Billionaire fund manager David Tepper sent a clear signal by walking away from Intel (INTC) stock entirely, WhaleWisdom reported.
Following the chipmaker’s comeback rally (nearly a 50% surge) backed by foundry optimism, government support, and renewed faith in its potential turnaround, Tepper hit the exit.
Once we have that in mind, the rest of Appaloosa’s 13F snaps into focus.
He reduced his holdings in most of the big tech companies, freeing up billions, and then went bargain hunting in places the market was overlooking.
Whirlpool, regional banks, and beaten-up cyclicals — Tepper didn’t abandon stocks, but instead his moves show that the easy money in tech has gone, and arguably the real opportunity was in the bruised.
Who is David Tepper?
David Tepper isn’t just any billionaire hedge fund manager; he’s the guy Mr. Market watches intently on Wall Street, where the next big turn might be.
After his successful stint as a high-yield trader at Goldman Sachs, he launched Appaloosa Management in 1993, racking up a stellar 25% average annual return over more than two decades.
Forbes pegs his net worth at $23.7 billion. That, plus his powerful track record, puts him in an elite group of investors whose moves essentially become headlines.
Today, Appaloosa manages nearly $17 billion, most of which is Tepper’s own capital, essentially functioning as his family office out of Miami Beach, while he also owns the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
Over the years, he has built a solid reputation forged on bold, contrarian calls.
Perhaps his most famous bet was when he scooped up beaten-down bank stocks in 2009 and minted billions when the sector rebounded.
His investing style is best described as elastic but conviction-driven, which essentially involves buying what’s hated, selling what’s overheated, and pivoting quickly when the cycle shifts.
Why Tepper walked away from Intel
Chip giant Intel’s Q2 comeback was arguably the market’s loudest surprise this year.
Over the past three months, the stock has risen 40%, driven by government subsidies, early traction in its hotly anticipated foundry reboot, and investor excitement over Nvidia-linked tech wins.
Tepper used that strength to dump his entire stake in the company. For a value stock opportunist who’s been known to buy distressed turnarounds, that exit was perhaps the quarter’s biggest tell.
Intel’s revival is real, but it’s essential to acknowledge that it’s slow and capital-intensive, and it comes with a significant execution risk.
And Intel wasn’t exactly an isolated move.
The same playbook was fully on display across Appaloosa’s Q3 trims in Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Alibaba, and JD.com, along with a near-complete exit from UnitedHealth.