5 Investors Betting Big on Nvidia Stock After Q1

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

Nvidia's (NVDA) gravity-defying rally has caused institutional giants to pile into the stock even more, or risk underrepresenting the world's second-largest company by market capitalization. Q1 2025 13-F filings have shown that five firms control nearly 6.6 billion shares combined, which is about 27.2% of the outstanding float.
Their buying is largely the result of index‑fund mechanics, yet it still concentrates ever more voting power in a handful of asset managers. Let's take a look at what each holder did in Q1 and why that matters for anyone weighing a fresh entry in the stock.
#1: Vanguard Group
Vanguard remained Nvidia's single-largest shareholder with 2.19 billion shares. Its position it up 0.6% from the prior quarter and constitutes 8.99% of the float, as calculated by WhaleWisdom. More than 80% of Vanguard's equity assets sit in index or index‑adjacent products, so Vanguard is required to add Nvidia whenever the chipmaker's weight rises inside the S&P 500 Index ($SPX), Nasdaq‑100 Index ($IUXX), or related sector benchmarks.
The passive structure leaves little room for discretionary trimming, which means Vanguard's exposure will keep climbing as long as the stock outperforms.
#2: BlackRock
BlackRock (BLK) increased its stake to 1.9 billion shares, or about 7.79% of Nvidia. A good chunk of that is from iShares. That figure actually still understates BlackRock's reach because it excludes synthetic exposure through derivatives and factor funds.
Larry Fink has previously said that infrastructure, including data center infrastructure, is critical to global economic growth. BlackRock also announced a fund in partnership with Nvidia to invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
That said, do keep in mind that most of BlackRock's buying is flow‑driven, not conviction‑driven. If AI enthusiasm cools and ETF inflows reverse, BlackRock could become a large‑scale seller without ever making an active decision.
#3: Fidelity Management & Research
Unlike Vanguard and BlackRock, Fidelity still runs sizable active mutual funds.
FMR has been trimming its positions in recent quarters, whereas others have been adding. FMR's average cost basis sits far below today's price at $2.46, so the group has considerable unrealized gains.
Its current position is just over 1 billion shares, down 2 million from Q4 2025. It currently holds 4.11% of the float.
Active ownership can turn into selling pressure faster than index ownership, though Fidelity has historically trimmed winners gradually rather than exiting abruptly. It only trimmed its position by 0.24% in Q1. It still holds over a billion shares.
#4: State Street Global Advisors
State Street's SPDR ETFs pushed the firm's holdings to about 968 million shares, or 3.97% of Nvidia. Its Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) both saw Nvidia jump to record weights after the stock's split. It forced bulk purchases to rebalance at quarter‑end.
Investors should note that its holdings of NVDA only grew by 0.08% in Q1.
#5: Geode Capital Management
Geode is a spinoff that manages Fidelity's index funds. It disclosed 571 million shares, or about 2.34% of NVDA. Geode keeps a low profile because it serves mainly as an in‑house sub‑advisor.
Its Nvidia position grew by 15.1 million shares in Q1. Any investor buying a Fidelity index product is, in effect, adding to Geode's Nvidia stack.