Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Loaded Up on These Stocks in Q4 2024

Group 1: Bridgewater Associates' Investment Activities - Bridgewater Associates, founded by Ray Dalio, significantly increased its holdings in major stocks during Q4, as revealed in its Form 13F filing [1] - The firm acquired an additional 2.1 million shares of Robinhood Markets, benefiting from a nearly 153% rise in Robinhood's share price since September 30 [2][3] - Bridgewater also added over 1.1 million shares of PayPal, nearly doubling its position, despite PayPal's stock facing challenges and a 13% drop post-earnings report [5][6] Group 2: Robinhood Markets - Robinhood has seen a surge in crypto trading volume, which spiked by 455%, contributing to a significant increase in average revenue per user, now at $164 [3] - The company has nearly $200 billion in assets under custody and has increased its revenues by more than ten times over the past five years, appealing to Gen Z and millennial investors [3] Group 3: PayPal and the Payments Industry - Bridgewater's investment in PayPal is part of a broader bullish stance on the payments industry, which includes positions in Visa and Global Payments [6] - The payments sector is expected to benefit from ongoing economic growth and digitalization trends, with Visa leading in card networks and PayPal dominating digital wallets [6] Group 4: AT&T and Telecom Sector - Bridgewater increased its stake in AT&T by nearly 5.2 million shares, indicating a preference for AT&T over its competitors Verizon and T-Mobile [7] - AT&T's commitment to fiber optics positions it as a leader in broadband, with a stock return of 22% since the start of Q4 and a strong growth in broadband margins [8]