Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman stated that the geopolitical conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the Iran-War, coupled with persistently high inflation and interest rates, are dragging down what were otherwise "prosperous" market conditions.
On Thursday, Ackman stated in the CNBC program “Money Movers” regarding CNBC: “Once the shadow of war passes – and it seems we are also moving in the right direction on the Russia-Ukraine issue – energy prices could fall significantly, which would obviously be very beneficial for inflation and the market. We are in for an amazing year in 2027.”
Akhman described the conflict in Iran as a “war that was executed extremely well” and believed that once peace is achieved in the Middle East, it will be beneficial to the region, “and ultimately also to the United States.”
Crude oil prices have been suppressing the stock market this year as traders worry that higher energy costs will drive up inflation and force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. In 2026, U.S. crude oil prices rose by 72%, while Brent crude oil soared by 83%.
It seems that the rise in oil prices has also been passed on to consumer prices. In the latest consumer price index report, gasoline prices contributed more than half of the increase. Inflation remains stubborn and deviates from the Federal Reserve's target of 2%. In September, consumer prices rose by 3.7% year-on-year.
Higher prices have put the Federal Reserve in a dilemma when it comes to maintaining higher interest rates to curb inflation.
Cheap Netflix
Akmann also talked about the long-term opportunities for the individual stocks he is focused on.
This hedge fund manager stated that he holds a positive view of the financial reports of Netflix. The streaming media stock fell by more than 5% on Wednesday after announcing advertising and revenue forecasts that fell short of expectations, but then rebounded by over 3% on Thursday.
Akmann said that considering the strength of the management team and their interaction with users, the market's concerns regarding the Netflix content library are exaggerated. He added that the stock's current price-earnings ratio is 18 times, "one of the lowest valuations in history," and he expects that earnings growth will remain in the mid-to-high teens in the foreseeable future.
“Netflix is a high-growth utility stock,” he said.
Meta is underestimated
This billionaire investor also regards Meta Platforms as a core part of the Pershing Square investment portfolio.
Despite the third-quarter financial report released on Wednesday by Meta showing revenue better than expected and providing strong guidance for the current period, the stock price of this Facebook and Instagram parent company still fell by 6% on Thursday.
The decline in stock prices did not shake Ackman. “We live in a world where you cannot judge the trading performance of a stock on the first day after its financial report is released, because market participants use too much leverage and are too short-sighted,” he said.
“Meta is in an excellent position to promote the widespread adoption of intelligent agents,” he mentioned the company’s success with the personal artificial intelligence agent Muse.
Akmann pointed out that Meta "has proven that artificial intelligence is helping to accelerate its business development. This is still an extremely undervalued stock, and that's also the reason why we hold it."
In February, he revealed his holdings in this tech giant. At that time, Ackman stated during an investor presentation that "the long-term upward potential of artificial intelligence means that one of the greatest companies in the world is being deeply undervalued."
Akmann believes that investment in computing power infrastructure by Meta is necessary and may ultimately lead to attractive returns.
