Billionaire Peter Thiel runs the hedge fund Thiel Macro and is known for playing a significant role in identifying growth stocks. Based on the recent 13F filing, Thiel sold his entire stake in artificial intelligence (AI) giant NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and reinvested the proceeds in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
While not everyone will agree with the move to abandon NVIDIA Corp. the other AI giants, Microsoft and Apple, are well positioned to benefit from the AI revolution and have made significant gains in the past few years. Here’s what you must know.
Nvidia
The most popular chips company on the planet, Nvidia is known for its graphics processing units (GPUs). It has generated impressive revenue over the past five years and has become the biggest chipmaker today. The growing competition in the AI space could be one reason Peter Thiel exited his position right before its third-quarter earnings. He trimmed a 40.07% position in the AI company.
The market is also concerned about the AI bubble, and investors are trimming their investments in AI companies. While several companies are heavily dependent on Nvidia for chips, there’s growing competition from companies offering custom chips. Although custom chips are more expensive than Nvidia GPUs, they have seen higher demand from hyperscalers.
Some analysts think Nvidia will maintain a strong revenue share in the AI industry, while many others think that the company may not be able to maintain its status quo as the industry leader. I do believe that Nvidia might not be able to show a similar rally like it did earlier.
Several investors on Wall Street are also worried that the AI boom is an AI bubble, which has led to elevated valuations and uncertainty about the revenue potential. Many are comparing it to the dotcom bubble, when the company valuations were sky-high.
Nvidia shares have fallen 13% in the month and are exchanging hands for $179.
Microsoft Corporation
Peter Thiel purchased 49,000 shares of Microsoft, the largest enterprise software company. The stock forms 34.09% of the total portfolio. Microsoft is making the most of its investments in artificial intelligence and has integrated generative AI copilots in its software products like Microsoft 365. It has the second largest market share in the cloud computing segment, and despite a drop in sales growth this quarter, its market share has remained unchanged.
Microsoft aims to double its data center footprint in the coming years, which could boost sales. The company’s first quarter numbers were impressive. Its revenue reached $77.7 billion, up 18% year over year, while the EPS was up 23% to $4.13. The cloud segment generated a revenue of $49.1 billion, up 26% year over year, and Azure saw a 40% jump.
Microsoft has been ramping up AI infrastructure investments, and we could see it pay off in the coming years. It now has 900 million monthly active users of the AI features across all its products. Microsoft’s free cash flow came in at $25.7 billion, up 33% year over year. Despite the high spending, the company has managed to generate high free cash flow.
Its commercial remaining performance obligation jumped 51% to $392 billion, indicating a strong demand trajectory. Fulfillment of these demands will be expensive, which is why the company has a high AI investment planned for the year. In the quarter, the capital expenditure stood at $34.9 billion.
Clearly, the business is thriving, and the stock has gained 16.28% so far in 2025, exchanging hands for $486.74.
Apple
In the third quarter, the hedge fund added 79,181 shares of iPhone maker Apple, taking his total position to 27.08%. Apple’s market cap is over $4 trillion today, and the stock is up 16.10% this year. The company’s revenue growth has steadily accelerated in the past five years, and the same momentum could continue.
For the fourth quarter, it reported a record quarterly revenue at $102.5 billion, up 8% year over year, and the EPS was $1.85, up 13% year over year. The company has impressed the market with its all-time high services revenue of $28.75 billion. Apple has seen growing demand for iPhone 17 and expects the iPhone revenue to grow at a double-digit rate this year. CEO Tim Cook expects the December quarter to be the best ever in the history of the company.
The company saw iPhone revenue of $49.03 billion, Mac revenue of $8.73 billion, and generated $27.46 billion in net income. Apple is constrained on several iPhone models, which means we could see higher demand and improved revenue numbers in the coming quarters. The growing demand for iPhone 17 has set the tone for 2026.
I believe Apple’s services segment is a hit and could continue generating revenue. With the success of the new iPhone, the company could see a better 2026. Exchanging hands for $283, the stock looks cheap to me.