Overview
- The Gates Foundation Trust sold its last 7.7 million Microsoft shares in the first quarter of 2026, a stake worth about $3.2 billion according to SEC filings that list quarterly holdings.
- The disposal closed a two-year wind-down from roughly 28.5 million shares, with the biggest cut coming in the third quarter of 2025 when the trust shed nearly 65% of its position.
- Analysts and reporters framed the move as portfolio rebalancing to reduce exposure to a single stock and to keep cash ready for larger grant commitments.
- Following the exit, the trust’s reported securities portfolio is about $31.7 billion, and it had already pared Berkshire Hathaway in the fourth quarter of 2025 by roughly 2.36 million BRK-B shares valued near $1.19 billion.
- Microsoft continues heavy AI spending, including a five-year $9.7 billion deal with IREN for Nvidia chips and nearly $35 billion in recent capital outlays for semiconductors and data centers, which kept investor focus on its long-term growth.