We recently published a list of Billionaire David Tepper’s Top 10 Stock Picks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stands against other billionaire David Tepper’s top stock picks.
David Alan Tepper, born on September 11, 1957, is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, businessman, and sports team owner. He is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Miami Beach, Florida. Beyond finance, Tepper owns the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Tepper grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978. He later pursued a Master of Science in Industrial Administration (MSIA) from Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. His connection to the university remained strong, culminating in a $67 million donation in 2013, after which the Tepper School of Business was named in his honor.
Over his career, Tepper has accumulated numerous accolades, cementing his status as one of the most successful hedge fund managers in the world. In 2018, he secured third place on Forbes’ list of the highest-earning hedge fund managers with $1.5 billion in annual earnings. He was repeatedly listed among Forbes’ top 25 highest-earning hedge fund managers in 2013 and 2016. A 2010 New York magazine profile described Tepper as the object of “hero worship” within the financial industry, where one investor famously referred to him as “a golden god.” His aggressive and unfiltered approach earned him a unique reputation, with plans to eventually convert his hedge fund into a family office.
Outside of finance and sports ownership, Tepper’s career includes a series of formative positions that shaped his reputation and investment philosophy. After earning his economics degree, he worked as a credit analyst at Equibank in Pittsburgh before enrolling at Carnegie Mellon. Post-MBA, he joined Republic Steel’s treasury department in Ohio and then moved to Keystone Mutual Funds in Boston. In 1985, Goldman Sachs recruited him for its newly formed high-yield credit group in New York City. Tepper quickly rose to head trader within six months, playing a crucial role in the firm’s recovery after the 1987 stock market crash by purchasing bonds from weakened financial institutions. Known for his blunt market commentary, he advised against fear-driven investment decisions during economic turbulence, famously dismissing extreme market predictions and championing the adaptability of markets and people alike.
Appaloosa Management, founded by Tepper in early 1993 after leaving Goldman Sachs, has become synonymous with high-stakes investing in distressed companies and volatile markets. Based initially in Chatham, New Jersey, the firm was established as an employee-owned investment management company with a sharp focus on distressed debt. From its inception, Appaloosa Management has specialized in investing across public equity and fixed income markets on a global scale. The firm built a reputation for its bold, contrarian investment strategy, particularly in volatile and high-risk sectors.
Appaloosa Management quickly gained recognition, generating a 61% return in 2001 through distressed bond investments, and in 2005, pivoted to lucrative opportunities in S&P stocks. Tepper’s hedge fund became known for profiting from “dicier” companies, with notable gains from MCI, Mirant, Conseco, and Marconi. In 2009, Appaloosa made about $7 billion by purchasing distressed financial stocks like Bank of America at just $3 per share during the market crash, with $4 billion going directly to Tepper’s personal wealth, making him the top-earning hedge fund manager that year.
Throughout the 1990s, Appaloosa Management earned recognition as a niche junk bond investment boutique, distinguishing itself by targeting undervalued, distressed corporate debt that other investors tended to avoid. As the hedge fund industry evolved in the 2000s, so did Appaloosa’s role and reputation, becoming widely regarded as one of the premier hedge funds in the world, known for its aggressive, high-reward investment tactics. Its core strategy continued to focus on distressed securities, but it also expanded its portfolio to include opportunities in equities and other financial instruments, consistently generating strong returns through bold market bets.
As of its most recent 13F filing for the fourth quarter of 2024, Appaloosa Management’s top ten holdings account for 66.75% of this portfolio, which reflects the firm’s high-conviction, opportunistic investment strategy, a hallmark of David Tepper’s approach.
Our Methodology
We searched through Appaloosa Management’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify the top stocks in its portfolio. The resultant stocks are then compiled in the ascending order of the fund’s stake in them as of December 31, 2024. To assist readers with more context, we have included hedge fund sentiment regarding each stock using data from 1009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A team of developers working in unison to create the company’s messaging application.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 262
Appaloosa Management’s Equity Stake: $286.90 Million
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) delivered a standout financial performance in 2024. The company reported total revenue of $164.5 billion, marking a 22% increase compared to the previous year. The fourth quarter of 2024 played a particularly significant role in Meta’s annual performance, accounting for 29.4% of the year’s total revenue. In Q4 alone, Meta generated $48.4 billion in revenue and over $20.8 billion in profit, representing a 21% year-over-year revenue increase and beating market expectations. Earnings per share surged by 50% to $8.02, surpassing the forecasted $6.76.
Investor confidence in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) remained strong, with hedge fund interest surging by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. According to Insider Monkey’s database, 262 hedge funds held stakes in the company, up from 235 in the previous quarter. Hedge fund holdings in Meta climbed to approximately $59.4 billion, reflecting investor belief in the company’s long-term strategy, dominant presence in digital advertising, and ability to drive shareholder value through sustained earnings growth and technological leadership.
With 490,000 shares reported in its 13F holding, David Tepper holds a stake of approximately $287 million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), making it one of his top 10 stock picks.
Amid Meta’s financial successes, the company faced public controversy and scrutiny following testimony from former executive Sarah Wynn-Williams before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Wynn-Williams, who served as Facebook’s Director of Global Public Policy from 2011 to 2017, accused the company of compromising U.S. national security by allegedly briefing the Chinese government on American artificial intelligence initiatives to advance its business interests in China. She claimed that Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) executives misled employees, shareholders, Congress, and the public regarding their dealings with China. Her book, Careless People, detailing these experiences, sold 60,000 copies in its first week and reached the top 10 on Amazon’s bestseller list. In response, Meta strongly denied the allegations, calling her testimony “divorced from reality and riddled with false claims,”.
Rowan Street Capital stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META): Investment Initiated: April 2018: Internal Rate of Return (IRR*): 22% *IRR represents the annualized rate of return on an investment, accounting for the timing and magnitude of cash flows over the holding period.
For META, our 22% IRR aligns closely with the company’s compounded growth in earnings per share (EPS) and free cash flow per share during the 6 years holding period.
Looking ahead, Meta is expected to grow its revenues, earnings, and free cash flow per share at mid-teens rates over the next two years. There’s a good possibility that it could exceed these estimates, considering the breadth of growth initiatives currently in place, such as advancements in Al, monetization of Reels, expansion into business messaging, and the ongoing development of the metaverse…” (Click here to read the full text)
Overall, META ranks 8th on our list of billionaire David Tepper’s top stock picks. While we acknowledge the potential of these stock picks, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than META but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.