Madison Small Cap Fund, managed by Madison Funds, released its Q2 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The small-cap market showed exceptional strength in Q2, largely due to anticipated peace in the Middle East. The Russell 2000 Index began to rally, propelled by Information Technology, Health Care, and Industrials. The Madison Small Cap Fund (Class I) returned 12.7% in the quarter, underperforming the Russell 2000’s 21.5% and Russell 2500’s 20.2%. While strong gains were seen in Info Tech investments, recent investments in underperforming software companies negatively impacted overall performance. Nevertheless, confidence in the long-term potential of these software investments remains high. The firm is optimistic about small caps, noting their recent outperformance over large caps, recovery in certain software sectors, and improvements in some housing stocks toward the end of the second quarter. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Madison Small Cap Fund highlighted The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL). The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) is a Denver based consumer-packaged food and beverage company. On July 16, 2026, The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) closed at $12.07 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $1.07 billion. The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) posted a one-month return of -4.43%, while its shares lost 63.12% over the past 52 weeks.
Madison Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) in its Q2 2026 investor update:
“The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) is a consumer staples company that owns the Atkins and Quest protein and snack food brands. Over the past few years, the company has faced multiple headwinds, including cost inflation, the rationalization of the Atkins brand, and the integration of the recently acquired OWYN brand. While the rationalization of Atkins led to severe top-line headwinds, we remained patient as the more important Quest brand maintained its growth. The recent slowdown in the core Quest protein bar business led to a loss of confidence in management and a leadership change. We decided to move on to better opportunities.”
The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 33 hedge fund portfolios held The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 35 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) 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 The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) and shared the list of best beaten down stocks to invest in according to analysts. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 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.
