Billionaire investor Bill Ackman called the slumping stock price of his new fund, Pershing Square USA (PSUS), 'frankly absurd' during its first earnings call since going public in April. PSUS gained only 0.6% since its debut through Tuesday, while his London-listed fund lost over 4% this year, compared with a 13.7% total return for the S&P 500 over the same period. Ackman's funds missed the AI-driven rally, and longtime holdings like Fannie Mae and Universal Music Group hurt performance.

PSUS trades at a 22% discount to its net asset value, one of the widest among U.S. closed-end funds investing in public securities. Ackman, known for activist investing, has shifted to friendly, concentrated long-term stakes. To turn things around, he used market turbulence and PSUS IPO proceeds to take new positions in six companies, including Netflix and Visa, as he and CIO Ryan Israel disclosed in a shareholder letter.