Hedge funds increased bearish positions on consumer-related companies in August while trimming some short exposure to AI-linked stocks, according to data platform Hazeltree. Nine of the 20 most-shorted North American large- and mid-cap stocks were consumer-related, up from four in July. The consumer staples sector fell about 5% year-to-date, compared with an approximately 11% gain for the S&P 500. Kimberly-Clark, DoorDash and Keurig Dr Pepper joined the most-shorted large-cap U.S. stocks, while BMW, Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Kering were prominent short targets in Europe. AI-related names including Super Micro Computer, CoreWeave, Nebius Group and GE Vernova remained among the 10 most-shorted stocks. Alphabet, Google's parent and one of five major hyperscalers supporting AI investment, left Hazeltree's most-concentrated long positions list after shorting funds outnumbered long investors for the first time this year. Hazeltree said the selling appeared tied to financing concerns rather than deteriorating business fundamentals.