Latest news with #HowardHughes
Fast Company
3 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
A winding new bridge connects Honolulu's downtown to the beach
Honolulu's coastal Ala Moana Boulevard is a critical road in the Hawaiian capital, but it's also a major hindrance. With six lanes of fast-moving traffic and few easily accessible crossing points, it's effectively a hurdle between the city and its main public space, Ala Moana Park, and the broad beach there. Now, a stunning new pedestrian bridge has opened to make it easier to cross that rushing road. Winding its way from the edge of downtown Honolulu over the highway to a boat harbor and the corner of Ala Moana Park, the pedestrian bridge is an elegant piece of urban infrastructure, accented by artwork and connected to a series of paths cutting through a lush tropical landscape. It's part of Victoria Ward Park, a two-phase publicly accessible open space connected to Ward Village, the 60-acre mixed use development that aims to redefine the urban realm in this part of the city. Developed by Howard Hughes, Ward Village is a blank slate development on former warehouse land that will add, over the course of decades, more than 5,000 units of housing, nearly 1 million square feet of retail, and more than three acres of public greenspace. Several condo buildings are fully occupied and many future condos are already pre-sold, representing more than $6 billion in revenue, according to Howard Hughes' 2024 annual report. Beyond its Honolulu project, the company made more than $1.75 billion in revenue in 2024, according to Pitchbook. Building a bridge to downtown Greenspace, primarily in the form of Victoria Ward Park, is a key part of the company's strategy for luring residents and businesses, and turning Ward Village into a new model for urban development in Honolulu. 'A goal for Ward Village is to make the overall neighborhood significantly more walkable, comfortable, and safe,' says Doug Johnstone, president of the Hawaii region for Howard Hughes. Born and raised in Honolulu, Johnstone says that while the city is full of world-class amenities, its urban realm can sometimes be lacking. 'It's inherently a little disjointed and difficult to get around,' Johnstone says. That's why the Ward Village development—estimated to cost several billion dollars over a planned implementation period that runs through the 2030s—set aside the space for the park, and spent a considerable amount of time coordinating with state and local officials to get the pedestrian bridge built. Costing a total of $17.8 million, the bridge is technically a project of the state's Department of Transportation. It was mostly funded by a federal grant, and Howard Hughes helped pay for the 20% portion of the budget required from local sources, donating land, funding the bridge design and providing environmental documentation. 'There's a lot of folks wearing different hats that are trying to see it through, and making sure also it's done well aesthetically and experience-wise,' Johnstone says. 'It's complementary to what we're doing in Ward Village, but also something Honolulu can be proud of.' Ocean-to-inland Making the bridge possible is the existence of Victoria Ward Park, which was designed by Vita Planning and Landscape Architecture. The first phase of the park covers 1.4 acres from the edge of Ala Moana Boulevard inland, and is now open. The second phase, covering roughly 2 acres higher inland and more nestled in the Ward Village development, will finish construction later this year. This ocean-to-inland connection became a guiding concept for the Honolulu park's design, according to Don Vita, founder of Vita Planning and Landscape Architecture. 'Going back and forth from the ocean up to the mountains is a very important cultural orientation in Hawaii and that's exactly what we did with the configuration and the location of the park,' he says. The section of the park closest to the ocean is more of a natural experience, inspired by the ecology of the region and the plants that were brought to Hawaii on canoes by its first settlers. Connecting to the pedestrian bridge, there are winding paths that slope up through this section of the park, passing by densely planted section and water features that reference the brackish ponds that would form on the shoreline. A large berm was created at the edge of the park as it approaches Ala Moana Boulevard, referencing the beach sand but also forming a buffer. 'It encloses the space so that you could have this very calming respite from the active urban activities that Honolulu offers,' Vita says. Higher up in the development and bisected by a road, the second section of the park will be more active, with space for vendors, events, and a playground. Having a street go through the space 'at first was kind of a challenge,' Vita says. 'We thought about it and it actually helped to tell the story of a passive and a more active space, and helped define those accordingly.' Creating publicly accessible space has become a strategy for Howard Hughes, which has included more than 270 parks and recreation spaces within its community development projects across the U.S., including in Summerlin, Nevada, and in the Houston area. In Honolulu, the new park space expands that ethos. But it's still in a bit of a gray zone as a privately-owned space that is publicly accessible. Vita says that unique condition influenced the design of the park and he creation of what he calls visual permeability. 'When people feel they're in a place that others are looking at them, they tend to behave a little better,' he says. 'Along with that visual permeability there's actual physical permeability. We made the spaces very free flowing so it doesn't feel you can't come here.' Making a new connection to the beach—and, conversely, reconnecting the beach to the city—is a way of giving downtown residents more access to the natural amenities of the area without expanding the city's developmental footprint or sprawling beyond its edges. 'What we've been doing over the years is trying to really advance smart growth in Honolulu,' Johnstone says. 'We want to really protect the environment and things that make it special and unique… The saying goes, if you want to keep the country country, you need to make the town town. And we're doing a bit of that here.'
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Billionaire Bill Ackman Wants to Be the Next Warren Buffett, and He Is Buying an AI Stock Up 855% in 10 Years (Hint: Not Nvidia)
In 1965, Warren Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway. He said that in hindsight it was a "doomed" textile mill "headed for extinction." But he saved the business, and laid the foundation for lasting growth, by shifting its focus to insurance. That brilliant decision created a steady inflow of investable capital in the form of insurance premiums, and Buffett used that cash to great effect over the years. Berkshire's market value has increased more than 5,500,000% since Buffett took control, for an average annual return of 20% over six decades. Buffett deserves much of the credit. He (along with the late Charlie Munger) engineered acquisitions, stock purchases, and share buybacks that ultimately turned Berkshire into a trillion-dollar business, one of only 11 in the world at this writing. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » While Buffett plans to step down as chief executive at Berkshire this year, billionaire Bill Ackman hopes to recreate his success with Howard Hughes Holdings. Ackman recently added another 900 million shares to his hedge fund, bringing his total ownership to 46.9%. He plans to turn Howard Hughes into a "modern-day version of Berkshire" by acquiring controlling interests in private and public companies. If Ackman succeeds, he could become the "next Warren Buffett." Here's the artificial intelligence stock he just bought. Bill Ackman just bought Amazon, an AI stock up 855% in the last decade Bill Ackman ranks among the 20 most successful hedge-fund managers as measured by net gains, according to LCH Investments. And Pershing Square outperformed the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) by 24 percentage points over the last five years. Those accomplishments make Ackman an excellent source of inspiration. Importantly, he purchased three stocks during the first quarter: Hertz Global, Uber Technologies, and Brookfield Corporation. Those trades were disclosed in a Form 13F filed last month, but Pershing more recently added Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), an artificial intelligence (AI) stock that rocketed 855% over the last decade. Pershing's chief investment officer Ryan Israel said: "We felt that the company would be able to work through any slowdown in the cloud computing division Amazon Web Services, and we did not judge that tariffs would have a material impact on the earnings in the retail business." Interestingly, Ackman has a very concentrated portfolio that included fewer than a dozen stocks as of the first quarter. Chipmaker Nvidia was not one of those stocks. Amazon has three major growth opportunities Amazon's market value exceeds $2 trillion today, but it could be much larger in a few years. The company has a strong presence in three growing industries, as detailed below: Not only does Amazon run the largest online marketplace in the U.S., but it also expects to gain market share this year. Domestic retail e-commerce sales are forecast to increase 8% annually through 2028, according to eMarketer. Amazon is the third-largest adtech company in the world and is rapidly taking share from industry leaders Google (part of Alphabet) and Meta Platforms. Retail ad spending is forecast to increase 17% annually in the U.S. through 2028, according to eMarketer. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the largest public cloud operator, as measured by infrastructure and platform services spending. Cloud computing sales are forecast to grow at 20% annually through 2030, according to Grand View Research. Importantly, retail advertising and cloud services revenues not only are growing faster than online retail sales, but also have higher margins. That will make Amazon more profitable over time. But the company is also developing about 1,000 generative AI applications that will improve productivity and efficiency across its retail business, from front-end tasks like customer service to back-end tasks like coding. AWS is ideally positioned to monetize AI. It already operates the largest public cloud as measured by revenue and customers, but it has also introduced new products at all three layers of the computing stack. That includes custom chips for AI training and inference at the infrastructure layer, AI-model development tools like Bedrock at the platform layer, and AI applications like Amazon Q at the software layer. That three-tiered strategy is paying off. CEO Andy Jassy recently told analysts: "Our AI business has a multibillion-dollar annual revenue run rate," and "continues to grow triple-digit year-over-year percentages." Most Wall Street analysts anticipate upside in Amazon stock in the next year Amazon shares soared 855% over the last decade as the company built strong positions in online retail, digital advertising, and cloud computing. And Wall Street is still predominantly bullish. Among the 71 analysts who follow the company, 96% rate the stock a buy, and the median target price is $235 per share, which implies 14% upside from the current share price of $205. Wall Street expects Amazon's earnings to increase at 10% annually through 2026. That makes the current price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 33 look somewhat expensive. But I think analysts are underestimating the company, as they have in the past -- Amazon topped the consensus earnings estimate by an average of 21% during the last six quarters. Long-term investors should feel comfortable buying a small position today. Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now? Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $828,224!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to171%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 51% of His Hedge Fund's $13.6 Billion Portfolio Invested in Just 3 Stocks
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square struck a deal to transform Howard Hughes into a diversified holding company for investments. Public filings reveal Ackman's top stock picks for his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital. Ackman recently added to all three of these stocks, so there's still time to buy. 10 stocks we like better than Brookfield Corporation › Bill Ackman probably wouldn't mind being mentioned in the same breath as Warren Buffett. In fact, a recent deal between his Pershing Square fund and Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) aims to transform the real estate business into a diversified holding company much like that of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Investors looking to take advantage of Ackman's investment acumen might consider buying a stake in the company. But it will take a long time for the billionaire's vision for Howard Hughes to play out. Investors who want to follow his best ideas right now can follow along with Pershing Square's quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which disclose all of the hedge fund's $13.6 billion equity holdings, of which more than half is in the following three stocks. Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) is a new addition to Pershing Square's portfolio. Ackman and his team invested roughly $2.3 billion in Uber at the start of 2025. Those shares are now worth roughly $2.6 billion, making it the biggest holding in the portfolio. Ackman believes the fears that the rise of autonomous vehicles will push down the value of Uber are misplaced. Uber benefits from a considerable network effect with more than 170 million users connecting with millions of drivers for rides and deliveries. That network is extremely valuable to autonomous vehicle companies, making Uber a natural partner. Partnering with Uber allows self-driving car companies to grow faster and increase the utilization of their vehicles, helping them maximize their revenue. To be sure, autonomous vehicle ubiquity is still a long ways away. In the meantime, Uber continues to produce strong financial results, exhibiting significant operating leverage as it scales. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) soared 35% last quarter on the back of a 14% increase in gross bookings. The company forecast similar growth for the second quarter as well. Uber's also showing strong growth in free cash flow, or what's left of cash flow after capital spending. It produced $2.3 billion in free cash flow last quarter, up 66% year over year. At last year's investor day, management said it aims to convert more than 90% of EBITDA into free cash flow over the next three years. Despite the strong growth outlook, Uber's stock still trades at a good value. Even after some price appreciation since Ackman's purchase, Uber trades for an enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio of about 25. That's a great price for a company that is increasing EBITDA at about 30% per year. Brookfield (NYSE: BN) is a diversified alternative asset management company with investments across real estate, renewable energy, and infrastructure. Pershing Square first established a position in the Canadian company in 2024, and it's consistently added since. It added another 6.1 million shares in the first quarter, pushing its total investment value to about $2.4 billion today. The corporate structure of Brookfield is unique, with several publicly traded spin-offs and subsidiaries. For example, Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) is Brookfield's core holding and the main investment arm. It owns 73% of BAM's shares while the rest is publicly traded. Other publicly traded Brookfield assets include Brookfield Infrastructure and Brookfield Renewable, which also trades as a partnership. The structure is designed to give investors flexibility and maximize the value of its assets. On top of its subsidiaries, Brookfield also includes some separate real estate holdings and an annuities business. The investments are performing well. Distributable earnings increased 27% year over year in the first quarter thanks in part to divesting a money-losing road fuels business. Management said it expects to boost cash flow at a 20%-plus annual rate through 2029 at last year's investor meeting, giving it an additional $47 billion to allocate to new investments and return to shareholders. Ackman points out that nearly all of Brookfield's market cap is accounted for by its public equity holdings. That means investors can get access to its annuity business and its private investments for an extremely low price. The shares currently trade for just 13.8 times its trailing distributable earnings. Ackman suggests a multiple of 16 should be the floor for Brookfield's value and management thinks it should be worth about 18 times distributable earnings. As such, it looks like a bargain at its current price. Howard Hughes Holdings is a real estate company specializing in master-planned communities. Ackman invested in the company in 2023, attracted to its high-quality assets amid the nation's housing shortage. As mentioned, Pershing Square recently struck a deal with Howard Hughes to acquire 9 million newly issued shares. That gives it a 47% stake in the business worth about $1.9 billion as of this writing. Howard Hughes' core holdings offer a lot of promise. Management estimates the value of its assets at $5.9 billion, which means the $4 billion stock trades for a discount. It's generating modest net operating income growth, with expectations for it to come in as much as 4% higher in 2025. Long-term, management sees net operating income climbing another 37% from 2024 levels based on existing projects. Management has historically used the free cash flow generated by its real estate business to pay down debt, invest in new projects, and repurchase shares. Ackman plans to use the cash to diversify the business. He said one of his first moves will be to add an insurance business either by building it from the ground up or via acquisition. Insurance will provide funds for investment through float -- premiums collected from policy holders before claims are paid out -- which is basically cheap capital for Ackman to invest. It's the same way Buffett transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a textile producer into a diversified holding company. The new structure of the company comes with some drawbacks. Namely, there's the $3.75 million quarterly fee paid to Pershing Square in addition to a 0.375% incentive fee for increasing the value of the business. However, it could provide investors with a way to invest directly in Ackman's best ideas. Considering the stock trades below management's conservative estimate for its net asset value, it may be worth adding for investors hoping Ackman can emulate Buffett's success. Before you buy stock in Brookfield Corporation, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Brookfield Corporation wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $828,224!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Brookfield, Brookfield Corporation, Howard Hughes, Nike, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Renewable, and Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 51% of His Hedge Fund's $13.6 Billion Portfolio Invested in Just 3 Stocks was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 51% of His Hedge Fund's $13.6 Billion Portfolio Invested in Just 3 Stocks
Bill Ackman probably wouldn't mind being mentioned in the same breath as Warren Buffett. In fact, a recent deal between his Pershing Square fund and Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) aims to transform the real estate business into a diversified holding company much like that of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Investors looking to take advantage of Ackman's investment acumen might consider buying a stake in the company. But it will take a long time for the billionaire's vision for Howard Hughes to play out. Investors who want to follow his best ideas right now can follow along with Pershing Square's quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which disclose all of the hedge fund's $13.6 billion equity holdings, of which more than half is in the following three stocks. 1. Uber Technologies (19% of equity portfolio) Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) is a new addition to Pershing Square's portfolio. Ackman and his team invested roughly $2.3 billion in Uber at the start of 2025. Those shares are now worth roughly $2.6 billion, making it the biggest holding in the portfolio. Ackman believes the fears that the rise of autonomous vehicles will push down the value of Uber are misplaced. Uber benefits from a considerable network effect with more than 170 million users connecting with millions of drivers for rides and deliveries. That network is extremely valuable to autonomous vehicle companies, making Uber a natural partner. Partnering with Uber allows self-driving car companies to grow faster and increase the utilization of their vehicles, helping them maximize their revenue. To be sure, autonomous vehicle ubiquity is still a long ways away. In the meantime, Uber continues to produce strong financial results, exhibiting significant operating leverage as it scales. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) soared 35% last quarter on the back of a 14% increase in gross bookings. The company forecast similar growth for the second quarter as well. Uber's also showing strong growth in free cash flow, or what's left of cash flow after capital spending. It produced $2.3 billion in free cash flow last quarter, up 66% year over year. At last year's investor day, management said it aims to convert more than 90% of EBITDA into free cash flow over the next three years. Despite the strong growth outlook, Uber's stock still trades at a good value. Even after some price appreciation since Ackman's purchase, Uber trades for an enterprise value -to-EBITDA ratio of about 25. That's a great price for a company that is increasing EBITDA at about 30% per year. 2. Brookfield (17%) Brookfield (NYSE: BN) is a diversified alternative asset management company with investments across real estate, renewable energy, and infrastructure. Pershing Square first established a position in the Canadian company in 2024, and it's consistently added since. It added another 6.1 million shares in the first quarter, pushing its total investment value to about $2.4 billion today. The corporate structure of Brookfield is unique, with several publicly traded spin-offs and subsidiaries. For example, Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) is Brookfield's core holding and the main investment arm. It owns 73% of BAM's shares while the rest is publicly traded. Other publicly traded Brookfield assets include Brookfield Infrastructure and Brookfield Renewable, which also trades as a partnership. The structure is designed to give investors flexibility and maximize the value of its assets. On top of its subsidiaries, Brookfield also includes some separate real estate holdings and an annuities business. The investments are performing well. Distributable earnings increased 27% year over year in the first quarter thanks in part to divesting a money-losing road fuels business. Management said it expects to boost cash flow at a 20%-plus annual rate through 2029 at last year's investor meeting, giving it an additional $47 billion to allocate to new investments and return to shareholders. Ackman points out that nearly all of Brookfield's market cap is accounted for by its public equity holdings. That means investors can get access to its annuity business and its private investments for an extremely low price. The shares currently trade for just 13.8 times its trailing distributable earnings. Ackman suggests a multiple of 16 should be the floor for Brookfield's value and management thinks it should be worth about 18 times distributable earnings. As such, it looks like a bargain at its current price. 3. Howard Hughes Holdings (14%) Howard Hughes Holdings is a real estate company specializing in master-planned communities. Ackman invested in the company in 2023, attracted to its high-quality assets amid the nation's housing shortage. As mentioned, Pershing Square recently struck a deal with Howard Hughes to acquire 9 million newly issued shares. That gives it a 47% stake in the business worth about $1.9 billion as of this writing. Howard Hughes' core holdings offer a lot of promise. Management estimates the value of its assets at $5.9 billion, which means the $4 billion stock trades for a discount. It's generating modest net operating income growth, with expectations for it to come in as much as 4% higher in 2025. Long-term, management sees net operating income climbing another 37% from 2024 levels based on existing projects. Management has historically used the free cash flow generated by its real estate business to pay down debt, invest in new projects, and repurchase shares. Ackman plans to use the cash to diversify the business. He said one of his first moves will be to add an insurance business either by building it from the ground up or via acquisition. Insurance will provide funds for investment through float -- premiums collected from policy holders before claims are paid out -- which is basically cheap capital for Ackman to invest. It's the same way Buffett transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a textile producer into a diversified holding company. The new structure of the company comes with some drawbacks. Namely, there's the $3.75 million quarterly fee paid to Pershing Square in addition to a 0.375% incentive fee for increasing the value of the business. However, it could provide investors with a way to invest directly in Ackman's best ideas. Considering the stock trades below management's conservative estimate for its net asset value, it may be worth adding for investors hoping Ackman can emulate Buffett's success. Should you invest $1,000 in Brookfield Corporation right now? Before you buy stock in Brookfield Corporation, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Brookfield Corporation wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $828,224!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to171%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Brookfield, Brookfield Corporation, Howard Hughes, Nike, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Renewable, and Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 51% of His Hedge Fund's $13.6 Billion Portfolio Invested in Just 3 Stocks
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square struck a deal to transform Howard Hughes into a diversified holding company for investments. Public filings reveal Ackman's top stock picks for his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital. Ackman recently added to all three of these stocks, so there's still time to buy. 10 stocks we like better than Brookfield Corporation › Bill Ackman probably wouldn't mind being mentioned in the same breath as Warren Buffett. In fact, a recent deal between his Pershing Square fund and Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) aims to transform the real estate business into a diversified holding company much like that of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Investors looking to take advantage of Ackman's investment acumen might consider buying a stake in the company. But it will take a long time for the billionaire's vision for Howard Hughes to play out. Investors who want to follow his best ideas right now can follow along with Pershing Square's quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which disclose all of the hedge fund's $13.6 billion equity holdings, of which more than half is in the following three stocks. Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) is a new addition to Pershing Square's portfolio. Ackman and his team invested roughly $2.3 billion in Uber at the start of 2025. Those shares are now worth roughly $2.6 billion, making it the biggest holding in the portfolio. Ackman believes the fears that the rise of autonomous vehicles will push down the value of Uber are misplaced. Uber benefits from a considerable network effect with more than 170 million users connecting with millions of drivers for rides and deliveries. That network is extremely valuable to autonomous vehicle companies, making Uber a natural partner. Partnering with Uber allows self-driving car companies to grow faster and increase the utilization of their vehicles, helping them maximize their revenue. To be sure, autonomous vehicle ubiquity is still a long ways away. In the meantime, Uber continues to produce strong financial results, exhibiting significant operating leverage as it scales. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) soared 35% last quarter on the back of a 14% increase in gross bookings. The company forecast similar growth for the second quarter as well. Uber's also showing strong growth in free cash flow, or what's left of cash flow after capital spending. It produced $2.3 billion in free cash flow last quarter, up 66% year over year. At last year's investor day, management said it aims to convert more than 90% of EBITDA into free cash flow over the next three years. Despite the strong growth outlook, Uber's stock still trades at a good value. Even after some price appreciation since Ackman's purchase, Uber trades for an enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio of about 25. That's a great price for a company that is increasing EBITDA at about 30% per year. Brookfield (NYSE: BN) is a diversified alternative asset management company with investments across real estate, renewable energy, and infrastructure. Pershing Square first established a position in the Canadian company in 2024, and it's consistently added since. It added another 6.1 million shares in the first quarter, pushing its total investment value to about $2.4 billion today. The corporate structure of Brookfield is unique, with several publicly traded spin-offs and subsidiaries. For example, Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) is Brookfield's core holding and the main investment arm. It owns 73% of BAM's shares while the rest is publicly traded. Other publicly traded Brookfield assets include Brookfield Infrastructure and Brookfield Renewable, which also trades as a partnership. The structure is designed to give investors flexibility and maximize the value of its assets. On top of its subsidiaries, Brookfield also includes some separate real estate holdings and an annuities business. The investments are performing well. Distributable earnings increased 27% year over year in the first quarter thanks in part to divesting a money-losing road fuels business. Management said it expects to boost cash flow at a 20%-plus annual rate through 2029 at last year's investor meeting, giving it an additional $47 billion to allocate to new investments and return to shareholders. Ackman points out that nearly all of Brookfield's market cap is accounted for by its public equity holdings. That means investors can get access to its annuity business and its private investments for an extremely low price. The shares currently trade for just 13.8 times its trailing distributable earnings. Ackman suggests a multiple of 16 should be the floor for Brookfield's value and management thinks it should be worth about 18 times distributable earnings. As such, it looks like a bargain at its current price. Howard Hughes Holdings is a real estate company specializing in master-planned communities. Ackman invested in the company in 2023, attracted to its high-quality assets amid the nation's housing shortage. As mentioned, Pershing Square recently struck a deal with Howard Hughes to acquire 9 million newly issued shares. That gives it a 47% stake in the business worth about $1.9 billion as of this writing. Howard Hughes' core holdings offer a lot of promise. Management estimates the value of its assets at $5.9 billion, which means the $4 billion stock trades for a discount. It's generating modest net operating income growth, with expectations for it to come in as much as 4% higher in 2025. Long-term, management sees net operating income climbing another 37% from 2024 levels based on existing projects. Management has historically used the free cash flow generated by its real estate business to pay down debt, invest in new projects, and repurchase shares. Ackman plans to use the cash to diversify the business. He said one of his first moves will be to add an insurance business either by building it from the ground up or via acquisition. Insurance will provide funds for investment through float -- premiums collected from policy holders before claims are paid out -- which is basically cheap capital for Ackman to invest. It's the same way Buffett transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a textile producer into a diversified holding company. The new structure of the company comes with some drawbacks. Namely, there's the $3.75 million quarterly fee paid to Pershing Square in addition to a 0.375% incentive fee for increasing the value of the business. However, it could provide investors with a way to invest directly in Ackman's best ideas. Considering the stock trades below management's conservative estimate for its net asset value, it may be worth adding for investors hoping Ackman can emulate Buffett's success. Before you buy stock in Brookfield Corporation, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Brookfield Corporation wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,049!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $828,224!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 979% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Brookfield, Brookfield Corporation, Howard Hughes, Nike, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Renewable, and Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Billionaire Bill Ackman Has 51% of His Hedge Fund's $13.6 Billion Portfolio Invested in Just 3 Stocks was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
