Michael Burry, the investor famously portrayed in "The Big Short," has announced a short position against Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) at a price of $1,060.98. Burry believes Caterpillar has become significantly overvalued, positioning itself as a beneficiary of the artificial intelligence investment surge. This move comes as Caterpillar shares have nearly doubled in the first half of 2026, marking an 86% gain and making it one of the S&P 500's top performers, largely due to investors seeing it as a proxy for the expanding global AI infrastructure.
Burry highlighted that Caterpillar's price-to-sales ratio has reached its highest level in at least three decades, paralleling the stock's record highs. He stated, "Caterpillar jumped out at me," adding that he had previously only held long positions in the company. He linked the market's current rally, particularly in AI-related stocks, to recent significant spending announcements from Korea, which he perceives as "the beginning of the end" for this extended rally.
In addition to Caterpillar, Burry also disclosed new bearish positions against Nvidia (NVDA) at $198.09, Applied Materials (AMAT) at $729.40, Tesla (TSLA) at $416.22, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) at $642.80. He expressed broader concerns about semiconductor valuations, noting that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is trading approximately 65% above its 200-day moving average, a level previously seen only during the dot-com bubble in 2000. He specifically called out the SOXX as a "pure form of overvaluation in an index," noting its price-to-sales ratio is over 16x even without considering Nvidia's impact.
