Scout Investments, Inc., an affiliate of Carillon Tower Advisers, released the “Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the Russell Midcap Index posted negative returns. Significant policy uncertainty, signaled by aggressive tariff announcements, reversed the positive sentiment prevailing in the domestic market at the start of the year, turning it negative. The first-quarter macroeconomic environment showed signs of slowdown but not recession. The economy seems okay, but downside risks are rising. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks such as Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN). Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is a global provider of hardware and software services for communication networks. The one-month return of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) was -8.39%, and its shares gained 59.29% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 23, 2025, Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) stock closed at $75.44 per share, with a market capitalization of $10.665 billion.
Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) develops and markets networking equipment, software, and services for the telecommunications industry and large cloud service firms. Its offerings include optical network switches and routing platforms. There have been major tariff concerns due to its production concentration in Mexico and Thailand. The stock was also negatively impacted, along with many other AI infrastructure suppliers, following the DeepSeek model release, which caused broad concerns that growth in AI capital spending would slow. The company has improved inventory management and could raise prices to offset tariffs. Also, telecom and cloud spending continues to improve and Ciena is well positioned to benefit from a continuous infrastructure buildout, with growing demand for data center capacity and connectivity.
A computer engineer seated in front of several connected consoles, illustrating the depth of cloud services offered by the company.
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 58 hedge fund portfolios held Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) at the end of the first quarter, which was 52 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) 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 undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.
In another article, we covered Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) and shared the list of best 5G stocks to invest in according to analysts. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of CIEN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.
Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.
At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.
Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.
Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:
175 Teslas
107 Amazons
140 Metas
84 Googles
65 Microsofts
And 55 Nvidias
And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.
It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.
Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.
How could anything be worth that much?
The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.
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What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.
In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.
Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.
Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.
When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.
Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…
But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.
And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…
This prediction might not be bold at all:
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