Michael Burry, founder of Scion Asset Management, disclosed a full position in Birkenstock Holding after the footwear company’s shares slumped to a 52-week low, citing a valuation roughly 30% below his estimated fair value of $45.84. Burry initiated the stake in the mid-$30s, with the stock last trading at $35.17, representing a discount of about 30.3% to his estimate.
The position reflects Burry’s barbell strategy, pairing long exposure to consumer brands trading below intrinsic value with short bets against high-multiple technology and industrial equities. His portfolio includes fresh shorts in Oracle, Palantir, Nebius and Caterpillar, while also maintaining a long position in Freddie Mac entered in the mid-$5s. Short stock exposure excluding put options exceeds 21% of the portfolio.
Birkenstock’s shares have declined 9.4% since the company announced a $1.0 billion follow-on equity offering paired with a $500 million buyback priced at $39.18 on August 23. The offering added about 25.5 million new shares, while the buyback retired roughly 12.8 million, resulting in a net addition of approximately 12.7 million shares. The stock had already fallen roughly 11.8% since Birkenstock’s August 13 fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, which missed GAAP EPS estimates by $0.01 at $0.85 versus a consensus of $0.86.
Despite near-term headwinds, Birkenstock raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to at least €710 million and lifted fiscal 2026 revenue growth guidance to 15% in constant currency, targeting the upper end of a €2.3 billion to €2.35 billion range. Adjusted EPS for the third quarter of 2026 is projected at €0.74, up 19% year-over-year, while the next quarterly consensus EPS estimate stands at $0.54 per share.
Burry’s public disclosure via Substack on August 26 underscored his preference for tangible-asset or cash-flow stories trading below fair value, framing Birkenstock as the sole direct equity expression of his long thesis in the consumer brand space.
