April Portfolio Update (#1)
The portfolio compounded 323% in April
The portfolio returned 323.53% in April and crossed $1M for the first time. AMD leaps did roughly 90% of the heavy lifting.
And yes — this really is a coincidence. I’d already planned to start monthly portfolio updates this spring, before April happened. The timing is genuinely coincidental and honestly a little inconvenient, because every future month will look pedestrian by comparison.
Quick note: Paid subscriptions are coming soon. The next monthly update will be the last one going out to free subscribers — more on what changes at the end.
One disclosure up front: I haven’t publicly disclosed my long-term AMD or Nike options before now. They aren’t core to my investing strategy and this was a one-off opportunity, and the most confident I’ve ever been in a position.
Too good to pass up.
The leaps have since exploded.
Let’s get into it.
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April Compounded at +323.53%
The portfolio compounded 323.53% in 30 days.
The total account value of the portfolio crossed $1M+ by month-end, with $45.5K in cash and $6K in crypto.
The inflection started April 23, where AMD exploded, inflating the leaps on AMD by near 100%. Micron also began its second wind, having generated a 100%+ in the past month. AMD leaps did the heavy lifting, contributing ~90% to the total portfolio gains during April.
Since my options have driven a majority of the gains in April, let’s look at how my portfolio would have done without the owning the AMD leaps:
In this image, I am taking just my individual portfolio performance vs my Roth, since I house all of my options in my Roth IRA (seen in holdings screenshot blow).
Even stripping-out the options, the portfolio still returned ~29% vs. the market at ~10% during April.
The AMD Position I’m Not Selling
I’m holding 33 AMD call contracts across four expirations: $300 strikes for Dec 2026, and $350 strikes for Dec 2026, June 2027, and Dec 2027.
My blended cost basis approximately $35.08 per contract, and the blended price of the options today is $185.87.
Am I selling? I am thinking about selling a portion and replacing it with stock. The Dec-26 expiration leaps will be my first sleeve of options to cash out.
But.
My thesis hasn’t even started playing out yet on AMD.
The April runup came from data center strength and a shift in market psychology around the GPU-to-CPU ratio in AI buildouts approaching 1:1.
This is the warmup longer-term.
My actual thesis is the rollout of the MI400 and the Helios rack-scale platform. We haven’t seen a single dollar of topline contribution from this yet. No margin expansion. Nothing is flowing through the P&L, and I don’t think the analysts have been pricing in the actual demand this emboldens.
I keep asking myself: How am I supposed to sell when the thesis hasn’t delivered yet?
The hardware story is definitely already getting transparent, but the new tech hasn’t reached the customer yet.
If AMD gets this right and they continue closing the gap of ROCm vs. CUDA, they can easily compete with Nvidia on both axes, hardware AND software. That’s when this becomes a company that can rival Nvidia in scale, not just be the credible #2.
I’m holding all 33 contracts. I’ll flag the Chat if that changes and I decide to sell.
YTD Performance is 400%+
YTD return is +401.28% through May 8, outperforming the general market by ~393%.
And YTD excluding the options contracts, the portfolio outperformed the market by 23.5%+.
ThePrivatePublicInvestor Portfolio: +31.4% YTD
S&P500: +7.9% YTD
Realized profit YTD sits at +$70,036 in gains versus $15,240 in losses (net +$55k) — I am continuing to rebalance the portfolio as big gainers such as Micron have exploded the past year, and I’ve decided to take gains on most of those shares.
2025 in Review
For context, 2025 closed at +51.78% with a 95% gain/loss ratio at +$94K.
A choppy three quarters were carried by a Q4 rally that peaked near +100% in mid-October before consolidating into year-end.
That 2025 chart is the reminder that drawdowns happen and consolidation occurs, but staying patient with your conviction pays off. And sometimes the market is very sudden.
And to clarify this point:
April 2026 was a moment, NOT a baseline.
2025 is more reflective of a normal year in the market.
My annual goal, on average over time, is two-fold.
Beat the market and/or
Achieve 15%+ annual return
If both happen, I’m a happy camper.
Current Portfolio Holdings
A few names worth flagging here:
1. Coinbase (49 shares): This thesis needs to be revisited with the CLARITY Act, but I am comfortable with the regulatory outcome and think Coinbase will succeed long-term.
2. Veeva (172 shares): I called the CRM attrition fear overblown two quarters ago. Holding this position for the long-term and will continue accumulating shares over the coming months. I would like this to be a top 3-4 holding.
3. Nike (363 shares + 20 leaps at $90 strike, Dec 2026): Nike has been a lagger, and these options have lost almost all of their value. Clothing is a sentiment-driven industry, and Nike is still viewed as a dinosaur. Hoping Nike posts a clean quarter before year-end that finally puts the turnaround on the tape. That’s when we exit the options. I will be holding the stock for the long-term.
4. Adobe (160 shares): Adobe has also been a lagger, but this red avalanche has occurred with the rest of the software names in the market. One thing to note: I am thinking of offloading some Adobe shares and loading up in NOW. Would like to have cash on the sidelines still and don’t want to be overexposed to software, as I already own Veeva Systems and Adobe.
5. Micron (15 shares): I’ve offloaded most of my shares in Micron this year, as I believe the sentiment on memory chip stocks is becoming overinflated and expectations will start to dramatically outweigh performance. At some point, any outperformance won’t be able to move the stock.
The rest of my positions in EL, BMNR, ASPI, AMZN and META have not changed in size and I remain bullish on these going forward into the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.
Paid Subscription Detail
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After that, the full breakdown moves to paid only — cost basis on every position, % gain per name, sizing as a percent of portfolio, and real-time alerts when I add or trim.
Deep dives, earnings notes and market commentary go paid-first — with select pieces still released free.
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Five Macro Catalysts in the Next Five Days
Wanted to note here at the end that this week is loaded with events, so stay tuned-in!
Warsh confirmed as Fed chair
April CPI (Tuesday)
April PPI (Wednesday)
April retail sales (Thursday) — same day Trump flies to Beijing
Trump-Xi summit (Friday)
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this publication is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, or other professional advice. ThePrivatePublicInvestor and its authors are not registered investment advisors or broker-dealers. All opinions expressed reflect personal views as of the date published and are subject to change without notice. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no guarantee of completeness or reliability is given. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The author may hold positions in securities discussed. Use of this content is at your own risk.