The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust sold 17 million Microsoft shares in the third quarter of 2025, reducing its holdings in the company by nearly 65%. This was one of the largest single-quarter reductions since the fund was established. After the transaction was completed, Microsoft's weight in the fund portfolio dropped from more than 27% to about 13%, and it still holds 9.2 million shares, valued at about $4.76 billion at current prices.
Based on Microsoft's third-quarter average share price of $510.13, the amount of this reduction is approximately $8.7 billion. This action is regarded as a portfolio adjustment rather than a judgment that the company's fundamentals have weakened. Since the fund increased its holdings in the third quarter of 2021, Microsoft's stock price has nearly doubled and has increased by more than 21% this year, mainly driven by the strong growth of Azure cloud business and artificial intelligence services.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in the company's latest earnings call that cloud and AI have become important elements for companies to improve efficiency and expand output. Azure revenue increased by 33% in the quarter, of which AI-related services contributed 16 percentage points.
The foundation's filing also disclosed that it had completely liquidated its shares in Crown Castle and UPS, selling 1.42 million shares and 755,000 shares respectively. At the same time, the trust reduced its holdings of Berkshire Hathaway shares by 2.36 million shares, but still maintained it as the largest holding in the portfolio, accounting for nearly 30%.
The portfolio adjustment is in line with Gates' long-term plan to donate 99% of his estimated $106 billion fortune, and the foundation will cease operations on December 31, 2045. The organization has announced plans to increase annual distributions to $9 billion, which requires its $49 billion portfolio to maintain steady liquidity.
After the reduction, the foundation's assets are still highly concentrated, with approximately 67% of the funds distributed in three stocks: Berkshire Hathaway, Waste Management Corporation and Canadian National Railway.