ClaimsBill Ackman

“We have greatly admired Netflix both as consumers and as investors, but have never previously owned a stake in the company.”

Bill Ackman, PSCM letter to investors 26 January 2022 Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. Releases Letter to Investors (Netflix) (Pershing Square Holdings) archived copy

Factual Their own work or organisation

Pershing Square had never previously owned a stake in Netflix.

Unresolvable The public record could not settle it.

Factual: Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?

The second judge would not resolve this claim; the verdict shown is the first judge's.

Said for an organisation they lead or work for; it counts on both records.

What would count as true or false

Judge as of 26 January 2022. TRUE: Pershing Square's 13F filings and its fund reports from its founding up to January 2022 show no position in Netflix (common stock or options). MOSTLY TRUE: the only earlier exposure was trivial or incidental, such as a tiny options position or one held through a pooled vehicle. MOSTLY FALSE: Pershing held a small or short-lived Netflix stake before. FALSE: the filings show Pershing Square owned a meaningful Netflix stake at any time before January 2022.

Set before the research began.

Evidence (10)

  1. E1 Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. 2021 Annual Report Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. · 29 March 2022 Own record

    “the proceeds of which were principally invested in Netflix, a business that we have admired and previously researched, but never owned.”

  2. E2 Pershing Square Capital Management - Wikipedia Wikipedia

    “In January 2022, Ackman disclosed that Pershing Square acquired a $1.1 billion stake in Netflix.”

  3. E3 $SULO - Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. · 20 April 2022 Own record

    “Today, we sold our investment in Netflix, which we purchased earlier this year.”

  4. E4 Pershing Square Capital Management - Wikipedia Wikipedia

    “In January 2022, Ackman disclosed that Pershing Square acquired a $1.1 billion stake in Netflix.”

  5. E5 Pershing Square Capital Management - Wikipedia Wikipedia

    “Ackman loses more than US$430M on 3-month Netflix bet - BNN Bloomberg”

  6. E6 Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. 2021 Annual Report Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. · March 2022 Own record

    “We are very fortunate to have UMG as our largest position.”

  7. E7 Ackman's Pershing Square takes new position in Netflix Euronews · 27 January 2022

    “Billionaire investor William Ackman has built a new stake in streaming service Netflix Inc worth more than $1 billion since its stock price tumbled starting last Thursday.”

  8. E8 Ackman's Pershing Square takes new position in Netflix Euronews · 27 January 2022

    “Ackman told investors that his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, started buying on Friday and now owns more than 3.1 million shares in Netflix, making Pershing Square a top 20 shareholder.”

  9. E9 Bill Ackman Portfolio | Most Recent Holdings & Activity MarketGenius · 1 January 2026

    “Compared with the previous 13F filing, Bill Ackman opened 1 new position, added to 0 holdings, reduced 1 holding and sold out of 0 positions.”

  10. E10 Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. - 13F-HR Filing - Bill Ackman - 2021-12-31 Fintel · 31 December 2021

    “Total Holdings | 6”

Reasoning

Independent sources show Pershing Square built a new Netflix stake starting in January 2022 (E2, E7, E8). However, none of them covers Pershing Square's 13F filings or holdings from its founding through 2021, as the criteria require. The only statement that Netflix was never previously owned comes from the subject's own annual report (E1), which is not independent.

Cite this claim

Bill Ackman, “Pershing Square had never previously owned a stake in Netflix.” (said 26 January 2022). Verdict: unresolvable. Reliability API, claim c_cdcbc63a5379, method 0.1.0+c876030c, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_cdcbc63a5379

This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.

Reply to this claim

For Bill Ackman, or someone speaking for them: a correction or counter-evidence. Replies are read before anything is shown; an approved reply shows your name, role, date, statement and link. Your email address is never shown and is deleted 30 days after the decision (privacy).

More factual claims by Bill Ackman

  1. Mixed Factual 1 October 2026
    “You own a portfolio of our best ideas, and it’s trading at an 18% discount to cash.”

    PSUS holds a portfolio of Pershing Square's best ideas and trades at an 18% discount to cash.

  2. Mostly true Factual 12 August 2026
    “This lower return reflects the 35% discount to NAV at which PSH's stock currently trades.”

    PSH's stock currently trades at a 35% discount to NAV.

  3. Resolved true Factual 12 August 2026
    “We recently made new investments in Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), Netflix, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange, and Alcon (ALC), companies we have closely followed for years.”

    Pershing Square recently made new investments in Visa, Mastercard, Netflix, S&P Global, Intercontinental Exchange and Alcon.

  4. Resolved true Factual 10 March 2026
    “Streetwise is now available for sale. Please see my review below.”

    Streetwise is now available for sale as of 2026-03-10.

  5. Mixed Factual August 2024
    “Our new independent directors include long-term investors in PSH and the Pershing Square funds as well as new investors in the management company.”

    PSCM's new independent directors include long-term investors in PSH and the Pershing Square funds as well as new investors in the management company.

All of them

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