Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square did not report fund-level revenue, EPS, or gross margin. William Ackman said the firm was “north of a 20% return” year-to-date and “nicely in excess of the S&P.” On the portfolio side, management said Chipotle’s stock IRR from inception to exit was just under 16% versus just over 15% for the S&P 500, with $2.4 billion in cumulative profits realized; the remaining stake was sold after Q3. Nike was described as a negative 30% return since the spring 2024 investment and a cumulative P&L of more than negative $600 million, and the position was exited in options earlier in the month. For Universal Music, management said recent revenue growth was about 10% on a constant-currency basis and adjusted EBITDA growth was about 12%; the share price fell from a little above EUR 28 in July to about EUR 21.50 earlier this week. Alphabet was said to have generated $100 billion of quarterly revenue in Q3, up 15%, with cloud revenue growing 32% on a $50 billion run rate. Uber’s most recent quarter showed Mobility growth of 19% and Delivery growth of 23%, translating into roughly 20% blended bookings growth, 33% adjusted EBITDA growth, and more than 50% EPS growth. Restaurant Brands said company-wide same-store sales rose 4%, units grew 3%, system sales grew 7%, and operating income grew 9%; Hilton said RevPAR declined about 1.5% while adjusted EBITDA grew 8%; Hertz posted its first positive EPS in 2 years, utilization of 84%, DPU of $273, and more than $2.2 billion of total liquidity. Guidance-wise, Brookfield said BN is tracking toward low- to mid-teens distributable earnings growth this year and could have nearly $7 of EPS in 2030, implying 25% compounded growth from here; Hertz said it has a target for 2027 and is on line of sight to $1 billion of annual EBITDA in coming years; Restaurant Brands expects 8% operating income growth this year; and management repeatedly framed Alphabet, Uber, and Amazon as capable of continued high-growth earnings compounding.

Bill Ackman framed the call as a mix of accountability and optimism: he acknowledged mistakes in Chipotle and Nike, but emphasized that the portfolio is still producing strong returns overall. He was especially constructive on the longer-term stories in Alphabet, Uber, Brookfield, and Amazon, and he spent significant time on strategic initiatives at Universal Music and Fannie/Freddie. His tone was confident and active, with a clear emphasis on capital allocation, structural advantages, and situations where Pershing believes it can create value.

This was not a traditional operating-company earnings call, so there was no companywide CFO section with consolidated financial statements. The closest financial commentary came from portfolio managers citing specific metrics: Universal Music’s roughly 10% constant-currency revenue growth and about 12% adjusted EBITDA growth, Brookfield’s roughly 15% fee revenue growth and 16% to 17% fee earnings growth, Hertz’s $273 DPU and more than $2.2 billion of liquidity, and Hilton’s 8% adjusted EBITDA growth despite a 1.5% RevPAR decline. They also repeatedly discussed valuation and capital returns, including UMG’s lack of buybacks, Hilton’s ongoing buybacks of about 5% of shares per year, and Brookfield’s 15x forward earnings valuation.

Analyst-style questioning was largely internal/executive back-and-forth rather than outside Q&A. The main concerns raised were whether Chipotle’s weaker same-store sales were macro-driven and how long the pressure might last, whether Nike’s long-term margin target is really achievable given tariffs and more intense competition, and whether Tesla robotaxis could limit Uber’s AV opportunity. Management answered that Chipotle’s slowdown appears tied to weakness among lower- and middle-income consumers, that Nike’s turnaround still looks credible but margins may not return to prior levels as confidently as hoped, and that Uber’s AV value proposition improves as more partners emerge and the market likely evolves over 12 to 24 months. On UMG, management discussed Bolloré forced-seller concerns and the proposed U.S. listing as a way to improve liquidity and valuation.