Michael Burry Shorts 4 AI Stocks and Goes Long on Mercado Libre

• "Nebius is a reflection of what the peak of a bubble looks like," says Michael Burry.
• The investor shows a preference for companies with consolidated cash flows.

Michael Burry, the renowned investor famous for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, has intensified his bearish positions against companies linked to artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.

According to a post on his Substack account reported on August 13, 2026, by SeekingAlpha, Burry increased his short positions in Nebius Group, Micron, Oracle, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF, while reinforcing his long positions in the Argentine e-commerce platform Mercado Libre and the animal health firm Zoetis.

The fund manager's move reinforces his skeptical stance regarding the high valuations in the tech sector driven by AI.

For Burry, the stock behavior of cloud infrastructure companies like Nebius is representative of a mature phase of the market. "Nebius is a reflection of what the peak of a bubble looks like," the investor argued, pointing out inconsistencies in the pricing structure of AI computing capacity contracts.

Burry's analysis focuses on Nebius's statements during its latest earnings presentation. The company indicated that while it could commit all its computing capacity for 2027 in medium-term contracts (one to three years) at a cost of between $20 and $25 million per megawatt, it preferred to reserve capacity to negotiate short-term contracts at prices between $40 and $50 million per megawatt.

The investor questioned whether clients are willing to pay up to double for short-term agreements. "That reflects extreme urgency," he noted. According to his analysis, this dynamic suggests that the market is giving an excessive premium to immediate capacity compared to long-term contracts, a backwardation phenomenon that could anticipate a rapid depreciation in the value of the equipment.

"Energy does not depreciate. Therefore, either the graphics processing unit (GPU) is depreciating, or the client is depreciating, or most likely, both," Burry stated. Additionally, he criticized the company for extending the accounting depreciation period of its servers from four to five years, even though its business models assume an annual deterioration close to 50% in the conditions of its agreements.

Macroeconomic Context and Sector Tensions

Burry's warnings coincide with a growing caution in financial markets regarding the pace of return on investment (ROI) in artificial intelligence.

As reported by CriptoNoticias, the outlays of tech giants on computing infrastructure have reached record levels, fueling fears of overcapacity against the actual pace of commercial adoption and productivity gains in the real economy.

The increase in demand for infrastructure has not only pressured the financial margins of corporations but has also created bottlenecks in the supply chain of electronic components and a significant rise in energy consumption of data centers globally.

In this volatile environment for high-risk assets and technology, Burry's diversification into traditional issuers and e-commerce like Mercado Libre suggests a preference for companies with consolidated cash flows, distancing from speculation around the development of AI infrastructure.