TLDR
- Billionaire Ole Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global Investors exited entire Nvidia and Amazon positions worth billions during third quarter 2025
- Halvorsen bought 2.4 million Microsoft shares valued at $1.26 billion, creating new top-five fund holding representing 3.2% of assets
- Microsoft beat Q2 estimates with $4.14 earnings per share and $81.3 billion revenue but stock fell 6.8% after hours
- Azure cloud growth decelerated to 39% from prior quarter’s 40%, with company projecting 37-38% growth next quarter
- Microsoft capital expenditures reached record $37.5 billion, jumping 66% year-over-year as AI infrastructure investment accelerates
Ole Andreas Halvorsen made major portfolio changes at Viking Global Investors during the third quarter of 2025. The billionaire fund manager sold all positions in Nvidia and Amazon while establishing a massive new stake in Microsoft.
Viking Global’s 13F filing revealed the fund eliminated 3,681,935 Nvidia shares that comprised its 26th-largest holding. The $39 billion fund also sold 3,897,092 Amazon shares, which had been its eighth-largest position.
The selling may reflect concerns beyond simple profit-taking. Every major technology innovation over the past three decades has experienced an early bubble phase. Investors typically overestimate how quickly new technologies get adopted, creating inflated expectations.
Valuation worries could have driven the decisions. Nvidia’s price-to-sales ratio exceeded 30 in early November, a level historically linked to bubble conditions. Amazon traded at a price-to-earnings ratio of 34, which may have seemed too high for Halvorsen’s strategy.
Viking Global holds stocks for an average of less than 19 months. This short holding period suggests Halvorsen prioritizes taking profits over long-term positions.
Microsoft Becomes Major Portfolio Holding
Halvorsen purchased 2,429,412 Microsoft shares worth nearly $1.26 billion during the same quarter. The investment made Microsoft Viking Global’s fifth-largest holding at 3.2% of total assets.
Microsoft’s growth relies heavily on artificial intelligence expansion. The Azure cloud platform is integrating generative AI and large language models to attract new customers. Azure posted 39% constant-currency growth in Microsoft’s fiscal first quarter ending September 30.
Beyond AI, Microsoft’s legacy Windows and Office products continue generating substantial cash flow. The company ended September with $102 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. Microsoft produced $45 billion in net operating cash during its fiscal first quarter alone.
Microsoft stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25. This represents a 16% discount compared to its five-year average forward P/E.
Microsoft Earnings Disappoint Market Despite Beat
Microsoft reported second-quarter earnings of $4.14 per share on $81.3 billion revenue. The results topped analyst expectations of $3.91 per share and $80.3 billion revenue. Shares still dropped 6.8% in after-hours trading.
Azure cloud revenue grew 39% in the October-December quarter. While this exceeded Wall Street’s 37.8% estimate, it marked a slowdown from the previous quarter’s 40% rate. CFO Amy Hood projected third-quarter Azure growth of 37-38% in constant currency.
Microsoft’s capital spending hit a record $37.5 billion, up 66% from last year. Two-thirds of that spending funded computing chips for AI infrastructure. The total exceeded analyst estimates of $34.31 billion.
The company disclosed M365 Copilot now has 15 million annual users. The AI assistant costs $30 monthly and serves as Microsoft’s primary AI product for business clients.
Microsoft’s “Other” segment posted $10 billion income compared to a $2.3 billion loss one year earlier. The company attributed this change to OpenAI’s corporate restructuring. Microsoft owns approximately 27% of the AI startup.
OpenAI committed to spending at least $281 billion with Microsoft, including $250 billion for Azure services. Hood said capital spending will decline slightly in the current quarter compared to the just-completed period.
