"The Big Short" Michael Burry shorts Caterpillar for the first time, while also shorting Nvidia, Applied Materials, Tesla, and other stocks

On July 1, investor Michael Burry @michaeljburry, the real-life figure behind "The Big Short" known for successfully shorting the U.S. housing market, said he has shorted Caterpillar, believing the construction equipment maker has become one of the overvalued beneficiaries of the AI investment frenzy. Burry stated that he shorted Caterpillar stock at $1,060.98, while also shorting Nvidia, Applied Materials, Tesla, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), positioning against AI-related stocks he sees as increasingly overextended. In a SubStack article, Burry wrote: "Caterpillar caught my eye. I have never shorted Caterpillar before. In the past, it has rewarded me well on the long side."
Caterpillar's stock rose 86% in the first half of 2026, becoming one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year. As investors increasingly view it as a proxy bet on global AI infrastructure buildout, Caterpillar's shares have surged significantly. Burry said the stock's valuation has reached a level that caught his attention, sharing a chart showing Caterpillar's price-to-sales ratio rising to its highest in at least 30 years, while the stock price hit record highs.
⚠️🚨Burry also reiterated his concerns about semiconductor valuations. He noted that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is currently about 65% above its 200-day moving average, a level previously seen only during the 2000 dot-com bubble. Burry said: "The immediate catalyst for today's rise is South Korea's massive spending announcement. Well, I think this is the beginning of the end. It's just a matter of time now."