Longleaf Partners, managed by Southeastern Asset Management, released its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter for “Longleaf Partners Global Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund returned 5.27% in the quarter, compared to the MSCI World’s 3.12 % and the MSCI World Value’s 3.34% return. The Fund returned 16.72% for the year, compared to 21.09% and 20.79% returns, respectively, for the indexes. 2025 was a solid year for the Fund, celebrating Southeastern’s 50th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the global strategy. Underweight exposure in Financials and choosing to hold cash, along with a lack of late-in-the-cycle Industrials, led to the underperformance of the Fund in the year. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Longleaf Partners Global Fund highlighted Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO). Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is an American manufacturer of life science research and clinical diagnostic products. On March 19, 2026, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) stock closed at $265.00 per share. One-month return of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) was -2.32%, and its shares gained 3.24% over the past 52 weeks. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has a market capitalization of $7.152 billion.
Longleaf Partners Global Fund stated the following regarding Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) and Avantor – Life-sciences companies Bio-Rad and Avantor combined to detract from our performance this year. We entered the year owning only Bio-Rad. The company got off to a rough start with a disappointing set of results compounded by large industry headwinds as a result of US government-driven research spending cutbacks. The good news on Bio-Rad was that it repurchased shares at a strong pace in the first half of the year and avoided large, value-destructive M&A. The company also showed operational improvement and should be in a better position to grow FCF in 2026 and beyond. We added a partial position of Avantor to the portfolio in the second half of the year after (and then while) the company had some self-inflicted ups and downs. It is probable that the worst is in the past for Avantor after a leadership change and guidance reset, but we felt it best to exit and book a loss before year end.”
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 36 hedge fund portfolios held Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 43 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) and shared a list of best debt-free mid-cap stocks to buy according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
