Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, outlined an investment framework of buying durable-moat businesses only at prices that offer attractive risk-adjusted upside, shared during his visit to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
- • Pershing Square, which manages more than $30B in assets, cited its early-2025 investment in Uber as the clearest example, arguing that autonomous vehicles would not necessarily erode the platform's network position.
- • Ackman argued that the firm separates fundamental deterioration from temporary price volatility and maintains a watchlist of high-conviction companies, waiting for catalysts such as disappointing earnings or macro shocks.
- • Ackman emphasized permanent capital structures as essential to holding positions through dislocations, citing Pershing Square USA, which can be purchased for approximately $40 per share.
- • Ackman described Mexico as well positioned to benefit from nearshoring and regional integration, while noting that its equity valuations appear optically low and require company-level due diligence.
Summary
Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, set out his philosophy of buying high-quality companies when the market doubts them, according to a Funds Society article covering his visit to the Mexican Stock Exchange, where he participated in the opening bell ceremony and met with media. Pershing Square manages more than $30B in assets. Ackman's framework combines owning companies with durable competitive advantages, refusing to pay any price, and waiting until conditions offer attractive risk-adjusted upside. He argued that short-term speculation can pull markets away from their core function of allocating capital to businesses, and that a company remains a long-term asset even when its shares change hands daily.
The clearest example Ackman cited was Uber, in which Pershing Square invested in early 2025 after tracking the company before its IPO. The firm did not find the valuation compelling until the share price fell to levels it judged adequately compensated for the underlying risks. The market's concern centered on autonomous vehicles and the possibility that manufacturers such as Tesla could launch robotaxi networks that displace Uber. Ackman's view was that autonomous vehicles would not necessarily dismantle Uber's position, particularly if multiple vehicle makers and operators coexist, since riders may continue to value a single app for convenience, speed, pricing, and trust.
The firm maintains a library of dominant businesses with robust unit economics, multi-year growth runways, and resilient moats, assessing regulatory risk and management quality with equal rigor. It favors cash-generative companies with conservative balance sheets, limited reliance on capital markets, strong governance, and prices at a discount to intrinsic value. Ackman cautioned that a depressed multiple does not guarantee undervaluation, since it may reflect structural obsolescence or impaired margins, and that the approach requires business understanding rather than bets on multiple mean-reversion.
On capital structure, Ackman stressed that permanent or long-dated capital allows positions to be held through dislocations without redemption-driven liquidity pressure. He cited Pershing Square USA, which an investor can buy for approximately $40 per share on identical fee and liquidity terms as larger institutional allocators. On artificial intelligence, he argued that the central question is which legacy businesses can use AI to widen their moats and which face margin compression, and that valuation discipline becomes more essential, not less, as technological uncertainty rises.
Regarding Mexico and Latin America, Ackman said nearshoring and regional integration favor Mexico given its proximity to the U.S., industrial base, and expanding pension system. He noted that local equity valuations appear optically low but that specific allocations require detailed due diligence. The article states that the region has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from Mexican institutional investors, including family offices, AFOREs, and insurers, across management company and public vehicle structures.
The clearest example Ackman cited was Uber, in which Pershing Square invested in early 2025 after tracking the company before its IPO. The firm did not find the valuation compelling until the share price fell to levels it judged adequately compensated for the underlying risks. The market's concern centered on autonomous vehicles and the possibility that manufacturers such as Tesla could launch robotaxi networks that displace Uber. Ackman's view was that autonomous vehicles would not necessarily dismantle Uber's position, particularly if multiple vehicle makers and operators coexist, since riders may continue to value a single app for convenience, speed, pricing, and trust.
The firm maintains a library of dominant businesses with robust unit economics, multi-year growth runways, and resilient moats, assessing regulatory risk and management quality with equal rigor. It favors cash-generative companies with conservative balance sheets, limited reliance on capital markets, strong governance, and prices at a discount to intrinsic value. Ackman cautioned that a depressed multiple does not guarantee undervaluation, since it may reflect structural obsolescence or impaired margins, and that the approach requires business understanding rather than bets on multiple mean-reversion.
On capital structure, Ackman stressed that permanent or long-dated capital allows positions to be held through dislocations without redemption-driven liquidity pressure. He cited Pershing Square USA, which an investor can buy for approximately $40 per share on identical fee and liquidity terms as larger institutional allocators. On artificial intelligence, he argued that the central question is which legacy businesses can use AI to widen their moats and which face margin compression, and that valuation discipline becomes more essential, not less, as technological uncertainty rises.
Regarding Mexico and Latin America, Ackman said nearshoring and regional integration favor Mexico given its proximity to the U.S., industrial base, and expanding pension system. He noted that local equity valuations appear optically low but that specific allocations require detailed due diligence. The article states that the region has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from Mexican institutional investors, including family offices, AFOREs, and insurers, across management company and public vehicle structures.
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