Billionaire Steve Cohen Is Buying This Overlooked Stock While Dumping Big Tech
Complete. Here is the key summaryBillionaire Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management is shifting its portfolio strategy by significantly reducing positions in major tech stocks like Nvidia, Broadcom, and TSMC during Q1 2026. Conversely, Cohen heavily increased his stake in Mondelez International (MDLZ) by over 11,000%, attracted by its low valuation relative to 2023 peaks and its defensive qualities as a consumer staple. While not the largest purchase by dollar amount, this move highlights a preference for stable, dividend-yielding assets amid market uncertainty.
Steve Cohen amassed a net worth of roughly $23 billion by making big moves. He's still at it -- as evidenced by the major changes in his Point72 Asset Management hedge fund's portfolio in recent months.
Point72's 13F filing for the first quarter of 2026 revealed that Cohen is dumping big tech. The billionaire sold 24% of his hedge fund's stake in Nvidia (NVDA +2.93%), 21% of its position in Broadcom (AVGO +0.37%), and 60% of its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM +0.23%).
However, Cohen didn't just sell in Q1. He loaded up on several stocks, including one that many investors might overlook -- Mondelez International (MDLZ -1.22%).
Image source: Getty Images.
Cohen's snack craving
On a dollar basis, Mondelez wasn't Cohen's biggest purchase in the first quarter. But it was on a percentage basis. The hedge fund manager bought 4.9 million shares of the food stock, increasing Point72's position by a whopping 11,627%.
Why does Cohen like Mondelez so much? It isn't for the company's recent growth. Mondelez's net revenue increased by only 4.1% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, down from 8.2% in Q1. The snack food maker's adjusted earnings per share declined by 2.7% on a constant-currency basis in Q2.
Valuation was likely a key factor in Cohen's decision. Mondelez's shares were trading more than 30% below the 2023 peak set early in the first quarter. Even after a strong year-to-date gain of around 17%, the stock sports a reasonable forward price-to-earnings ratio of 21.5.
NASDAQ: MDLZ
Key Data Points
Perhaps the best guess as to why Cohen loaded up on the snack-food giant, though, is that he found Mondelez's defensive qualities compelling in the current market environment. Another billionaire investor -- Warren Buffett -- told CNBC in July that investors were "gambling" today. Cohen knows that Mondelez should be a relatively safe, albeit perhaps boring, bet.
Should you follow Cohen's lead?
No one should buy a stock solely because a super-wealthy investor did. However, I think Mondelez could appeal to two types of investors.
First, many income investors will probably like the company's 3.3% forward dividend yield. Mondelez has also increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years following its spin-off from Kraft (KHC -2.01%).
Second, risk-averse investors could find Mondelez's aforementioned defensive qualities attractive. As the company told analysts earlier this year, "Snacking is embedded in daily life." Mondelez claims the leading global market share in biscuits, the No. 2 market share in chocolates, and the No. 3 market share in cakes & pastries and snack bars. Its business should be resilient.
I suspect that some of the stocks Cohen sold in Q1 will be bigger long-term winners than Mondelez. However, buying consumer staple stocks right now probably isn't a bad idea.