Gerstner exits $163M Alphabet stake, buys $323M in Arm and Axon

Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital exited its entire 519,290-share Alphabet Inc. position in the first quarter and opened two new stakes worth a combined $322.8 million, according to the firm's 13F filing with the SEC on May 15.

The $15 billion technology-focused investment firm sold roughly $162.5 million of Alphabet Class A shares and deployed $259.5 million into Arm Holdings plc and $63.3 million into Axon Enterprise Inc., the filing shows. The moves represent a sharp portfolio concentration around artificial intelligence infrastructure and public-safety technology.

"Alphabet has posted 82% year-over-year quarterly earnings growth and 38% profit margins, yet 2026 capital expenditure guidance of $175 billion to $185 billion is reshaping the free-cash-flow profile," Joel South, an analyst at 24/7 Wall St., said. "Selling at a 27 trailing P/E after a 100% one-year run is a valuation-and-capex call."

Altimeter added to six existing positions during the quarter. The largest increases were in Uber Technologies Inc., up 43% to $573.4 million, and CoreWeave, up 40% to $348.5 million. The firm also boosted Nvidia Corp. by 15% to $1.63 billion, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. by 12% to $461.5 million, Meta Platforms Inc. by 6% to $1.12 billion, and nearly doubled Broadcom Inc., adding 109% to $20.8 million.

On the sell side, Altimeter trimmed Robinhood Markets Inc. by 30% to $62.4 million, Amazon.com Inc. by 6% to $435.2 million, Snowflake Inc. by 5% to $290.5 million, and Microsoft Corp. by 7% to $438.2 million. The firm fully exited seven positions: Alphabet, Coupang Inc., Confluent Inc., Zillow Group Inc., MercadoLibre Inc., Shopify Inc., and Bloom Energy Corp.

Arm Holdings, which trades at roughly 270 times trailing earnings, delivered revenue of $1.49 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, up 20% year over year, with data center royalty revenue more than doubling. Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas flagged more than $2 billion in customer demand for the new Arm AGI CPU across fiscal 2027 and 2028, with Meta Platforms as lead partner and Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, and OpenAI all building on the platform.

Axon Enterprise, the Taser and body-camera maker, reported first-quarter revenue of $807.4 million, up 34% year over year, and raised its full-year guidance to 30% to 32% revenue growth. The stock has fallen 21% year to date and 41% over the past 12 months, making Gerstner's entry a contrarian bet on a company with $1.49 billion in annualized recurring revenue.

The rotation signals Gerstner's preference for picks-and-shovels AI plays over mega-cap tech companies funding the buildout. Arm has surged more than 150% since March 31, while Axon remains well below its 52-week high of $885.92. Investors will watch Altimeter's next 13F filing, due in mid-August, for confirmation of whether the new positions were held or expanded through the second quarter.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.