Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2022 that the Senate would soon vote on a bill banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. However, two years later, Pelosi is no longer House speaker, and members of Congress are still allowed to buy and sell individual stocks as long as they disclose trades valued at more than $1,000 within 45 days.
In July, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a new version of a bill calling for a trading ban dubbed the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks, or ETHICS, Act. The bill was later approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, giving it the green light for consideration by the full Senate.
Stock traders on social media platforms have clamored for a Nancy Pelosi stock tracker in recent years thanks to the strong returns she and her husband, financier Paul Pelosi, have generated on certain trades. Here are Nancy Pelosi and her husband’s eight most recent stock purchases:
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Nvidia designs and sells high-end graphics and video processing chips used for desktop and gaming personal computers, workstations, artificial intelligence technology, and other advanced computing servers and supercomputers. In June and July, Pelosi purchased 20,000 shares of Nvidia. In November 2023, she purchased 50 Nvidia call options with a strike price of $120 and an expiration date of Dec. 20, 2024. Nvidia was the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2023 and is the index’s second top performer so far in 2024. Nvidia shares are up 188% since she purchased her call options last November.
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO)
Broadcom is a diversified global analog semiconductor supplier. Like Nvidia, Broadcom is another company that is highly exposed to AI technology and has benefited from a strong investor appetite for AI stocks. In June, Pelosi purchased 20 Broadcom call options with an $800 strike price expiring in June 2025. Broadcom underwent a 10-for-1 stock split in July, so the adjusted strike price on those call options is now $80. It’s the first time Pelosi has ever reported an investment in Broadcom. Since Pelosi disclosed her Broadcom call option purchase in June, the stock is up 8%.
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW)
Palo Alto Networks is one of the largest cybersecurity vendors, providing firewalls and cybersecurity software to customers around the world. In February, Pelosi purchased 70 Palo Alto call options with a strike price of $200 and an expiration date of Jan. 17, 2025. These trades raised eyebrows among Pelosi’s critics because Palo Alto Networks is a U.S. government cybersecurity contractor. However, if Pelosi had inside knowledge about the stock, you certainly couldn’t tell by its performance. In the roughly eight months since Pelosi purchased her first PANW call options, its stock price is down 2.5%.
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Apple produces the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac computers and other personal computing devices. In addition, its services segment includes its App Store, Apple Music, iCloud and licensing businesses. In May 2022, Pelosi bought 100 Apple call options with a strike price of $80 expiring in March 2023. Just days later, Pelosi disclosed an additional purchase of 50 Apple call options with an $80 strike price expiring in June 2023. In June 2022, Pelosi sold 50 Apple call options with a $100 strike price prior to their June 17 expiration. In March 2023, Pelosi exercised Apple call options she bought in May 2022, purchasing 10,000 more shares of Apple stock. Pelosi exercised an additional 50 of those call options in June 2023, boosting her stake by another 5,000 shares.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Microsoft is one of the world’s largest professional software and cloud services providers. It is also an early market leader in AI technology and has invested $13 billion in ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Pelosi has been a frequent Microsoft trader in the past five years. In May 2022, Pelosi purchased 50 Microsoft call options with a $180 strike price expiring in June 2023. In June 2023, Pelosi upped her stake in Microsoft, exercising 50 call options and purchasing 5,000 shares of MSFT stock. Most recently, Pelosi sold 5,000 shares of Microsoft in July 2024, likely at a large profit.
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG)
Alphabet is the parent company of Google and YouTube and is a global leader in online advertising. In September 2022, Pelosi purchased 20,000 shares of Alphabet’s class C shares by exercising 200 call options. Pelosi had purchased those call options back in December 2021. Between the time of the option purchase and the time she exercised them, Alphabet’s share price dropped 27.4%. In December 2022, Pelosi sold 30,000 shares of Alphabet’s class A shares, but she is still holding onto the class C shares for now. The stock is up 62.4% since Pelosi exercised her options.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Tesla is the most valuable U.S. electric vehicle maker, with a market cap of $828 billion. In March 2022, Pelosi purchased 2,500 shares of Tesla by exercising 25 call options with a strike price of $500. Pelosi had purchased those call options way back in December 2020. Between the time the purchase was disclosed and the time she exercised the options, Tesla’s share price climbed about 41%. In December 2022, Pelosi sold 5,000 shares of Tesla at a more than $511,000 loss. She sold another 2,500 shares of Tesla stock in June 2024.
AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB)
AllianceBernstein is a leading investment manager. Pelosi made several AB stock trades in the past few years. In December 2020, she bought 20,000 shares. In February 2021, she made two additional purchases of AB stock totaling 40,000 shares. She purchased another 10,000 shares in January 2022. Most recently, Pelosi dumped 20,000 shares of AB stock in December 2022 for a $11,510 loss. AllianceBernstein has been far from a home run investment for Pelosi. The stock has lagged behind the S&P 500, gaining just 13.8% since her December 2020 purchase.