Via heygotrade.com
David Tepper's hedge fund locks in gains from a blockbuster memory-chip run and rotates into megacap tech giants for the second half of 2026
David Tepper made a fortune riding the AI memory-chip wave. Now he’s cashing some of those chips in, quite literally, and plowing the proceeds into the largest technology companies on the planet.
Appaloosa Management’s latest 13F filing reveals a portfolio worth roughly $7.47B across 27 holdings as of June 30, 2026. The hedge fund posted 32% gross returns in the first half of the year, fueled largely by memory stocks tied to AI infrastructure.
The rotation in detail #
Appaloosa’s top holding is now Amazon, commanding about 15.95% of the portfolio. Micron Technology sits just behind at 15.06%, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor at 10.55%, Alphabet at 8.75%, and Uber at 7.43%.
Earlier in 2026, Appaloosa tripled its Micron position, adding roughly 1 million shares to bring its total to 1.5 million. That bet paid handsomely as demand for high-bandwidth memory and NAND flash components surged alongside the buildout of AI data centers. Micron ramped HBM capacity aggressively while SK Hynix cemented its role as a key supplier to Nvidia.
But the Q2 filing suggests Tepper started trimming around the edges of the memory trade even while Micron remains the fund’s second-largest position. The direction of travel is toward the Magnificent Seven, the cohort of megacap tech stocks that have dominated index returns for years.
Why the pivot matters #
Memory chips are a cyclical business wearing an AI costume. When data center operators place massive orders for HBM modules, the revenue spike is real but inherently lumpy. Once those racks are filled, the next wave of orders depends on capacity expansion timelines that no hedge fund can perfectly forecast.
Taiwan Semiconductor occupies an interesting middle ground in this framework. As the world’s dominant contract chipmaker, TSMC manufactures the advanced processors that power AI workloads for virtually every major customer, from Apple to Nvidia to AMD.
Reading the 13F tea leaves #
A few caveats are worth noting. 13F filings are snapshots, not live feeds. The data reflects positions as of June 30, meaning Tepper could have adjusted further in the weeks since. The filings also don’t capture short positions, options overlays, or international holdings outside US-listed securities, so the full picture of Appaloosa’s risk posture remains partially hidden.
The 32% gross return figure for H1 also provides useful context. That kind of performance creates a natural incentive to de-risk. When you’re sitting on outsized gains from a concentrated bet, locking in profits and diversifying into more liquid, less volatile names is textbook portfolio management.
Uber’s presence as the fifth-largest holding at 7.43% also deserves a mention. The ride-hailing and delivery giant doesn’t fit neatly into the AI narrative, but it represents Tepper’s willingness to own platform businesses with strong network effects and improving free cash flow profiles regardless of sector label.
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