TLDR
- Peter Thiel’s hedge fund, Thiel Macro LLC, disclosed a ~1.2 million ADS stake in Vista Energy worth ~$76 million as of June 30
- Vista Energy stock jumped as much as 5.77% in premarket trading Monday after the SEC filing became public
- The position was Thiel Macro’s second-largest holding, behind only Amazon ($118 million)
- Six of Thiel Macro’s seven new positions are in energy or utility companies
- Thiel relocated to Buenos Aires earlier this year and has met with President Milei and senior government officials
Vista Energy (VIST) stock climbed as much as 5.77% in premarket trading on Monday after an SEC filing revealed that Peter Thiel’s hedge fund, Thiel Macro LLC, had taken a stake in the Argentine shale oil producer.
Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V., VIST
The filing, published Friday, showed Thiel Macro owned approximately 1.2 million Vista Energy American Depositary Shares as of June 30, with a reported value of around $76 million.
That made Vista Energy the fund’s second-largest disclosed holding, behind only Amazon, of which Thiel Macro held around 495,000 shares valued at roughly $118 million.
Thiel Macro reported owning almost 1.2 million shares in Vista at the end of the second quarter, then worth about $76 million https://t.co/2lWYZBcqGx
— Bloomberg (@business) August 15, 2026
Thiel Macro rebuilt its total disclosed U.S. equity portfolio to more than $400 million in the second quarter. The fund had reported zero holdings for two consecutive quarters before that.
Energy was clearly the theme. Six of the fund’s seven new positions disclosed in the filing are in energy or utility companies.
Those names include American Electric Power, DTE Energy, FirstEnergy, CMS Energy, X-Energy, and Vista Energy. Thiel Macro also re-entered Vistra, building its position to 372,755 shares, valued at $59.1 million by the end of Q2.
Vaca Muerta at the Center
Vista Energy operates in the Vaca Muerta shale formation in Argentina’s Neuquén province, one of the most resource-rich geological formations on the planet.
Vaca Muerta holds the world’s second-largest shale gas reserves and fourth-largest shale oil reserves. Vista currently produces around 160,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and has deployed over $6.5 billion in capital across Argentina.
That makes it the largest independent energy company in the country, and one of the more closely watched plays on Argentina’s resource sector.
Thiel’s Argentina Connection
The investment is not happening in a vacuum. Thiel relocated to Buenos Aires with his family earlier this year and purchased a mansion there.
Since arriving in April, he has met with President Javier Milei at the presidential palace, where they discussed economic policy.
He has also held meetings with Economy Minister Luis Caputo, Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, and presidential adviser Santiago Caputo.
Milei’s administration has pushed sweeping economic reforms specifically designed to attract foreign capital into Argentina’s natural resource sectors, including oil, lithium, and rare earth minerals.
Thiel’s personal ties to Argentina and its government make the Vista Energy bet read as more than a purely financial call.
VIST was trading up 5.77% as of Monday morning on the NYSE.
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