{"data":{"id":"sw_e7cf2ee74cb5ba559046","slug":"appaloosa-trims-micron-41-cuts-consumer-cyclical-bet-adds-korea-chip-etf-in-q2","title":"Appaloosa Trims Micron 41%, Cuts Consumer Cyclical Bet, Adds Korea Chip ETF in Q2","subheadline":"David Tepper's fund reshaped its AI-linked holdings in the second quarter, per its latest 13F filing with the SEC.","summary":"Appaloosa's Q2 13F shows a 41% Micron trim, an 8.3-point cut to Consumer Cyclical exposure, and a new iShares MSCI South Korea ETF stake, illustrating a selective reshuffling within the broader AI trade rather than a wholesale retreat.","body":"David Tepper's Appaloosa Management reshaped a meaningful slice of its U.S. equity book in the second quarter, according to its 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, cutting its Micron Technology stake by 41.4% while adding a new position in the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF. The filing, covering the period ended June 30, 2026, showed total reported long value of $7.73 billion across 27 positions, up from $5.93 billion and 31 positions in the prior quarter. The Micron trim brought the position down to 975,000 shares worth $1.13 billion, still the fund's second-largest disclosed holding behind Amazon.com, which grew 15.7% to $1.19 billion.\n\nThe move first stood out in data tracked on Trade Filings, a Madison Labs research site, which aggregates 13F disclosures from SEC EDGAR. Alongside the Micron reduction, the filing showed Appaloosa's Consumer Cyclical sector exposure falling 8.3 percentage points quarter over quarter, even as Technology exposure rose 4.9 points and Communication Services gained 1.9 points. Other changes included Industrials up 2.3 points, Financial Services up 1.0 point, and Utilities down 1.3 points. Qualcomm was cut nearly in half, down 49.9%, while Whirlpool was reduced 63.3% and Alibaba Group Holding fell 42.3%. At the same time, the fund added to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (+24.3%), Meta Platforms (+54.6%), Uber Technologies (+21.5%) and Baidu (+87.1%).\n\nTaken together, the filing describes a portfolio that narrowed its chip exposure to a single stock, Micron, while adding indirect regional exposure through the Korea ETF, a vehicle weighted toward memory and semiconductor names including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. One reading of that combination, drawn strictly from the position changes disclosed in the filing itself, is that Appaloosa reduced single-name concentration risk in memory chips while retaining broader exposure to the same theme through a diversified regional wrapper. The filing does not disclose Appaloosa's rationale, and 13F forms report only long equity positions, not cash, derivatives strategy, or short exposure, so the full picture of the fund's hedging posture is not visible in the data.\n\nFor investors monitoring institutional positioning, 13F filings carry inherent limits: they are backward-looking by up to 45 days after quarter-end, capture only U.S.-reportable long holdings, and say nothing about intraday or subsequent trading. Even so, large, concentrated managers like Appaloosa are closely watched because shifts in sector weighting can offer a data point, not a signal of future returns, on how experienced allocators are treating a crowded theme like artificial intelligence infrastructure. Tepper's fund has a history of large swings in reported value, ranging from $8.38 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to $5.93 billion just one quarter before the latest filing, reflecting an active trading style rather than a buy-and-hold approach.\n\nThe filing lands amid a volatile stretch for chip-related equities. Advanced Micro Devices shares were up 4.9% in Tuesday trading, even as Appaloosa's own AMD position was trimmed 10.8% in the second quarter, underscoring how a manager's prior-quarter moves do not necessarily track a stock's near-term price action. Nvidia, in which Appaloosa holds a $305.14 million position, has been the subject of market attention ahead of its upcoming earnings report, with Yahoo Finance reporting Tuesday that comments from President Trump and Treasury Secretary Bessent contributed to broader tech-sector losses. In South Korea, SK Hynix union members voted to reject a proposed wage agreement, a labor development in a market Appaloosa gained fresh exposure to through the Korea ETF addition. Separately, Alibaba, a name Appaloosa cut sharply in the quarter, has said it plans to commit $10 billion toward AI infrastructure, according to Yahoo Finance, a spending plan that will play out well after the period covered by this filing.\n\nLooking ahead, market participants tracking institutional AI positioning are likely to watch Appaloosa's next 13F, due in mid-November for the third quarter, for whether the Micron trim and Korea ETF addition mark the start of a broader rotation or a one-quarter adjustment. Nvidia's forthcoming earnings report, widely anticipated across markets this week per Yahoo Finance coverage, will offer another test of sentiment toward AI-linked chip names more broadly. Any interpretation of Appaloosa's repositioning as a directional bet on the AI trade remains speculative absent further disclosure from the fund itself, and 13F data cannot confirm whether similar shifts are occurring across other large holders until their own filings are made public.","source":{"name":"Trade Filings","slug":"tradefilings"},"category":"Institutional Investors","article_type":"News","license":"Free to republish, in full or in part, with attribution to SourceWire and a link to the original article. No fees, registration, or permission required.","quality_score":88,"human_reviewed":false,"original_url":"https://tradefilings.com/manager/appaloosa-lp","featured_image":null,"published_at":"2026-08-26T11:28:35.928943+00:00","updated_at":"2026-08-26T11:28:35.928943+00:00","is_demo":false,"attribution":"Via SourceWire. Discovered via Trade Filings.","attribution_html":"Via SourceWire. Discovered via Trade Filings."},"meta":{"demo_data":false}}