Deregulation: Capital One Financial was added to Goldman’s list of the most popular long positions among hedge funds even as the group reduced their exposure to financial-services companies. Capital One’s $35 billion acquisition of Discover is awaiting regulatory approval.
AI plays: Hedge funds’ holdings of utility stocks, many of which soared last year on the back of AI’s growing power needs, are near their highest level in the past decade. Hedge funds also increased ownership of Salesforce and ServiceNow, two companies Goldman thinks are likely to have AI-enabled revenue gains.
Tariffs: Chip maker Qorvo ranks among the stocks with the biggest decreases in the number of hedge-fund owners and the biggest increases in short interest during the fourth quarter. Goldman researchers said Qorvo is exposed to supply chains in China, where President Trump recently raised tariffs.
DOGE: Hedge funds added bets against defense company V2X and consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton Holding since election day. Goldman included those companies and others in a basket of stocks with the ticker GSXUDOGE that are potentially at risk from government-spending cuts.
Leverage: Hedge funds’ gross exposures to stocks, a measure that includes money they borrow to invest, are nearly the highest levels in Goldman’s records.
