Ackman Exits Chipotle, Increases Stake in Amazon
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 7 hours ago
0mins
Should l Buy AMZN?
Source: Fool
- Chipotle Exit: Bill Ackman completely exited his position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by December 31, 2025, selling 21,541,177 shares, reflecting concerns over the company's future growth, particularly after a 1.7% decline in comparable restaurant sales last year, indicating inflationary pressures impacting performance.
- Profit Taking: Having seen Chipotle's stock price quadruple since September 30, 2016, Ackman's decision to sell at a high point illustrates a strategy of locking in profits after substantial gains, despite the company's ongoing struggles with declining sales.
- Amazon Stake Increase: In the December-ended quarter, Ackman increased his stake in Amazon by 3,784,508 shares, bringing his total holdings to over 9.6 million shares, making it Pershing Square's third-largest position, demonstrating confidence in Amazon's growth potential, particularly in e-commerce and cloud computing.
- Cloud Computing Edge: Amazon's AWS remains the leading global cloud infrastructure platform, with its growth rate accelerating due to the integration of generative AI, and the stock is currently valued at nearly 10 times forecast cash flow for 2027, significantly lower than its historical median, enhancing Ackman's investment appeal in the company.
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Analyst Views on AMZN
Wall Street analysts forecast AMZN stock price to rise
44 Analyst Rating
41 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 214.330
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
Current: 214.330
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
About AMZN
Amazon.com, Inc. provides a range of products and services to customers. The products offered through its stores include merchandise and content it has purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers. The Company’s segments include North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It serves consumers through its online and physical stores and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. Customers access its offerings through its websites, mobile apps, Alexa, devices, streaming, and physically visiting its stores. It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero, and develops and produces media content. It serves developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through AWS, which offers a set of on-demand technology services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, and other services.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Accelerating AWS Revenue: Amazon Web Services (AWS) saw a 24% year-over-year revenue growth in Q4, up from 20% in Q3, which is particularly impressive for a business segment with over $140 billion in annual revenue, indicating sustained competitiveness in the cloud market.
- Strong Operating Cash Flow: Despite a sharp decline in free cash flow to $11.2 billion, Amazon's operating cash flow increased by 20% year-over-year to $139.5 billion, highlighting robust performance in core operations that investors should focus on as a key metric.
- Investment Opportunities and Risks: Amazon's capital expenditures surged by $50.7 billion year-over-year, leading to a decline in free cash flow; however, management remains optimistic about returns on investment, with CEO Andy Jassy noting that rapid AI capacity installation and monetization will yield attractive returns in the future.
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