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Seth Klarman's Q1 2026 13F moves

By HoldLens EditorialPublished May 28, 2026

TL;DR

Baupost Group's Q1 2026 13F-HR (filed 2026-05-15) shows Seth Klarman — the Margin of Safety author and one of the most respected value investors alive — making Amazon his top holding, adding 47% by share count to 12.7% of the book. He also added Alphabet (+9%) and Ferguson (+27%), and opened new positions in Aon (4.9%), Visa (4.1%) and Teleflex (3.7%), while trimming Willis Towers Watson (−34%) and Liberty (−42%). A concentrated 22-position book. Every move is reconstructable from EDGAR using Form 13F-HR.

The Q1 2026 picture

Few investors carry Klarman's reputation. Baupost has compounded for four decades on a doctrine of capital preservation, and Margin of Safety is one of the most sought-after investing books ever written. So a 13F that adds aggressively to a mega-cap growth name is worth reading carefully — and Q1 2026 has exactly that: Amazon, already a position, was lifted 47% by share count to become the single largest holding in a concentrated 22-name book.

Amazon to the top + adds

Amazon (AMZN) — added 47% by share count to 12.7%, the top holding.
Alphabet (GOOG) +9% to 6.6%, Ferguson (FERG) +27% to 6.6% — a mega-cap platform and a building-products distributor added in size.
Americold (COLD) +124% to 1.7% — the cold-storage REIT roughly doubled.

New positions

Aon (AON) 4.9%, Visa (V) 4.1%, Teleflex (TFX) 3.7% — brand-new stakes in an insurance broker, a payment network, and a medical-device maker. Quality-franchise businesses, characteristically value-priced entries.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) 1.3%, Vaxcyte (PCVX) 0.9% — smaller new positions.

Trims

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) −34% to 5.1%, Liberty (LBTYK) −42% to 3.1%, Eagle Materials (EXP) −25% to 3.3% — the largest reductions, funding the adds and new positions.

What the pattern signals

The quarter reads as a rotation toward quality franchises within a value framework. Amazon to the top, Alphabet and Ferguson added, and new Aon, Visa and Teleflex positions all point to durable-business quality — bought, in Klarman's style, when the price offered a margin of safety. The trims (Willis Towers Watson, Liberty, Eagle Materials) funded the shift rather than signalling a directional retreat.

The 13F shows only US-listed long positions and omits Baupost's well-known private, credit and distressed exposures — so this is a partial window. But on the public-equity sleeve, the direction is clear: more weight in large, durable compounders at Q1 prices.

Notably, Klarman is not alone in adding Amazon this quarter: several tracked managers reshaped their mega-cap exposure, and Visa appears as a fresh or growing position across multiple recaps.

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How to verify this yourself

Every position change above is reconstructable from public SEC EDGAR filings. Steps:

Open Baupost Group's 13F-HR filing history on EDGAR (CIK 0001061768).
Compare the Q1 2026 13F (filed 2026-05-15, report date 2026-03-31) line-by-line against the Q4 2025 13F (filed Feb 2026).
Position changes appear as: increased share counts (Amazon, Alphabet, Ferguson, Americold adds), new CUSIP rows (Aon, Visa, Teleflex, Norwegian, Vaxcyte), and decreased share counts (Willis Towers Watson, Liberty, Eagle Materials trims).
Cross-reference with HoldLens's machine-readable /api/v1/snapshot/2026-Q1.json and the live Seth Klarman portfolio page.

Our view

For a value investor whose reputation rests on caution, making Amazon the top holding is a notable statement — but a characteristic one: Klarman has long argued that quality and value are not opposites when the price is right. The pattern across the quarter — Amazon, Alphabet, Ferguson added; Aon, Visa, Teleflex opened — is a tilt toward durable franchises rather than a style change. Because the 13F hides Baupost's private and credit book, read this as the public-equity sleeve only. Whether the call proves correct is something only time can answer; the public record tells us how Baupost's long-equity book is positioned right now — concentrated in large, durable businesses.

Famous trades — the public-record case studies

Six historical trades reconstructable from SEC EDGAR alone. Each essay traces the trade through 13F + Form 4 + DEF 14A filings.

Warren Buffett's Coca-Cola trade

Berkshire's 1988-89 KO purchase — $1.3B → ~$28B, untouched 37 years.

Warren Buffett's Apple position

Berkshire's 2016-onward AAPL accumulation — largest equity position in firm history.

Warren Buffett's Bank of America 2011 deal

The $5B preferred + 700M-share warrants at $7.14 strike. ~$13B paper gain at 2017 exercise.

David Tepper's 2009 bank trade

Appaloosa's $2B March 2009 distressed-bank bet (BAC + C + AIG). ~$7B returned. $4B Tepper payday.

Michael Burry's Big Short

Scion Capital's 2005-2008 subprime CDS trade — ~489% net return.

Bill Ackman's Herbalife short

Pershing Square's 2012-2018 multi-year activist campaign.

Black Wednesday — the Quantum Fund pound trade

September 16, 1992. The single-day macro trade that broke the Bank of England.

Charlie Munger's Costco position

1997-2023 hold + board seat — the canonical long-duration value position.

Carl Icahn's Apple buyback campaign

2013-2016 long-side activism — public letter to Tim Cook, ~$2B realized gain.

See all 6 essays in the Famous Trades collection →

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