
David Abrams
David Abrams runs Abrams Capital Management, a Boston investment firm he founded in 1999. He drifted into finance almost by accident: he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in history and has said he entered investing "unplanned," knowing little about stocks or bonds. He learned the trade in merger and risk arbitrage in New York before joining the Baupost Group in 1988, spending a decade there under value investor Seth Klarman, the mentor whose philosophy Abrams would carry into his own shop. Abrams Capital is a deep value firm in the Klarman mold. Abrams favors a small number of concentrated, high-conviction positions in businesses he thinks others have mispriced or misunderstood, and he typically runs the book without borrowed money. He is known for patience, content to hold a small portfolio and do nothing for months — even park cash — when the right opportunity is not there. The firm keeps a deliberately low profile; Abrams has shrugged off the label of a "one-man wealth machine" while staying out of the spotlight.
Avg. holding
6.5 qtrs
Longest current
39 qtrs
U-Haul Holding Company · UHAL
Win rate est.
45%
based on 29 of 134 closed positions
Turnover rhythm
3.8 / qtr
100% coverage · 315 entries + exits over 82 filed qtrs
One year after exit est.
est. +7.9%
based on 28 of 152 closed positions
| Security | Period | Return est. |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Transfer LP | Q1 2020–Q1 2026 | est. +104.2% |
| Transdigm Group Incorporated | Q1 2020–Q3 2023 | est. +91.2% |
| O Reilly Automotive Inc | Q3 2017–Q1 2020 | est. +90.7% |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q1 2014–Q2 2017 | est. +83.3% |
| Lamar Advertising Co/new | Q2 2011–Q2 2013 | est. +52.1% |
based on 29 of 134 closed positions
| Security | Period | Return est. |
|---|---|---|
| Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc | Q3 2014–Q1 2015 | est. -48.6% |
| Circle Internet Group, Inc. | Q2 2025–Q4 2025 | est. -45.4% |
| Franklin Resources, Inc. | Q4 2015–Q4 2020 | est. -43.1% |
| Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited | Q3 2017–Q1 2024 | est. -37.0% |
| Pool Corporation | Q4 2007–Q4 2008 | est. -24.6% |
based on 29 of 134 closed positions