Billionaire investor George Soros became nearly a household name in the early 1990’s by shorting the British pound and making $1 billion on the deal. His currency speculation earned him the moniker, “the man who broke the Bank of England.”

Soros has also made successful bets against the Mexican peso and several Asian currencies, most notably the Thai baht, where he was able to double a $1 billion investment when the currency’s valuation was halved.

Yet Soros is more than just a currency speculator. He also invests in stocks expecting them to rise. He often takes large positions in companies, buying large tranches all at once. The following stocks are some of the biggest positions Soros took in the second quarter, buys that represent large steps up from his previous holding.

Key Points About This Article:

• George Soros is famous for being a currency speculator and gained notoriety for “breaking the Bank of England” with his bet against the British pound.
• The billionaire investor also invests in stocks, and the three companies below look like shrewd buys where he significantly increased his portfolio’s holdings.
• If you’re looking for some stocks with huge potential, make sure to grab a free copy of our brand-new “The Next NVIDIA” report. It features a software stock we’re confident has 10X potential.

Smurfit Westrock (SW)

When Soros bought Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW), it was just Westrock with the ticker symbol WRK. However, on July 5, packaging giant Smurfit Kappa completed its acquisition of Westrock in a $12.7 billion deal. 

Soros might agree with CEO Tony Smurfit who declared as he rang the opening bell of the NYSE, “Smurfit Westrock is going to conquer the world of sustainable, paper-based packaging.” Soros, who had established a 900,000 share stake in the company in the first quarter, nearly quadrupled his holdings in the second, buying an additional 2.44 million shares. It brings his total holdings to 3.3 million shares valued at $168 million.

While Soros owns dozens and dozens of stocks, Smurfit Westrock is now his third largest holding, representing a 3.8% position in the Soros Fund Management portfolio. His fund, which has some $4.4 billion in assets under management, is one of the largest outside shareholders of the packaging specialist.

Smurfit WestRock is one of the world’s largest packaging companies with more than 60 paper mills in 40 countries. It runs substantial operations in North America, South America, and Europe. With long-term earnings growth of nearly 50% annually expected, SW stock may just be a big win for Soros.

AstraZeneca (AZN)

One of the biggest increases in shares seen in Soros’ portfolio was his purchase of drug manufacturing giant AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN). The billionaire bought over 2 million shares of stock in the quarter, a 512% increase over his previous position giving him almost 2.5 million shares worth $191 million. That’s good enough for the second biggest holding in the portfolio, or 4.3% of the total. With his average buy-in price of $72 per share, Soros has made a 9% gain on his investment.

The pharmaceutical and biotech company is a solid bet as it has a strong portfolio of marketed drugs, a robust pipeline of therapies in development, and is willing to fill holes in its portfolio with strategic acquisitions. It is also not shy about partnering with other pharmas to develop and market treatments.

In particular, AstraZeneca is developing a growing presence in oncology that could see significant profitable growth over the next decade. Its treatments for non-small cell lung cancer, Imfinzi and Tagrisso, were recently approved for use in the U.S. and elsewhere, while Calquence was approved last year.

AstraZeneca saw an 18% currency-adjusted jump in products sales in the second quarter along with a 50% jump in “alliance” revenue. Total revenue grew 18% to $25.6 billion while profits soared 23% to $2.65 per share.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

Many investors might be surprised to learn Soros’ biggest position is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY). For a billionaire known for breaking national banks with currency bets or taking large positions in businesses, buying an index fund may seem out of character. It’s so mundane and low key.

Yet Soros is betting on U.S. business to soar. Buying the market is often the best and easiest way to do so. It’s a lesson many small investors should also take to heart. A plain vanilla S&P 500 index is arguably the best investment anyone can make. You don’t even need to do anything else. With a track record of returning 10.5% on average for nearly 70 years, it’s a solid and safe bet.

Soros has been in and out of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF several times. He bought 165,000 share in last year’s fourth quarter, then dumped it all in Q1 2024, only to come back in the second quarter with a $245 million, 450,000 share purchase. That was enough to launch the ETF into the top spot of his portfolio representing a 5.5% position.

While all of Soros big bets this quarter look promising, this index fund may be the simplest for most investors to follow.

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