Andreas Halvorsen's Strategic Portfolio Realignment: Exit Tesla, Double Netflix Exposure

When institutional investors with substantial assets file their quarterly positions with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street pays attention. Last February, the deadline for 13F filings revealed a fascinating shift in how billionaire investor Andreas Halvorsen was deploying capital through Viking Global Investors. The $30.9 billion fund, managing positions across 86 stocks, demonstrated a bold reallocation that signals shifting conviction in the market’s most scrutinized names.

Halvorsen’s track record commands respect among sophisticated investors. His active approach—with average holding periods under one year for top positions—means his buy and sell decisions carry real weight. What transpired in the December quarter proved particularly instructive: a complete exit from an electric-vehicle leader paired with aggressive accumulation in a streaming entertainment giant.

Why the Billionaire Investor Abandoned Tesla

The most striking move was Halvorsen’s complete liquidation of Viking Global’s Tesla stake. The fund divested all 436,272 shares—a position valued at over $114 million as of mid-2024. For context, this happened just weeks after Tesla’s stock surged nearly 91% in a six-week window following the November election, driven partly by optimism around Elon Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency.

On the surface, the exit appears to be profit-taking from that spectacular run. Yet deeper analysis suggests multiple concerns weighing on the decision.

Tesla’s vehicle economics have deteriorated considerably. Since 2023, the company slashed pricing on its Model 3, S, X, and Y lineup repeatedly, diluting margins while attempting to maintain demand and manage inventory. This dynamic—lower prices supporting volume but crushing profitability—represents a structural headwind that contradicts the company’s premium valuation.

A more troubling reality: the profitability narrative lacks operational substance. According to analysis of Tesla’s financial structure, more than half of 2024’s pre-tax profit originated from regulatory automotive credits, interest income on cash reserves, and adjustments to digital asset values—the Bitcoin holdings on the balance sheet. Core automotive operations simply aren’t generating the earnings supporting the current stock price.

There’s also the distraction factor. Musk’s focus on government efficiency initiatives has raised legitimate questions about Tesla management attention. The company’s valuation premium depends heavily on belief in Musk’s execution capability. When that focus splinters, execution risk rises.

Finally, and perhaps most critically, several high-profile promises remain unfulfilled. Level 5 full self-driving and robotaxi deployments are already baked into Tesla’s valuation assumptions. Yet neither has materialized at meaningful scale. If these expectations were stripped from the valuation, a substantially lower stock price becomes defensible.

Netflix: The Position Halvorsen Is Betting Big On

In sharp contrast, Halvorsen was aggressively purchasing Netflix shares during the same quarter. Viking Global acquired 297,317 Netflix shares, boosting the fund’s overall position by 145% from the prior period. This substantial capital reallocation signals genuine conviction.

The rationale is straightforward. Netflix ended 2024 with 301.63 million global paid streaming memberships and stands as the undisputed industry leader. More importantly, the company has demonstrated recurring profitability—a critical distinction among streaming platforms burning cash.

The subscriber trajectory is accelerating. The fourth-quarter addition of 18.91 million paid members represented the strongest quarterly performance in years, decisively moving past the 2022 growth stagnation period. This reacceleration stems from multiple reinforcing factors.

Content remains Netflix’s moat. The platform produces more original series than competitors—shows like Squid Game, Wednesday, and Stranger Things drive both retention and acquisition. The crackdown on password sharing forced subscriber consolidation that increased per-account monetization while expanding the paying subscriber base. Netflix has also demonstrated pricing power, recently raising subscription costs by $1 to $2.50 monthly depending on tier.

Beyond these operational improvements, innovation continues. The ad-supported tier launched in late 2022 has attracted 70 million paid subscribers alone, fundamentally reshaping the unit economics of the business while capturing price-sensitive demographics previously lost to competition and piracy.

The Stock-Split Opportunity Halvorsen May Be Targeting

Intriguingly, there’s another dimension to Netflix’s investment case that likely appeals to Halvorsen’s analytical approach. Netflix stock traded at $1,058.60 per share at the time of the 13F deadline—a price point that may be creating retail adoption friction.

The company’s previous stock split occurred in 2015 when shares traded around $700. Historical analysis by Bank of America Global Research reveals that companies announcing forward splits substantially outperform benchmarks in the 12 months following announcement. Since 1980, split stocks have averaged 25.4% gains compared to 11.9% for the S&P 500—a meaningful outperformance gap that may reflect improved retail accessibility and psychological factors.

With Netflix trading at four-digit share prices in an already elevated market, the case for a split announcement strengthens. Should the company announce such a move, the combination of improved fundamentals, subscriber momentum, and stock-split euphoria could compound significantly.

The Broader Investment Signal

Halvorsen’s reallocation encapsulates a sophisticated investor’s reassessment of conviction. Exiting Tesla reflects concern about deteriorating unit economics, underdeveloped growth narratives, and distracted management—challenges that even a company’s historic accomplishments cannot indefinitely overcome. Meanwhile, Netflix represents the inverse: a proven operator with accelerating growth, expanding profitability, and potential catalysts that remain unpriced.

For investors monitoring how top-tier capital allocators are positioning portfolios, Halvorsen’s December moves offer a clear directional signal about which structural trends appear sustainable and which may be approaching inflection points.