When billionaire hedge fund managers move money, markets pay attention. Not because these investors are always right—but because their decisions often reveal where capital, curiosity, and conviction are flowing next. In the third quarter of 2025, three of Wall Street’s most respected hedge fund leaders quietly adjusted their portfolios in a way that caught investors off guard.
Israel Englander of Millennium Management, Ken Griffin of Citadel Advisors, and Steven Schonfeld of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors all reduced their holdings in Amazon, one of the most dominant technology companies in the world. At the same time, they initiated or expanded positions in Rigetti Computing, a quantum computing company whose stock has surged more than 3,000% since early 2023.
This is not a simple story of selling confidence in Amazon or full-throated belief in quantum computing. It is a complex narrative about market cycles, momentum investing, technological asymmetry, and how billionaires allocate risk at different stages of innovation.
Amazon: A Tech Titan Still Firing on All Cylinders
Amazon remains one of the most strategically diversified companies ever built. Its dominance spans e-commerce, digital advertising, logistics, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Few corporations operate at Amazon’s scale while continuing to innovate at speed.
In retail, Amazon controls the largest online marketplace across North America and Western Europe. Its logistics network rivals national postal services, and its advertising business has quietly become one of the most profitable digital ad platforms globally.
Yet the most important engine remains Amazon Web Services. AWS is still the world’s largest public cloud provider, serving enterprises, startups, governments, and AI developers. As artificial intelligence workloads explode, AWS has positioned itself as a foundational infrastructure provider for the AI economy.
Artificial Intelligence Is Strengthening Amazon’s Core Businesses
Amazon is no longer merely integrating AI—it is rebuilding workflows around it. Its AI shopping assistant, Rufus, has become a meaningful revenue driver. Customers engaging with Rufus are substantially more likely to complete purchases, and the tool is projected to generate tens of billions in incremental sales over time.
Behind the scenes, Amazon uses AI to optimize inventory placement, forecast demand, reduce delivery times, and lower fulfillment costs. These efficiency gains translate directly into expanding operating margins, a key metric Wall Street watches closely.
AWS has also accelerated its AI roadmap. From pretrained foundation models to autonomous agents capable of handling software development, security patching, and performance optimization, AWS is embedding AI into every layer of its cloud offering.
Financial Performance That Still Impresses
Amazon’s most recent quarterly results underscore the effectiveness of its strategy. Revenue growth remains solid across e-commerce, advertising, and cloud services. More importantly, operating income is rising faster than revenue, signaling improved profitability and cost discipline.
Wall Street analysts expect Amazon’s earnings to grow at a high-teens rate annually over the next several years. Given that outlook, the stock’s valuation—while not cheap—appears defensible relative to its growth profile and market position.
So why would elite hedge fund managers trim Amazon now?
Selling Does Not Always Mean Doubt
Portfolio adjustments often reflect tactical decisions rather than fundamental shifts in belief. In this case, all three hedge fund managers still retain significant Amazon positions. The stock remains a top holding for both Englander and Griffin.
Several factors may explain the partial sell-off. Concerns about global tariffs, geopolitical risks, or regulatory pressures could have influenced near-term risk management. Alternatively, these managers may have been reallocating capital toward higher-volatility opportunities elsewhere in the market.
Importantly, reducing exposure does not equal abandoning conviction. For long-term investors, Amazon remains a cornerstone of the modern digital economy.
Enter Rigetti Computing: Quantum Dreams Meet Market Reality
While Amazon represents technological maturity, Rigetti Computing represents technological aspiration. The company specializes in superconducting quantum computing, an approach that uses ultra-cooled circuits to create qubits—the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers.
Quantum computing promises computational capabilities far beyond classical machines, with potential applications in cryptography, drug discovery, materials science, and complex optimization problems.
Rigetti’s appeal lies in its vertical integration. Unlike many competitors, the company designs its own chips, manufactures processors in-house, and builds the software stack required to deliver quantum computing via the cloud.
The Technical Promise of Multi-Chip Architectures
One of Rigetti’s most notable innovations is its multi-chip quantum processor architecture. Instead of relying on a single monolithic chip, Rigetti connects multiple chiplets to scale qubit counts.
This approach could theoretically reduce error rates and improve scalability—two of the biggest challenges facing quantum computing today. If successful, it may provide a more practical pathway toward large-scale quantum systems.
However, theoretical advantage does not guarantee commercial success.
The Quantum Timeline Problem
Despite impressive technological progress, quantum computing remains far from widespread utility. Experts estimate that truly useful quantum computers may require tens of thousands—or even millions—of physical qubits with real-time error correction.
Rigetti’s own roadmap does not anticipate systems with even 1,000 qubits until the latter part of the decade. That places meaningful commercial adoption many years away.
For investors, this creates a dilemma. Quantum computing is undeniably transformative, but timelines are long, uncertain, and capital-intensive.
Valuation Disconnect: Where the Risk Lies
Rigetti’s stock price reflects extraordinary optimism. The company trades at an eye-watering multiple of its revenue, far exceeding even the most aggressively valued software firms.
Revenue remains minimal, while losses are substantial. Share dilution has accelerated as the company raises capital to fund operations, reducing ownership value for existing shareholders.
From a traditional valuation perspective, the stock is difficult to justify. Even optimistic scenarios struggle to support current pricing without assuming near-perfect execution and rapid technological breakthroughs.
Why Billionaires Might Still Buy
If the fundamentals are stretched, why would sophisticated investors step in at all?
The answer may lie in momentum rather than conviction. Quantum computing has captured the imagination of markets, policymakers, and technologists alike. Stocks tied to the theme have experienced explosive rallies, driven by speculation, narrative, and fear of missing out.
For hedge fund managers skilled in short- to medium-term trading, small positions in high-momentum stocks can generate outsized returns—if timed correctly.
Crucially, the positions taken by Englander, Griffin, and Schonfeld are relatively small compared to their overall portfolios. This suggests optionality rather than belief.
Momentum Versus Long-Term Investing
This divergence between Amazon and Rigetti highlights a broader market dynamic. Mature tech giants offer steady growth, predictable cash flows, and incremental innovation. Emerging technologies offer volatility, narrative power, and the possibility—however remote—of exponential upside.
Billionaire investors often balance both. They anchor portfolios with proven leaders while allocating smaller sums to speculative bets that can deliver asymmetric returns.
Retail investors, however, must be cautious. What works as a tactical trade for a hedge fund can be disastrous for individuals without risk controls.
Lessons for Individual Investors
The key takeaway is not to copy billionaire trades blindly. Context matters. Position size matters. Time horizon matters.
Amazon remains a high-quality business with durable competitive advantages. Rigetti remains a high-risk, high-volatility bet on a technology that may take decades to mature.
Understanding why professionals move money is more valuable than mimicking their moves.
The Broader Implications for Tech Investing
This episode underscores a deeper truth about modern markets. Innovation cycles are accelerating, narratives move faster than fundamentals, and capital often chases future potential long before revenue appears.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping industries. Quantum computing may one day do the same—but the path between promise and profit is long.
Savvy investors must distinguish between technological inevitability and investable opportunity.
Conclusion: Signal, Not Instruction
Billionaire portfolio moves offer insight, not instruction. The Amazon sale reflects tactical portfolio management, not declining confidence. The Rigetti purchase reflects optionality, not endorsement.
For investors, the lesson is clear: respect innovation, but anchor decisions in fundamentals, timelines, and risk tolerance.
Quantum computing may change the world. Amazon already has.
FAQs
1. Why did billionaires sell some Amazon stock?
Likely for portfolio rebalancing or tactical reasons, not loss of confidence.
2. Is Amazon still a strong investment?
Yes, it remains a dominant AI-driven technology company.
3. Why buy Rigetti despite weak fundamentals?
Possibly to capitalize on momentum in quantum computing stocks.
4. What does Rigetti specialize in?
Superconducting quantum computing and multi-chip processors.
5. Is quantum computing commercially viable today?
Not yet; widespread utility is likely years or decades away.
6. Is Rigetti overvalued?
By traditional metrics, extremely so.
7. Should retail investors buy quantum stocks?
Only with high risk tolerance and long time horizons.
8. Do billionaires expect Rigetti to succeed long term?
Their small position sizes suggest limited conviction.
9. What’s the biggest risk in quantum investing?
Long timelines, technical uncertainty, and dilution.
10. What’s the main takeaway for investors?
Understand billionaire moves, but don’t blindly follow them.