Dr. Michael Burry of 'Big Short' Reveals Stakes in Google, Facebook

GuruFocus.com

- By Holly LaFon

After years of limited investment in the stock market, Dr. Michael Burry, whose bet against the subprime market was memorialized in The Big Short, released a portfolio filing listing 16 stocks he owned during the fourth quarter.

Burry's firm, Scion Capital Management, in 2016 filed a 13F declaring ownership of public shares for the first time since his triumphant housing market short. At that time, he surprised the public by disclosing stakes in the most shaken sector of the economic crisis, financials, with shares of Bank of America (BAC) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK). Within the year, however, the firm had shed most of its holdings, chiseling its assets below the $100 million threshold for disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the portfolio's value reached $104 million, triggering a regulatory disclosure requirement.


At his former fund in the 2000s, Burry's early recognition of the trouble in the subprime lending market led to staggering gains. During its eight years of operations ending in 2008, Burry delivered 489.34% in cumulative returns, Vanity Fair reported. But the lofty numbers also derived from outperformance during the bursting of the dot-com bubble. In the first half of 2001, for instance, Scion had 26.98% returns versus a 6.68% decline in the S&P 500.

Burry has given few media interviews, but he espouses a value philosophy and offered some insight into his investing strategy in his 2001 shareholder letter:

"As much as the Fund is a value fund, it is an opportunistic fund," he said. "And as much as I enthusiastically explore the value of each business behind every stock, I seek the pockets of the market that are the most inefficient, the most temporarily imbalanced in terms of price. Whatever extra return this Fund will earn will be borne of buying absurdly cheap rather than selling dearly smitten. I certainly have proven no ability to pick tops, and I do not anticipate attempting such a feat in the future. Rather, fully aware that wonderful businesses make wonderful investments only at wonderful prices, I will continue to seek out the bargains amid the refuse."

The former fund also had ties to prominent value investors. It partnered with Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio)'s Gotham Capital and a fund run by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) associate Jack Byrne, White Mountains Management Company.

In his fourth-quarter 2018 portfolio filing, Burry disclosed that he owns an array stocks from various sectors, including tech giants Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL). He also owned as his smallest position the second worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2018, home furnishing and fixtures company Mohawk Industries Inc. (MHK).

His public equity portfolio at quarter-end comprised 16 stocks, with a 30.7% weighting in consumer cyclical stocks, 28.46% in real estate and 19.88% in technology. As his two largest positions, Burry had CorePoint Lodging Inc. (CPLG) and Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (ALEX), both real estate investment trusts. GuruFocus data shows that all of the stocks in Burry's portfolio except one have posted gains year to date.

Because he has not disclosed his portfolio for two years, it is unknown whether he purchased the stocks during or prior to the fourth quarter.

Burry's largest holdings

CorePoint Lodging Inc. (CPLG)

Burry held 904,984 shares of the REIT, giving it 10.71% portfolio weight. Year to date, the stock's price has gained 14.78%.

CorePoint Lodging Inc. has a market cap of $848.840 million; its shares were traded around $14.23 Thursday with a price-sales ratio of 1.59. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of CorePoint Lodging Inc. stocks is 3.30%. The forward dividend yield of CorePoint Lodging Inc. stocks is 5.69%.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (ALEX)

Burry held 500,356 shares of Alexander & Baldwin, giving it 8.88% portfolio weight. The stock's price has risen 33.51% year to date.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has a market cap of $1.77 billion; its shares were traded around $24.56 with a price-earnings ratio of 5.02 and price-sales ratio of 3.66. Alexander & Baldwin Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 24.10% over the past five years.

Five Point Holdings LLC (FPH)

Burry held 1,323,626 shares of the company, giving it 8.87% portfolio weight. The stock's price has risen 15.56% year to date.

Five Point Holdings LLC has a market cap of $542.22 million; its shares were traded around $8.15 with a price-earnings ratio of 27.16 and price-sales ratio of 9.53.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS)

Burry held 80,000 shares of the company, giving it 8.47% portfolio weight. The stock's price rose 3.68% year to date.

Walt Disney Co. has a market cap of $170.38 billion; its shares were traded around $114.29 Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 15.63 and price-sales ratio of 2.88. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Walt Disney Co. stocks is 1.50%. The forward dividend yield of Walt Disney Co. stocks is 1.55%. Walt Disney Co. had an annual average earnings growth of 12% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Walt Disney Co. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.

Tailored Brands Inc. (TLRD)

Burry held 638,005 shares of the company, giving it 8.41% portfolio weight. The stock's price declined 3.08% year to date.

Tailored Brands Inc. has a market cap of $638.230 million; its shares were traded around $12.74 with a price-earnings ratio of 8.55 and price-sales ratio of 0.20. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Tailored Brands Inc. is 5.66%. The forward dividend yield of Tailored Brands Inc. is 5.45%.

See Burry's portfolio here.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.