explain the sale, which they have not so far.

Statement stream, awaiting a filing pair

• Alphabet was exited entirely, but the letter never mentions the sale. It appears once in a performance table and nowhere in the commentary.

  Pershing Square 2Q26 letter, read in full, Aug 12, 2026

  A silence, not a statement. Noted here because the next letter that does address it becomes a pair with the filings that already recorded the exit.