Seth Klarman’s latest portfolio sends a powerful message to an investor whose reputation was built on buying with a “margin of safety.” When he discovers something he likes, he’s willing to make it matter.
Klarman’s Baupost Group ended the second quarter with approximately $5.42 billion in U.S.-listed securities, up from about $5.12 billion in the prior quarter, according to the portfolio analysis provided. But the headline isn’t simply that the portfolio grew.
That’s where Klarman invested more money.
Amazon (AMZN) became Baupost’s largest disclosed stock holding at 16.48% of the portfolio, after the firm increased its position by roughly 20% during the quarter. Based on the reported $5.42 billion portfolio value, that percentage implies an Amazon stake worth roughly $893 million at quarter-end.
There is a human lesson behind all those figures for the average investor. Klarman is famed for anticipating what can go wrong. But his recent filing demonstrates that caution doesn’t necessarily imply sitting on the sidelines. That sometimes involves being very selective in where you take risks.
Seth Klarman builds Amazon into his No. 1 stock position
Baupost first established its Amazon position during the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the supplied portfolio analysis. It then upped the ante by some 47% in the first quarter of 2026 and added a further approximately 20% in the second.
That’s a pretty quick trip to the top of a very concentrated business for Amazon.
The underlying business is part of the appeal. Amazon is not only the online store where households buy toothpaste, electronics, and groceries. Its businesses range from e-commerce and advertising to Amazon Web Services, offering investors a piece of both consumer spending and the massive corporate drive to construct artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
Such diversity is important when considering why a normally value-conscious investor would make such a significant bet on a technology powerhouse.
Klarman also isn’t making Amazon his sole big bet. Over the quarter the company boosted its stake in Alphabet by almost 16%. The stock accounted for 8.95% of Baupost’s declared portfolio.
Alone, Amazon and Alphabet made up over 25% of the declared portfolio.
Key moves in Baupost’s Q2 portfolio
- Amazon: Increased roughly 20%; now 16.48% of the portfolio.
- Alphabet: Increased roughly 16%; now 8.95%.
- Genuine Parts: Position increased roughly 90%.
- Norwegian Cruise Line: Position more than doubled.
- CME Group: New position representing 2.52%.
- Willis Towers Watson: Position eliminated.
- Vaxcyte: Position eliminated.
- Restaurant Brands: Reduced roughly 16%.
- Union Pacific: Reduced roughly 23%.
- WESCO International: Reduced roughly 55%.
And Klarman’s determination to focus is more than that. The data provided shows about half of Baupost’s declared 13F holdings were in its five largest positions: Amazon, Elevance Health, Restaurant Brands International, Alphabet, and Ferguson Enterprises.
Klarman is finding value far beyond Big Tech
The more telling element of the filing, perhaps, is what happened beyond Amazon and Alphabet.
The company increased its position in Genuine Parts (GPC) by nearly 90%. You don’t ordinarily equate an auto and industrial replacement-parts company with the market’s buzz around AI.
But its numbers provide some context. Genuine Parts reported second-quarter sales of $6.5 billion, up 6% year over year, including 3.4% comparable-sales growth. Its industrial operation generated $2.4 billion in sales, up 7.1%.
That’s another flavor of basic pick-and-shovel economics. Cars break down. Factories require parts to replace the old ones. No matter how much they dominate the financial news, companies keep buying parts.
The investigation also showed Baupost more than doubling its holding in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) to create an approximately 3% portfolio position. Norwegian’s investor-relations site shows it released its latest quarterly earnings July 30.
Then there is a brand new bet: CME Group (CME).
Baupost opened a new stake that accounts for 2.52% of its declared portfolio. CME is the operator of the derivatives marketplace where investors and companies exchange futures and options linked to interest rates, equities, commodities, and other assets.
It’s worth noting the timing. CME reported revenue of $1.7 billion and net income of $1 billion in the second quarter, while average daily volume hit 29.8 million contracts. Market data sales increased 20% to a record $238 million.
That is, Klarman isn’t merely pursuing everything with AI attached to it. His portfolio blends leading technological platforms with healthcare, restaurants, industrial companies, travel, and the infrastructure of financial markets.
What Klarman’s portfolio tells everyday investors
A key drawback of a 13F filing is that it is a backward-looking snapshot of some of the U.S.-listed holdings, not a real-time view into everything an investment manager owns.
That distinction is particularly relevant with Baupost.
Based on the information provided, 13F securities account for less than 15% of Baupost’s total assets under management historically, with the rest split among cash, debt, real estate, and hedges, for example. Therefore, duplicating individual holdings would not result in Klarman’s actual portfolio or risk profile.
Still, the filing provides an invaluable glimpse into his thinking.
Where he saw opportunity, Klarman was aggressive; elsewhere he was just as eager to stay away. Baupost sold out of Willis Towers Watson and Vaxcyte and cut back heavily on investments like WESCO, Union Pacific, and Restaurant Brands.
That might be the most essential message for the individual investor.
Stubbornness is not the same thing as concentration.
Amazon accounts for over a sixth of Klarman’s stated equity portfolio, with about half in five firms. But the same file shows that Klarman has increased, cut, and slashed positions.
It feels less like a strategy of owning everything and more a strategy of selecting what risks are worth cash.
And right now, among Baupost’s publicly disclosed stocks, Amazon has earned the biggest piece of Klarman’s portfolio.
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