We break down the stocks Michael Burry (Scion) bought, sold, and held in Q1 2024, including their holdings at the end of the quarter. All data sourced from Scion's 13F filed on May 15, 2024.
Who are Michael Burry and Scion?
Scion Asset Management is the investment firm founded by Dr. Michael Burry, who gained fame for his prescient bet against the U.S. housing market portrayed in the book and film The Big Short. Following his successful prediction of the 2008 financial crisis, Burry has maintained a flexible, contrarian investment approach focused on identifying deeply mispriced assets across equities, debt, and derivatives. Scion employs both long and short positions, taking concentrated stakes based on Burry's uniquely independent research and macroeconomic perspectives, often focusing on overlooked or misunderstood opportunities regardless of market consensus.
Scionasset.com
Wikipedia on Michael Burry
Portfolio Changes in Q1 2024
New positions
Scion initiated five new positions during Q1 2024, with the largest being Sprott Physical Gold (PHYS) at $7.6M, followed by Cigna (CI) at $7.3M, BP (BP) at $6.6M, First Solar (FSLR) at $5.1M, and Baidu (BIDU) at $4.2M.
Bought
Scion significantly increased positions across eleven existing holdings, with the most notable addition being RealReal (REAL) which more than doubled in size and generated a 320% return, while also substantially adding to Chinese ADRs JD.com (JD) and Alibaba (BABA), shipping stocks Safe Bulkers (SB) and Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK), fintech Block (SQ), financial Citigroup (C), healthcare HCA Healthcare (HCA), energy Vital Energy (VTLE), retail Advance Auto Parts (AAP), and insurance American Coastal Insurance (UIHC).
Sold
Scion completely liquidated fourteen positions during the quarter, including major technology holdings Oracle (ORCL), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN), healthcare name CVS Health (CVS), media companies Nexstar Media (NXST) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), travel Booking Holdings (BKNG), gaming MGM Resorts (MGM), and several smaller positions including Toast (TOST), Bruker (BRKR), Mettler Toledo (MTD), Big Lots (BIG), Gen Restaurant (GENK), and Qurate Retail (QRTEA).
New Investments in Q1 2024
| Ticker | Company | Weight | Change | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHYS | Sprott Physical Gold | 24.8% | NEW | $7.62M |
| CI | Cigna | 23.6% | NEW | $7.26M |
| BP | BP | 21.4% | NEW | $6.59M |
| FSLR | First Solar | 16.5% | NEW | $5.06M |
| BIDU | Baidu | 13.7% | NEW | $4.21M |
Sprott Physical Gold PHYS
Michael Burry bought $7.62M of Sprott Physical Gold in Q1 2024. Sprott Physical Gold Trust delivered robust performance in Q1 2025, fueled by gold's record-breaking rally and $0.8 billion in net inflows. The trust's net asset value (NAV) surged 27.32% YTD as of May 23, outpacing many commodity-focused peers. Recent momentum has been driven by investor demand for inflation hedges and physical bullion's safe-haven appeal during market volatility.
- Total net assets grew to $12.21 billion in Q1 2025, up from $14.59 billion in Q4 2024.
- NAV premium/discount narrowed to -2.15% as of May 27, improved from -4.41% in the previous quarter.
- Management expense ratio remains competitive at 0.41%, supporting investor returns.
Cigna CI
Michael Burry bought $7.26M of Cigna in Q1 2024. Cigna (CI) delivered strong Q1 2025 results, with adjusted EPS of $6.74 beating estimates by 5.5% and revenue rising 14% YoY to $65.5B. The company raised its full-year 2025 EPS guidance to ≥$29.60, reflecting confidence in its specialty pharmacy growth and cost management. Shares gained 2.4% post-earnings and are up 21.98% YTD, outperforming peers through strategic Medicare divestiture and Evernorth Health Services expansion.
- Q1 EPS of $6.74 surpassed estimates by 5.5%, with revenue beating forecasts by $5.12B.
- Net income swung to $1.3B vs. year-ago loss, driven by 16% growth in Evernorth Health Services.
- Raised 2025 EPS outlook to ≥$29.60 (+1.7% vs. prior guidance) after $2.6B in share buybacks YTD.
BP BP
Michael Burry bought $6.59M of BP in Q1 2024. BP demonstrated resilient performance in Q1 2025 with $1.4 billion underlying replacement cost profit, up from $1.169 billion in Q4 2024, while maintaining its 8-cent dividend per share and executing a $750 million share buyback. The company showed strategic progress through project execution and portfolio optimization, though operating cash flow declined to $2.8 billion from $7.4 billion in the prior quarter due to working capital movements. While net debt increased to $27 billion, BP continues focusing on upstream growth and disciplined capital allocation to drive cash flow improvements.
- 20% quarter-over-quarter underlying RC profit growth ($1.169B to $1.381B).
- $750 million buyback authorization representing 1.8% of market cap at announcement.
- 27% decline in operating cash flow despite stable EBITDA of $8.7 billion.
First Solar FSLR
Michael Burry bought $5.06M of First Solar in Q1 2024. First Solar reported mixed Q1 2025 results, with EPS of $1.95 missing estimates by 23.2% and revenue of $844.57 million falling short of forecasts. The stock declined 9.47% post-announcement, reflecting investor concerns despite a gross margin improvement to 41% from 37% in Q4 2024. Recent guidance revisions due to new tariffs and expanded domestic capacity investments signal potential headwinds and strategic adjustments.
- Q1 2025 EPS of $1.95 missed analyst estimates by 23.2%.
- Revenue fell short by $21.62 million against expectations of $866.19 million.
- Gross margin improved to 41%, up from 37% in the prior quarter.
Baidu BIDU
Michael Burry bought $4.21M of Baidu in Q1 2024. Baidu (BIDU) reported 3% YoY revenue growth in Q1 2025 (RMB 32.5B/$4.64B), driven by a 42% surge in AI Cloud revenue and 7% growth in Baidu Core. While adjusted profit declined, the company returned $445M to shareholders through buybacks and accelerated AI innovations including 35% AI-powered search results and 75% growth in Apollo Go autonomous rides. Recent strategic bets on generative AI models and global autonomous driving expansion position it for long-term growth despite near-term margin pressures.
- AI Cloud revenue jumped 42% YoY to RMB 6.7B ($960M), now representing 20% of total revenue.
- Apollo Go autonomous rides grew 75% YoY to 1.4M quarterly trips across 15 global cities.
- $445M in share repurchases executed in Q1, part of $2.1B total buybacks since program inception.
Holdings at the end of Q1 2024
| Ticker | Company | Weight | Change | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JD | JD.com | 9.5% | Added (+80%) | $9.86M |
| BABA | Alibaba | 8.7% | Added (+67%) | $9.04M |
| HCA | HCA Healthcare | 8.1% | Added (+25%) | $8.34M |
| C | Citigroup | 7.6% | Added (+25%) | $7.91M |
| PHYS | Sprott Physical Gold | 7.4% | NEW | $7.62M |
| SQ | Block | 7.4% | Added (+80%) | $7.61M |
| CI | Cigna | 7.0% | NEW | $7.26M |
| AAP | Advance Auto Parts | 7.0% | Added (+21%) | $7.23M |
| BP | BP | 6.4% | NEW | $6.59M |
| VTLE | Vital Energy | 6.3% | Added (+43%) | $6.57M |
| SBLK | Star Bulk Carriers | 5.8% | Added (+14%) | $5.97M |
| REAL | RealReal | 5.3% | Added (+116%) | $5.52M |
| FSLR | First Solar | 4.9% | NEW | $5.06M |
| BIDU | Baidu | 4.1% | NEW | $4.21M |
| UIHC | American Coastal Insurance | 2.6% | Added (+20%) | $2.69M |
| SB | Safe Bulkers | 1.9% | Added (+60%) | $1.98M |
| ORCL | Oracle | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| CVS | CVS Health | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| NXST | Nexstar Media | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| GOOGL | Alphabet | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| AMZN | Amazon | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| MGM | MGM Resorts | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| BKNG | Booking Holdings | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| WBD | Warner Bros Discovery | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| BRKR | Bruker | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| TOST | Toast | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| MTD | Mettler Toledo | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| BIG | Big Lots | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| GENK | Gen Restaurant | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
| QRTEA | Qurate Retail | 0.0% | Exited | $0 |
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