Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund: Evaluating Meta Platforms’ (META) Performance Amid Advertising Challenges

Macquarie Asset Management, an investment management company, released its “Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund Institutional Class shares posted negative absolute returns; however, they surpassed the performance of the Fund’s benchmark, the Russell 1000® Growth Index. Despite market challenges, the firm’s investment style performed well, focusing on higher-quality businesses. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks such as Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a technology company that develops products to connect people. The one-month return of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was 10.66%, and its shares gained 38.80% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 24, 2025, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock closed at $712.20 per share, with a market capitalization of $1.791 trillion.

Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“The largest individual detractors from performance relative to the benchmark were not owning Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), not owning Eli Lilly & Co., and our position in Electronic Arts Inc. Meta stock was slightly negative to end the quarter but relative to the benchmark and other communication services stock performed well. Having a zero weight relative to the large benchmark allocation hurt. We continue to follow this company closely and while we have become incrementally more constructive, we still have lingering concerns about the business model and worry the cyclical weakness in advertising spend could create further pressure.”

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A team of developers working in unison to create the company’s messaging application.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is in third position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 273 hedge fund portfolios held Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) at the end of the first quarter, which was 262 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2025, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) reported revenue of $42.3 billion, up 16% from Q1 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) 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 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and shared top stock picks from Harvard University stock portfolio. 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 META 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.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.