Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In Q1 2025, optimism fueled by the Trump election shifted to fear and uncertainty due to apprehension about cost-cutting measures and emerging trade policies. In the first quarter, the fund delivered -10.53% gross, and -10.83% net of fees, compared to a -11.12% return for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS). Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) operates and franchises drive-thru shops. The one-month return of Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) was 21.61%, and its shares gained 86.83% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 13, 2025, Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) stock closed at $70.23 per share with a market capitalization of $11.55 billion.
Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) is a drive-through coffee and beverage company with roughly 1,000 locations (and growing). The stock was up just shy of 30% on the back of compelling earnings headlined by better-than-expected comparable sales and full-year revenue guidance. Notably, the company does not appear to be experiencing headwinds from a weaker consumer amidst growing economic uncertainty. In fact, they saw a re-acceleration in comparable sales driven by impressive menu innovation, growing brand recognition, and higher throughput from digital ordering. We believe Dutch Bros has the potential to be a long-duration EPS growth business.”
A closeup of a customer tasting a freshly-made cold brew coffee product from the company’s shop.
Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 41 hedge fund portfolios held Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 37 in the previous quarter. Dutch Bros Inc.’s (NYSE:BROS) first quarter revenue was $355 million, an increase of 29% from Q1 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE:BROS) and shared the list of best restaurant stocks to buy according to hedge funds. The Q1 2025 investor letter from Wasatch Small Cap Growth Strategy noted that Dutch Bros Inc.’s (NYSE:BROS) excellent fundamentals contributed to its upward momentum. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
