Earned $100 million this year! Being a top influencer is better than being a top short seller
Michael Burry's paid newsletter "Cassandra Unchained" has surpassed 300,000 subscribers in 231 days since its launch. Based on an annual fee of $379, its theoretical annual revenue is approximately $113.7 million. Meanwhile, the AI and semiconductor stocks he shorted, such as Nvidia, Micron, and AMAT, have seen significant gains this year, with Micron soaring by as much as 697% year-to-date, putting considerable pressure on short positions.
Shorting AI stocks has been a painful loss, but selling subscriptions could lead to huge profits—Michael Burry's most lucrative business this year may not be trading stocks, but writing blog posts.
"Big Short" Michael Burry's investment newsletter "Cassandra Unchained" on Substack reached over 300,000 subscribers in just 231 days. At an annual subscription price of $379, the theoretical annual revenue is about $113.7 million.
How impressive is this number? According to Stocktwits, investing one million dollars equally in the top 10 performing S&P 500 stocks this year only yields about $34 million in total returns—less than one third of Burry's theoretical newsletter income.
300,000 Subscribers in 231 Days
In a post titled "Short & Thankful: 300," Burry revealed that "Cassandra Unchained" has reached 300,044 subscribers and 346,680 followers, with subscribers from all 50 states in the U.S. and 212 countries worldwide, 52% of whom are outside the United States.
From the data, "Cassandra Unchained" had about 218,000 followers in January this year, and by July, this number had risen to nearly 347,000, reflecting a continually upward growth curve.
The newsletter is priced at $39 per month or $379 per year, with a free tier also available. Burry did not disclose the exact proportion of paid subscribers; Substack’s subscriber count includes both free and paid readers, and the above calculation does not deduct Substack platform fees. Therefore, $113.7 million is a theoretical maximum, not actual income in hand.
Burry launched the newsletter in November 2025, just after deregistering his hedge fund with the SEC, returning to social media, and renewing his criticism of the AI bubble. The newsletter attracted over 60,000 subscribers upon launch and gradually evolved into his main platform for real-time portfolio updates, valuation analysis, and detailed trading records.
Longing Value Stocks: PayPal, Lululemon, Alibaba
In the newsletter, Burry continually discloses his specific trades.
In April this year, he publicly revealed for the first time large holdings, building a position in PayPal Holdings (PYPL) at around $49, accounting for 3.5% of his portfolio, and listing it as his top pick in the software and payments sector, ahead of Fiserv (FI) and Adobe (ADBE). He continued to increase his stake in PayPal around $45 and simultaneously bought Fiserv. In the same month, he also built positions in Adobe, Autodesk (ADSK), and Veeva Systems (VEEV), reasoning that "panic over AI disruption has pushed software valuations below intrinsic value."
In April, he also reiterated his confidence in Molina Healthcare (MOH), stating that market expectations "have hit rock bottom," and that he will continue to add to his position, as the investment logic is based on normalized earnings for the coming years.
In June, Burry turned his attention to Lululemon Athletica (LULU), adding repeatedly to his position. He stated bluntly: "Bad management is a value investor’s best friend." He believes Wall Street is overly focused on management mistakes, tariffs, and slowing growth, while ignoring long-term value.
Regarding Chinese assets, Burry disclosed in April that he held over 6% of Alibaba shares and continued to increase his holdings in JD.com (JD). Last week, he said that JD.com was one of his top three holdings and stated, "As enthusiasm for AI and memory chips fades, funds will rotate to Hong Kong and China stocks."
Shorting AI Stocks: Nvidia, Micron, Palantir
Meanwhile, Burry has been continually expanding his short positions against AI and semiconductor stocks.
In April, he disclosed holding additional put options against Nvidia (NVDA), including January 2027 $115 strike contracts, while keeping previous $100 puts. On June 30, he escalated to directly shorting Nvidia at a price of $198.09. The same update also revealed new shorts in Applied Materials (AMAT), iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), Tesla (TSLA), and Caterpillar (CAT), likening the current semiconductor hype to the dot-com bubble.
"The immediate spark for today’s rally is the large-scale spending announced by South Korea. I think this is the beginning of the end," said Burry.
Earlier this month, he disclosed a direct short on Micron Technology (MU), saying the stock's deviation from its 200-day moving average is greater than at any time since 1984.
For Palantir Technologies (PLTR), since first disclosing a short position last November, Burry has maintained one of Wall Street’s most watched bearish positions. Although he partially covered, in June he reiterated that there are "no signs yet of seller capitulation or exhaustion."
The Cost of Being Short: Getting "Burnt" by the Market
However, reality isn't on Burry's side.
Since the beginning of this year, many of the stocks he shorted have significantly outperformed the market. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 22% year to date, Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) is up 31%, while Nvidia is up 29%, AMAT has soared 206%, and Micron has skyrocketed 697%.
Shorting these stocks means Burry is facing substantial paper losses on these positions.
This is precisely why his newsletter income is particularly eye-catching—while under pressure from trading losses, the “Big Short’s” other business may quietly be becoming his biggest source of profit this year.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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