Ken Griffin's Big Bet: Why This Billionaire Doubled Down on Six Magnificent Seven Stocks While Dumping Amazon

When a hedge fund manager with Ken Griffin’s track record makes significant portfolio moves, it’s worth paying attention. During the third quarter of 2025, Griffin’s Citadel Advisors executed a calculated shopping spree across the tech elite—but with one conspicuous omission that tells an interesting story about where the smart money is flowing.

A Selective Appetite for Tech Giants

Rather than pursuing an across-the-board accumulation strategy, Griffin demonstrated surgical precision in Q3. His hedge fund significantly increased exposure to six members of the Magnificent Seven, while surprisingly reducing one position dramatically.

Microsoft has now ascended to Citadel’s top holding after Griffin doubled down on the software giant, acquiring approximately 2 million additional shares. This leap-frogged Nvidia into second position, though the GPU manufacturer still received substantial attention with 1.73 million shares added—a 21.4% boost to the existing stake.

But the headline move belonged to Meta Platforms. Griffin’s aggressive repositioning resulted in a staggering 12,693% increase to Citadel’s Meta position, catapulting the social media behemoth into third place. Apple received similar aggressive treatment with its position more than doubled, while smaller allocations went to Tesla (1.1 million shares) and Alphabet (1.25 million shares).

The Curious Case of Amazon’s Reduced Position

The outlier in this otherwise aggressive tech accumulation was Amazon. Griffin executed what might be called a strategic retreat, selling 2.1 million shares in Q3—effectively cutting the e-commerce and cloud services position by 39%.

What prompted this divergence from the Magnificent Seven rally? The answer isn’t immediately obvious. Amazon’s AWS division operates in the same AI-accelerated landscape as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. While AWS growth trails its competitors on a percentage basis, it remains a formidable business. Valuation concerns don’t explain the move either—Amazon’s share price fluctuated modestly during Q3, tracking with other tech names. The company’s earnings announcement also cleared expectations, delivering another quarter that satisfied Wall Street’s requirements.

The most plausible explanation points to portfolio rebalancing rather than a loss of conviction. Citadel has maintained a long-standing Amazon position with a pattern of routine adjustments, suggesting this Q3 reduction reflects tactical allocation rather than fundamental thesis deterioration.

What This Tells Long-Term Investors

For retail investors contemplating whether to mirror Griffin’s Amazon exit, the situation remains nuanced. Amazon’s dominance in global e-commerce persists despite controlling merely 1% of worldwide retail spending—a metric CEO Andy Jassy emphasized as indicative of substantial runway ahead.

The advertising business has emerged as a genuine growth accelerator, posting 24% year-over-year revenue expansion in Q3—outpacing even the cloud unit’s trajectory. Meanwhile, AWS isn’t resting on its laurels. Jassy specifically highlighted agentic AI as a forthcoming catalyst, positioning the cloud infrastructure business for renewed expansion as enterprise automation advances.

Beyond these established vectors, Amazon is expanding into emerging domains. Satellite internet service launches are scheduled for early 2026, while Zoox robotaxis have transitioned from testing to real-world operations in Las Vegas with broader geographic expansion planned.

Griffin’s selective enthusiasm for the Magnificent Seven in Q3 provides insight into where mega-capital is concentrating, but individual investors might reach different conclusions about Amazon’s trajectory. The stock’s fundamentals suggest it deserves consideration regardless of hedge fund flows, particularly for those with multi-year investment horizons comfortable with moderate volatility in pursuit of substantial long-term returns.