Even a cursory examination of Bill Ackman and Chase Coleman's respective portfolios shows few common denominators. The two billionaire hedge fund managers have quite different styles and investment strategies.
However, Ackman and Coleman were of like mind on at least one stock during the second quarter of 2025. Both billionaires bought Amazon (AMZN 3.12%) stock hand over fist.
Image source: Amazon.
Billionaires' buying spree
Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management owned only 11 stocks going into Q2. Amazon wasn't one of them. The hedge fund had never invested in the e-commerce and cloud-services giant in the past, either.
However, Ackman bought around 5.82 million shares of Amazon for Pershing Square's portfolio in Q2 valued at $1.28 billion at the end of the quarter. The stock now makes up roughly 9.3% of Ackman's portfolio.
Coleman's Tiger Global Management, on the other hand, already had a sizable position in Amazon (almost 6.6 million shares) at the end of 2025's Q1. That was enough to make the "Magnificent Seven" stock the hedge fund's fifth-largest holding.
Amazon is one spot higher on Tiger Global's ranking now. Coleman increased the hedge fund's stake by more than 62%, buying an additional 4.1 million shares.
Why do Ackman and Coleman like Amazon?
Investors didn't have to wait until Pershing Square's 13F regulatory filing to know about the Amazon purchase. Ackman and Ryan Israel, chief investment officer for Pershing Square, talked about the transaction in a May conference call.
Amazon had been on Pershing Square's radar for years. Ackman and Israel were waiting, though, for the price to be right. When the stock plunged more than 30% earlier this year, they jumped on the opportunity to buy the stock at a discount.
While some investors were concerned about the potential impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on Amazon's retail business, Pershing Square wasn't. Ackman and his team think the growth prospects for Amazon Web Services (AWS) are strong. They're also big fans of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and believe his actions to improve efficiency will lead to greater profit-margin expansion and increased revenue growth.
Coleman doesn't speak as much publicly about his purchases as Ackman does. However, it's probably fair to say that he likes Amazon for many of the same reasons as his fellow billionaire hedge fund manager does. The company remains the 800-pound gorilla in both e-commerce and cloud services. The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) creates a powerful tailwind for Amazon -- one that Coleman undoubtedly considered before boosting Tiger Global's position in Q2.
Should you buy Amazon stock, too?
Investors shouldn't scramble to buy Amazon stock just because successful, famous investors are. One thing to keep in mind is that Amazon's share price is no longer beaten down as much as it was when Ackman and Coleman bought the stock in Q2.
However, the other factors motivating the two billionaires to buy Amazon stock in Q2 remain compelling. Tariffs probably won't hurt Amazon's e-commerce business too much. AWS' long-term growth opportunities are especially promising. Most of global IT spending is still on-premises rather than in the cloud, but that probably won't be true 10 to 15 years from now.
Jassy is as good as Ackman and Israel say he is. Under his leadership, Amazon has relentlessly focused on increasing profits. Those efforts are paying off big-time: The company's earnings jumped nearly 35% year over year in Q2.
Don't overlook Amazon's growth opportunities in new markets, either. The company plans to begin offering satellite internet service via its Project Kuiper satellites later this year. Amazon's Zoox unit could be among the big winners in the robotaxi market.
Amazon isn't a great stock to buy solely because billionaires are buying it. However, I think it's a great stock to buy when all things are considered.
