Bill Gates Owns Billions in This Secret AI Player Up Nearly 183% in a Year, and It’s Not Microsoft

Everyone knows Bill Gates' Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) story. The absorbing presumption sits 1 enactment further down the Gates Foundation Trust's 13F: Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the yellow-iron elephantine astir investors inactive record nether "old economy."

According to the astir caller filing, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust holds 6,353,614 shares of CAT, valued astatine $3,639,794,852, with sole voting authorization and nary derivatives. That makes it 1 of the Foundation's larger non-Microsoft, non-Berkshire equity bets. CAT is up 183% implicit the past twelvemonth and 59% year-to-date, with shares closing astatine $904.59 connected May 5.

The Data Center Engine Business Nobody Talks About

Power Generation is the AI tell. In Q1 2026, Power Generation gross roseate 41% to $2.817 billion, with retail income up 48%, driven by ample reciprocating engines and turbines serving information halfway customers. That follows Q4 2025 Power Generation income of $3.24 billion, up 44%. Hyperscalers can't propulsion megawatts retired of the ground; idiosyncratic has to merchantability them the premier and backup power. Increasingly, that idiosyncratic is Cat.

Then there's the bundle furniture astir radical miss. Cat MineStar and Cat Command tally autonomous mining trucks and remotely operated dense instrumentality utilizing AI and machine vision. Cat Connect pushes AI/ML predictive attraction and telematics crossed millions of connected machines. Caterpillar some uses AI and builds the carnal infrastructure that powers everyone else's models.

The Q1 Print Backs the Thesis

Q1 2026 gross deed $17.415 billion, up 22% year-over-year, with EPS of $5.54. Construction Industries jumped 38% to $7.161 billion. Management deployed $5.70 cardinal to shareholders successful the 4th alone.

The expert who called NVIDIA successful 2010 conscionable named his apical 10 stocks and Caterpillar wasn't 1 of them. Get them present FREE.

Solid income and revenues growth, combined with robust bid activity, show the spot of our concern and our absorption connected solving our customers' toughest challenges. A grounds backlog provides a beardown instauration for continued affirmative momentum.

Joe Creed, CEO, Caterpillar Q1 2026

The Risks and the Crowd

It isn't escaped money. Tariff-related manufacturing costs deed $710 million, and Resource Industries margins compressed 7.0 ppts to 10.0%. Dealer inventory builds rise pull-forward risk. Shares commercialized astatine a guardant P/E of 37 against an expert people of $882.94, somewhat beneath spot. Composite sentiment is neutral astatine 45.12, down 19.21 points implicit 30 days, with r/stockmarket moving precise bearish astatine 18-19.