Citadel’s $666B Q4 Filing: Griffin Swapped a $43B QQQ CUSIP for a $36B Replacement While Ramping NFLX 1,598%

Citadel Advisors closed Q4 2025 at $666 billion in reported 13F assets — up from $657B in Q3. That 1.3% sequential gain isn’t the story. The story is what happened underneath: Griffin’s team exited a $43.3B Invesco QQQ position under CUSIP 04609e107, replaced it with a $36.3B QQQ position under the new CUSIP 46090E103, and simultaneously inflated their Netflix (NFLX) share count from 5.6 million to 95.1 million — a 1,598% increase in a single quarter.

TL;DR

• AUM: $666B, up 1.3% from $657B in Q3 2025
• Holdings: 15,403 positions (down from 15,551 in Q3)
• QQQ CUSIP Swap: Exited $43.3B under 04609e107, opened $36.3B under 46090E103 — net reduction of ~$7B in QQQ exposure
• NFLX Ramp: +1,598% shares (5.6M → 95.1M), value rose from $6.7B to $8.9B
• NOW Surge: ServiceNow shares up 535% (1.1M → 7.0M), value up from $1.0B to $1.1B
• Top Holding: SPY at $39.5B (5.9%), down from $46.5B in Q3
• Turnover: 97 new positions entered, 97 exited — net zero line-count change
• Top-5 Concentration: 26.3% (SPY, QQQ, TSLA, NVDA, AAPL)

Filing Snapshot

Metric	Q3 2025	Q4 2025	Change
Total AUM	$657.1B	$665.9B	+1.3%
Holdings Count	15,551	15,403	-148
New Positions	—	97	—
Exited Positions	—	97	—
Top-5 Weight	~27.9%	26.3%	-1.6 pp
Filing Date	February 17, 2026 (report date: December 31, 2025)

The QQQ CUSIP Swap: A $43B Exit Hiding in Plain Sight

The single largest trade in Citadel’s Q4 filing wasn’t a stock pick — it was an ETF rotation. In Q3, Citadel held $43.3 billion of Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) under CUSIP 04609e107 (6.6% of AUM). That position is gone. In its place, a $36.3B QQQ position appeared under the new CUSIP 46090E103 (5.4% of AUM).

This is a CUSIP migration, not an opinion change. Invesco restructured QQQ’s share classes, triggering a new CUSIP. But the net effect matters: Citadel’s QQQ exposure dropped by roughly $7 billion — from 72.0M shares down to 59.1M. That’s a 17.9% reduction in share count, masked by what looks like an “exit” and a “new position” in the raw data.

For any analyst scanning for Citadel’s biggest exits, this CUSIP artifact would wrongly flag a $43B liquidation. The truth is a meaningful but measured trim.

The Netflix Explosion: 5.6M to 95.1M Shares

The Q4 Netflix ramp is genuinely massive. Citadel went from 5.6 million shares ($6.7B) to 95.1 million shares ($8.9B) — a 1,598% increase in share count. The dollar value rose only 33% because the share price dropped during the quarter, but the share-count surge signals a deliberate, high-conviction accumulation.

At 95.1M shares, Citadel’s Netflix position is now the 13th-largest holding in the book at 1.3% of AUM. That’s still small relative to the top-4 ETF/mega-cap anchors, but the velocity of the build suggests this isn’t passive rebalancing. A 16x share increase in 90 days is a multi-strategy allocation event — likely spread across equity long, volatility, and derivatives books.

ServiceNow: The Quieter 535% Build

Below the Netflix headline, ServiceNow (NOW) went from 1.1 million shares ($1.0B) to 7.0 million shares ($1.1B). That’s a 535% share-count increase with the value staying roughly flat, indicating the build happened into price weakness. NOW now sits at $1.08B — still below the top-15 threshold at 0.16% of AUM — but the directional intent is clear.

Top-5 Anchor Positions

Citadel’s top-5 remained dominated by index products and Tesla (TSLA):

Rank	Holding	Value	Weight	QoQ Change
1	SPY	$39.5B	5.9%	-15.1% value
2	QQQ	$36.3B	5.4%	NEW CUSIP (was $43.3B under 04609e)
3	TSLA	$34.5B	5.2%	+8.0% value
4	NVDA	$28.8B	4.3%	+1.2% value
5	AAPL	$16.3B	2.5%	—

Combined top-5 weight is 26.3%, down from ~27.9% in Q3. The slight deconcentration at the top is driven entirely by the QQQ dollar reduction — not a philosophical shift toward diversification.

What the Put-Heavy Structure Tells You

Every one of Citadel’s top-10 positions carries a “Put” option flag. This is standard for Citadel’s multi-strategy book — these aren’t directional bets. They’re components of delta-neutral or volatility-harvesting strategies where the 13F captures only the long equity leg. The massive nominal values (SPY at $39.5B, QQQ at $36.3B) don’t imply $39.5B of bullish conviction on the S&P 500 — they reflect the equity-side footprint of complex, multi-leg positions.

This matters for interpretation: when Citadel “trims” SPY from $46.5B to $39.5B, it may reflect a change in hedging overlay rather than a macro call on equities.

Turnover: 97 In, 97 Out

The exact symmetry of 97 new positions and 97 exits is striking for a 15,403-line book. It suggests disciplined portfolio management with a one-in-one-out constraint at the margin. The QQQ CUSIP swap accounts for one “new” and one “exit” in those counts, meaning the real discretionary turnover was 96 in each direction. For a book this size, sub-1% churn per quarter is low.

The Broader Pattern: Mega-Accumulation in NFLX and NOW

Citadel isn’t alone in the Netflix and ServiceNow builds. Multiple large filers reported dramatic share-count increases in these names during Q4 2025. Invesco added 836% more NFLX shares; Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan also ramped exposure. When a multi-strategy hedge fund, an index-heavy asset manager, and investment banks converge on the same build, it typically signals structural flows — index rebalancing, options market-making inventory, or sector rotation — rather than coordinated fundamental conviction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Citadel “exit” QQQ and immediately re-enter?

Invesco changed QQQ’s CUSIP identifier. The old CUSIP (04609e107) was retired and replaced with 46090E103. Citadel didn’t sell and rebuy — the underlying fund migrated. The net effect was a ~$7B reduction in QQQ exposure, but the “exit” label in raw 13F data is an artifact.

How did Citadel increase NFLX shares 1,598% in one quarter?

A 16x share-count increase likely reflects multi-strategy allocation across Citadel’s equity long, volatility arbitrage, and convertible arbitrage pods. Each pod may independently build Netflix exposure, and the 13F consolidates them into one line item.

What does the “Put” option type mean on Citadel’s top holdings?

13F filings aggregate all positions in a security. Citadel typically holds both calls and puts alongside equity. When the filing shows “Put,” it means the position includes options with put exposure. It does not mean Citadel is bearish — these are components of hedged or volatility strategies.

Is $666B the largest Citadel 13F filing ever?

Yes. The Q4 2025 filing at $665.9B surpasses the prior record of $657.1B in Q3 2025. Since 2020, Citadel’s reported AUM has grown 73% from $385B.

Why is Citadel’s top-5 concentration only 26.3% with $666B in assets?

Citadel runs 15,403 distinct positions across multiple strategies. The top-5 anchors (SPY, QQQ, TSLA, NVDA, AAPL) are primarily hedging and market-making positions, not concentrated fundamental bets. The effective “conviction concentration” in individual equities is much lower than the top-5 weight suggests.