--- title: "Frantic Sale of $8 Billion in Microsoft Holdings! Renowned Tech Hedge Fund Clears Decade-Long Position" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/285788861.md" description: "Hohn, founder of the renowned hedge fund TCI, slashed his Microsoft stake from 10% to 1%, ending a nearly decade-long holding. The core reason is that the rapid development of AI poses a structural threat to Microsoft's Office and Azure businesses, compounded by a year-to-date stock price decline of over 12%. Meanwhile, TCI increased its Alphabet holdings to 5%, making it the fund's largest technology position" datetime: "2026-05-09T01:41:52.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/285788861.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285788861.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/285788861.md) --- # Frantic Sale of $8 Billion in Microsoft Holdings! Renowned Tech Hedge Fund Clears Decade-Long Position Renowned hedge fund TCI has significantly reduced its Microsoft position, virtually exiting a heavy bet held for nearly a decade, citing the structural threat artificial intelligence poses to Microsoft's core software business. On May 8, according to an investor letter obtained by the Financial Times, TCI founder Sir Christopher Hohn drastically cut the Microsoft stake from 10% of the portfolio at the end of last year to just 1% by the end of the first quarter of this year, involving approximately $8 billion. Hohn stated clearly in the letter: "**We are reducing our Microsoft holding because the rapid advancement of AI has created uncertainty regarding Microsoft's future competitive position.**" He specifically highlighted the impact on Microsoft's Office software business and also expressed certain concerns about the prospects of its cloud computing platform, Azure. This liquidation occurred against the backdrop of Microsoft's stock price falling more than 12% year-to-date, reflecting widespread market skepticism about whether Microsoft can translate its massive AI investments into commercial returns. Meanwhile, TCI increased its holdings in Alphabet during the same period, raising its stake from 3% to 5%, making it the fund's largest technology holding. ## AI Impact on Office and Azure Raises Questions About Microsoft's Moat Hohn's concerns about Microsoft in the investor letter focused on two levels. The first is the Office software business. He believes that the rapid evolution of AI could reshape existing workflows and spawn entirely new productivity platforms, thereby shaking Microsoft Office's long-standing dominance. The second is the cloud computing business, Azure, where Hohn also expressed a judgment of "a certain degree of risk." Microsoft had benefited from the Wall Street AI frenzy in recent years through its stake in OpenAI, with its stock price once surging significantly. However, entering 2026, market sentiment has shifted markedly—investors have begun to question whether Microsoft can convert its continuously expanding AI capital expenditures into substantial commercial returns, with Microsoft's stock price down more than 12% this year. **While reducing its Microsoft position, TCI took the opposite approach with Alphabet, increasing its stake from 3% to 5%, making Alphabet the fund's current largest technology holding.** This portfolio adjustment reveals TCI's structural reallocation within the technology sector—shifting from wavering confidence in Microsoft to a relatively optimistic view of Alphabet's competitive prospects. However, TCI is not overall a technology-themed fund, with technology stocks accounting for a relatively limited portion of its portfolio. ## World's Most Profitable Hedge Fund, Heavy on Infrastructure and Aviation TCI has held Microsoft shares almost continuously since the fourth quarter of 2017 (briefly disappearing from regulatory disclosures in 2023), during which time Microsoft's stock price cumulatively rose by nearly 400%, yielding substantial profits for TCI. **This reduction marks the substantive end of an investment relationship lasting nearly a decade.** Hohn is known for his long holding periods, with an average holding time of about nine years, far exceeding most hedge fund peers. His investment philosophy involves concentrated bets on a few companies with strong competitive barriers—currently, TCI's holdings cover only 15 stocks, whereas the vast majority of hedge funds of similar size hold dozens or even hundreds of positions. Last year, TCI topped the list of the world's most profitable hedge funds with $18.9 billion in investor profits, surpassing Citadel under Ken Griffin and Millennium under Izzy Englander. **In terms of overall portfolio structure, TCI's core allocations are concentrated in the infrastructure and aerospace sectors, rather than technology stocks.** Its largest holding is GE Aerospace, accounting for a hefty 18% of the portfolio; it also holds significant stakes in Visa, Moody's, and the infrastructure company Ferrovial. ### Related Stocks - [MSFT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFT.US.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [GGLL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLL.US.md) - [MSFO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFO.US.md) - [GOOW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOW.US.md) - [MSFX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFX.US.md) - [MSFU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFU.US.md) - [MSFL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFL.US.md) - [OpenAI.NA](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OpenAI.NA.md) - [GE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GE.US.md) - [V.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/V.US.md) - [MCO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MCO.US.md) - [FER.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FER.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Adelphi Trust Co Acquires Shares of 15,682 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285500801.md) - [Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Cut by Hixon Zuercher LLC](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285504356.md) - [Bellevue Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285167377.md) - [Microsoft employees learn details of voluntary retirement package: Here’s what the company is offering](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285580883.md) - [Microsoft’s clean energy target under pressure from AI data centres](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285521389.md)