For Ackman's Portfolio, Burgers Have Been Better Than Burritos

(Bloomberg) -- Bill Ackman’s foray into the restaurant industry has brought a mixed bag.

The billionaire’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, is the largest shareholder in both Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Restaurant Brands International Inc., the parent company of Burger King. And the two bets have gone in very different directions this year.

Ackman has lost about $386 million on this stake in Chipotle, which was battered by a fresh round of negative headlines in July and followed that up with a dismal earnings report this week. The shares have plunged more than 25 percent this year, bringing them to their lowest level since 2013.

Restaurants Brands, meanwhile, has surged this year. Buoyed by strong results at Burger King, the stock briefly touched a record high on Thursday. Ackman has made more than $1.1 billion on his stake in the company, which also operates Tim Hortons and Popeyes. That includes profits taken in July when he sold some of his shares in the company.

To contact the reporters on this story: Craig Giammona in New York at cgiammona@bloomberg.net, Brandon Kochkodin in New York at bkochkodin@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net.

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