In a move that has captured Wall Street’s attention, billionaire investor Bill Ackman has placed a substantial wager on the future of ridesharing, pouring a staggering $2.8 billion into Uber Technologies.
According to CNBC, the investment represents nearly 18% of his Pershing Square Capital Management’s portfolio, making it one of the fund’s most significant positions.
Why Uber caught Ackman’s eye
In February, Ackman revealed his massive stake in Uber, purchasing more than 30.3 million shares. His reasoning was straightforward.
“We believe that Uber is one of the best managed and highest quality businesses in the world,” Ackman wrote in a social media post. “Remarkably, it can still be purchased at a massive discount to its intrinsic value. This favorable combination of attributes is extremely rare, particularly for a large-cap company,” he explained in a post cited by Bloomberg.
His timing appears prescient. Uber’s shares have surged 52% in 2025 so far, touching a 52-week high of $93.60 in May. The company also delivered impressive first-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, reporting earnings per share of 83 cents compared to the anticipated 50 cents, reports CNBC.
Following Buffett’s investment philosophy
Ackman, who has long admired Warren Buffett’s investment approach, appears to be channeling the Oracle of Omaha’s strategy of identifying quality businesses and holding them for the long term.
The billionaire investor first became inspired by Buffett as a 20-year-old, and decades later, that influence remains evident in his moves, as noted by Fortune.
This Uber investment comes alongside Ackman’s recently announced $900 million deal to acquire shares of Howard Hughes Holdings, which he intends to transform into what he calls a “modern-day version of Berkshire” — further highlighting the Buffett-inspired approach to his investment strategy, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Autonomous vehicle potential drives future growth
The company’s expanding footprint in the autonomous vehicle space likely makes Uber attractive to Ackman.
The ridesharing giant has been developing partnerships with companies like Waymo, Volkswagen, and several others to advance self-driving capabilities.
In Austin, Texas, Uber users can already hail a robotaxi directly through the Uber app via a partnership with Google’s Waymo.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has noted the company has reached an annual run rate of 1.5 million autonomous vehicle trips — suggesting this technology is already gaining meaningful traction, according to TechCrunch.
These initiatives have caught analysts’ attention, with CNBC reporting that JPMorgan recently raised its price target on Uber to $105, citing the company’s potential in self-driving technology as a key factor.
A concentrated portfolio strategy pays off
Ackman’s investment in Uber aligns with his broader approach of maintaining a highly concentrated portfolio. Pershing Square currently holds just 11 stock positions, allowing the fund to take substantial stakes in companies where Ackman has high conviction, according to Yahoo Finance.
This strategy has delivered impressive results. Pershing Square has generated returns of over 42% in the past three years and nearly 150% over the past decade, reflecting the fund’s focused and disciplined approach to long-term investing.
While building his Uber position, Ackman has been reshuffling his portfolio — increasing stakes in Brookfield Corp., Howard Hughes, and Hertz, while trimming holdings in Chipotle, Hilton, and Canadian Pacific. He also completely exited his position in Nike, as reported by Bloomberg.
What this means for Uber’s future
Ackman’s massive investment provides a significant vote of confidence in Uber’s business model and future prospects.
For a company that faced years of skepticism about its path to profitability, having a renowned investor take such a substantial position signals a turning point in market perception, as highlighted by Barron’s.
Uber’s recent quarterly results support this optimism. Total trips rose 18% year-over-year to 3 billion, driven by a 14% increase in monthly active platform users.
Looking ahead, Uber projects second-quarter gross bookings between $45.75 billion and $47.25 billion, representing 16% to 20% growth compared to the previous year, according to CNBC.
For Ackman, this investment represents a core holding in his attempt to build a Berkshire-like investment vehicle focused on long-term value creation. If successful, both Uber and Pershing Square shareholders could be in for a rewarding ride in the years ahead.
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