Michael Burry built a celebrated career out of going against the grain. Burry, a hedge fund manager and one of the most celebrated risk takers in Wall Street history, is the CEO of Scion Asset Management. Actor Christian Bale played Burry in the 2015 film “The Big Short,” which highlighted Burry’s prediction of the collapse of the U.S. mortgage-backed securities market. That market call earned an estimated $100 million payday for Burry and $725 million for his firm’s clients.
Burry’s investment strategy leans heavily on market analysis and disciplines from the 1934 book “Security Analysis,” by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. The tome touted the benefits of financial statement analysis, focusing on intrinsic value and structured investment principles. Yet Burry has also never been reluctant to place his own stamp on Wall Street’s golden tried-and-true investment tenets.
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Burry leverages sophisticated financial instruments like short-selling and derivative securities to press against conventional market wisdom and has made a fortune of the process (his net worth is reportedly in the $300 million range). He’s also not against taking big stakes in select stocks he deems undervalued, a strategy Burry used at the end of 2024 to bolster Scion’s portfolio.
Using Scion’s most recent 13F report, here’s what the Burry portfolio looks like, including new positions and the curbing of two China stocks, as of Dec. 31. The Burry portfolio holds 13 managed 13F securities with a total value of $77.4 million:
| Michael Burry Stock | % of Portfolio* | Market Value* |
| Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (ticker: BABA) | 16.42% | $12.7 million |
| Baidu Inc. (BIDU) | 13.61% | $10.5 million |
| JD.com Inc. (JD) | 13.43% | $10.4 million |
| Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (EL) | 9.68% | $7.5 million |
| Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH) | 9.40% | $7.3 million |
| PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD) | 9.39% | $7.3 million |
| HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA) | 5.81% | $4.5 million |
*As of 13F reporting on Feb. 14 for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA)
Percentage of portfolio: 16.4%
Burry cut his fund’s position in Alibaba by 25% in the last reporting period, yet he still holds 150,000 shares of BABA stock valued at $12.7 million. Burry possibly sees some tough sledding ahead for the China-based digital commerce giant. Like most Chinese companies, BABA faces major in-country regulatory concerns while also prepping for tariff challenges introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Alibaba shares are up 61% year to date as of Feb. 27, however, which is well ahead of the S&P 500’s flat return. Alibaba is plowing ahead with a $2 billion commitment to AI and cloud computing over the next three years, and its fiscal third-quarter earnings easily topped industry analyst estimates.
Baidu Inc. (BIDU)
Percentage of portfolio: 13.6%
Up about 4.7% in 2025 as of Feb. 27, this Beijing-based internet search and marketing company is another perennial Burry favorite. There was no change here for the 13F reporting period, with the Burry portfolio holding 125,000 shares of BIDU stock valued at $10.5 million. However, Burry unloaded a big chunk of bearish put options for both BABA and BIDU. Burry continues to favor China value plays like Baidu, which is often referred to as the “Google of China.” The company’s AI cloud business is flourishing as it moves from an internet company to an AI-first business, Robin Li, the chief executive and co-founder of Baidu, said in a recent statement.
JD.com Inc. (JD)
Percentage of portfolio: 13.4%
Burry broke out the pruning shares for JD, lopping off 40% of his firm’s position in the stock but also selling off his JD puts. The stock has returned 22.7% year to date and 79.8% over the past year as of Feb. 27. The sale brings Scion’s position in JD stock down to 300,000 shares with an estimated value of $10.4 million, but it’s still the third-largest position in the Burry portfolio.
Another China-based e-commerce play for Burry, JD has seen earnings grow 41% over the past three quarters. However, institutional funds hold only 12% of JD shares, which could be interpreted as a general loss of faith in Chinese stocks. JD does come with a sturdy 1.8% forward dividend yield, and the company is in the midst of a steep discounting effort, which, when paired with the Chinese government’s new stimulus campaign, should give hope to JD shareholders.
Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (EL)
Percentage of portfolio: 9.7%
Estee Lauder is a new position for the Scion portfolio, with the Burry team adding 100,000 shares of EL stock at around $75 to $82 per share. Burry has long favored strong brand names with his stock picks, and his Lauder pick signals growing confidence in consumer sentiment for perfumes and body lotions across the globe, where EL is positioned comfortably. EL shares are trading at around $71 as of Feb. 28, below where Burry bought them, and shares are down about 49% over the past year. But Lauder is in the midst of a turnaround. The firm recently engaged in a major cost-cutting spree, losing 7,000 employees and spending $366 million on rigorous corporate restructuring. D.A. Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser is relatively bullish on the stock, issuing a new research note that holds her “buy” rating with a price target of $81 per share.
Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH)
Percentage of portfolio: 9.4%
Team Burry also cut share volume on Molina Healthcare, reducing its holding by 16.7%, down to 25,000 shares held. The MOH shares’ market value stands at $7.3 million in the Burry portfolio. Investors may consider MOH a portfolio hedge, given its prominence in the health care sector, particularly in the government-sponsored Medicare and Medicaid areas. This week, Truist Financial’s David Macdonald held his “buy” call on the stock and set a price target of $340 per share (the stock is currently trading at around $298). Truist had previously issued a $370 one-year target price on MOH shares, so the update signals lower confidence for the company in the short term after a fourth-quarter earnings miss.
PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD)
Percentage of portfolio: 9.4%
PDD represents another new addition to the Scion portfolio, with Burry snapping up 75,000 shares at an estimated value of $7.3 million. PDD is yet another China e-commerce play by team Burry. Online retailers Pinduoduo and Temu, divisions of PDD Holdings, have been rocked by the ongoing tariff strife between Beijing and Washington, D.C. In particular, PDD was negatively impacted by the Trump administration’s early-February call for tariffs on Chinese products, including a new ban on so-called de minimis packages valued at less than $800 entering the U.S. without a fee. For companies that sell and transport discounted goods, the tariff and trade wars are bad news for profits, but Burry may be seeing a silver lining in China’s economic stimulus plans.
HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA)
Percentage of portfolio: 5.8%
HCA, Burry’s second-favorite health care pick, is also a new buy, with 15,000 shares purchased at $4.5 million. HCA shares have climbed almost 7% since Scion’s Dec. 31 reporting deadline and act as another hedge against Burry’s riskier technology and e-commerce plays. The stock is trading at around $300 per share and should be trending up soon, as eight industry analysts have upped their earnings estimate on HCA in the past two months. The Nashville, Tennessee-based health care provider certainly has its infrastructure firmly in place, with 190 hospitals and 2,400 patient care centers across the U.S. The company also adds a 0.9% forward dividend yield to the mix, offering more value for shareholders.
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7 Best Michael Burry Stocks to Buy in 2025 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 02/28/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
