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Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman said two geopolitical conflicts — the Ukraine-Russia and Iran wars — along with elevated inflation and interest rates are holding back an otherwise "booming market environment." "Once the overhang of the war is done — and it sounds like we're also potentially heading in the right direction with Russia-Ukraine — energy prices could come way down, and obviously that would be very good for inflation and markets," Ackman told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. "We're going to have an amazing 2027." Ackman, who called the Iran conflict an "extremely well-executed war," believes that once there's peace in the Middle East, it will be great for the region and "ultimately great for the United States." Higher crude prices have pressured stocks all year, as traders fear elevated energy costs will drive up inflation and force the Federal Reserve to raise rates. U.S. oil is up 72% in 2026, while Brent crude has surged 83%. Rising oil appears to have trickled down to consumer prices. Gasoline prices accounted for over half of the increase in the latest consumer price index report. Inflation has been stubborn, moving away from the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year in September. Higher prices put the Fed in a bind to keep interest rates elevated to tame inflation. Cheap Netflix Ackman also discussed individual long-term stock opportunities on his radar. The hedge fund manager said he viewed Netflix's earnings favorably. The streaming stock dropped more than 5% on Wednesday after reporting lackluster advertising and revenue guidance. On Thursday, however, they bounced more than 3%. Ackman said that any concerns around Netflix's content library are overblown when considering the strength of its management team and its engagement with users. He added that the stock is currently trading at 18 times earnings, "one of the lowest valuations in history," and expected to post earnings growth in the mid to high teens for the foreseeable future. "Netflix is a high growth utility," he said. Meta undervalued The billionaire investor also has Meta Platforms as a core part of Pershing Square's portfolio. Shares of the Facebook and Instagram parent are down 6% Thursday despite the company reporting better-than-expected revenue in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, while issuing strong guidance for the current period. The stock's drop didn't faze Ackman. "We're in a world in which you cannot look at the day one trading of a stock after earnings because of how levered market participants are and how short-term they are," he said. "Meta is extremely well positioned in democratizing the use of agents," citing the company's success with its personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse. Meta has "proven that AI is helping them accelerate their business and this remains an incredibly undervalued stock and that's why we own it," Ackman noted. He unveiled his position on the tech giant in February. At the time, Ackman cited Meta's "long-term upside potential from AI represents a deeply discounted valuation for one of the world's greatest businesses," during an investor presentation. Ackman believes Meta's investments in compute infrastructure are necessary and could eventually generate attractive returns. Fannie and Freddie going up tenfold? Ackman also reiterated his bullish stance on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, of which he is large shareholder in. "These stocks will go up tenfold. and that's you know, that's the most asymmetric investment I'm aware of in the stock market," he said. "These entities have fully rebuilt their capital. What's not, I think, well understood is Fannie and Freddie today have five times the capital they had historically."
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