Michael Burry, renowned for predicting the 2008 financial crisis and depicted in The Big Short, continues to draw attention for his market moves. As head of Scion Asset Management, Burry’s portfolio has shifted over time, including notable bets on Chinese tech stocks that yielded strong returns in late 2023. However, his cryptic “Sell” post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 31, 2024, sparked widespread debate. Despite the S&P 500 surging over 40% in the two years following his warning, Burry later acknowledged the call was premature. But how did his own stock picks fare during this period?
We analyzed a hypothetical $1,000 investment split equally across five stocks Burry favored at the time of his “Sell” advice. Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), then trading at $110.20, fell 10.3% to $98.84 by January 2025, reducing a $200 stake to $179.49. JD.com (NASDAQ: JD), another Chinese e-commerce holding, dropped 28.3% from $57.01 to $40.72, turning $200 into $143.44. Shift4 Payments (NYSE: FOUR), however, surged 87.4% from $64.04 to $119.85, boosting its $200 allocation to $374.80. Molina Healthcare (NYSE: MOH) saw minimal movement, edging up 0.5% from $310.41 to $311.83, leaving its $200 portion at $201.00.
The standout was RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL), an online luxury reseller. Its stock skyrocketed 421.3% from $1.83 to $9.54, transforming a $200 investment into $1,054.60. This meteoric rise single-handedly offset losses elsewhere.
In total, the $1,000 portfolio would have grown to $1,953.33 by January 2025—a 95.3% return. While Burry’s “Sell” call initially seemed misguided, his stock selections ultimately outperformed the broader market. The results underscore the volatility of individual stocks and the critical role of diversification. RealReal’s extraordinary gains compensated for declines in Alibaba and JD.com, illustrating how high-risk bets can reshape a portfolio’s trajectory. Yet, as Burry’s mixed outcomes show, even celebrated investors face unpredictability, emphasizing the need for balanced strategies in turbulent markets.