Bill Gates is turning heads again, but not for anything tech-related. While Microsoft MSFT remains his largest holding (about $15.4 billion) in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation portfolio, Gates has been making some surprising moves.
Over the past year, he sold nearly a quarter of his Microsoft stock, but his bold third-quarter buys have everyone talking. Gates put his money into two transportation companies, signaling he's betting big on an industry bounce-back.
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The S&P 500 Transportation Index had a tough 2024, slipping 0.5% while the overall S&P 500 soared 23%. But Gates seems to see opportunity in the midst of it all.
According to market analysts, his two picks – Paccar and FedEx – reflect a belief that the sector is poised for a turnaround, especially if the economy improves in 2025. These strategic buys are worth a closer look.
Paccar PCAR might not ring a bell, but it’s heavy in heavy-duty trucks. The company's Peterbilt and Kenworth brands command 14.9% and 14.7% of the U.S. Class 8 truck market, second only to Freightliner's dominant 36.5% share, as reported by ATD.
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These massive trucks, weighing over 33,000 pounds, are critical to the economy and Paccar's performance reflects that.
Paccar had a strong start to 2024, with a quarterly revenue of $8.74 billion in the first quarter. But as truckload demand dipped, the momentum faded. Still, signs of a recovery are emerging. Kenny Vieth, president of ACT Research, told Transport Topics, "We're in the early stages of building 2025 backlogs and November orders were up 21% from October."
Gates scooped up one million Paccar shares at around $100 each, a $100 million investment in a company he believes has long-term promise.
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Then there's FedEx FDX, a logistics powerhouse navigating turbulence. Its third-quarter report fell short of expectations and the company revised its full-year forecast downward, unsettling investors. But Gates saw an opportunity, snapping up another one million shares at an average of $273 each.
FedEx has been shaking things up internally. The company announced plans to spin off its less-than-truckload freight division, FedEx Freight, into a stand-alone business. According to Bloomberg, this division pulled in $9.4 billion in 2023 and could become a growth driver as FedEx sharpens its focus on core operations.
The move is part of its broader DRIVE initiative, which aims to make the company more efficient and flexible. Analysts believe this will streamline FedEx's operations and position it for growth if the economy rebounds.
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