Appaloosa Exits 12 Stocks in Q2, Narrowing Bets to $1.1 Billion Micron Stake

Q: Is Tepper's sudden shift from broad China ETFs to specific AI names a warning sign for passive investors in 2026?

Not necessarily. Tepper’s move looks more like a signal about 2026 market structure than a blanket warning against passive investing. What his Q2 13F clearly shows is a shift away from broad China internet exposure—he exited KWEB, JD.com and PDD—while adding to Baidu and keeping some Alibaba. That suggests he no longer wanted simple “China beta.” He appeared to prefer stock-specific exposure to parts of China tied more directly to AI, cloud and compute rather than consumer internet as a whole. For passive investors, the real message is that broad thematic ETFs can become blunt instruments when leadership narrows. In 2026, returns in both China and global tech have become increasingly concentrated in fewer companies tied to AI infrastructure, semiconductors and compute demand. Tepper’s broader portfolio supports that reading: he kept a large Micron stake, added to Amazon and TSMC, and opened CoreWeave, while cutting a wide range of unrelated holdings. Still, a 13F is only a delayed snapshot as of June 30, not a live trading signal. Tepper may also be managing risk, liquidity, taxes or simply locking in gains after a strong run. Some of his exits have looked smart, such as SanDisk; others, like RTX and Lyft, have risen since. So passive investors should not read this as “sell ETFs.” They should read it as a reminder that in a narrow, AI-driven market, broad sector or country funds may lag the winners and carry unwanted exposure to weaker constituents.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 16

Appaloosa Management fully exited 12 positions in its Q2 2026 13F, including SanDisk, Corning, PDD, JD.com, RTX, L3Harris, Microsoft and KWEB.
The reshuffle points to David Tepper narrowing broad thematic exposures into higher-conviction single names, with Micron held at $1.1 billion and Baidu increased.
Defense was the only theme Appaloosa abandoned without a replacement, making the exits from RTX and L3Harris the quarter's clearest directional call.
Subsequent trading partly validated the move: since the Q2 close, SanDisk has fallen 28% and Corning 35%, though SanDisk later rebounded after a sharp July drop.
The filing follows a strong first half for Tepper—Bloomberg reported a 32% return driven by memory-chip makers—even as he cut one of that winning themes.