Market’s Near-Term Growth Worries Overshadow Value Potential of Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC)

Longleaf Partners, managed by Southeastern Asset Management, released its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund returned 3.35% in the quarter, compared to the S&P 500’s 2.66% and the Russell 1000 Value Index’s 3.81% return. 2025 was a challenging year for the firm, as it did not have any standout performers. Approximately 5% of the portfolio gained 20% or more, while 35% of the S&P 500 hit that level. The overall market dynamic drove the Fund’s underperformance. The firm focuses on actions to strengthen portfolio outcomes rather than chasing winners at the wrong time. The firm reiterates that building a portfolio of real companies on offense in a period of excessive speculation will benefit all markets. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Longleaf Partners Fund highlighted stocks such as The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC). The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) manufactures and markets food and beverage products. On January 16, 2026, The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) stock closed at $23.53 per share. One-month return of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) was -2.57%, and its shares lost 19.61% of their value over the last 52 weeks. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) has a market capitalization of $27.851 billion.

Longleaf Partners Fund stated the following regarding The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

“The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) – Global food and beverage producer Kraft was a detractor for 2025. The market is overly focused on the lack of near term growth in North America and not focusing enough on the value-creating potential of the company’s upcoming split into two businesses: the higher-growth Global Taste Elevation Co. which contains the Heinz brand and should garner a teens EBITDA multiple, and the stable remaining company comprised largely of North American grocery products, which can trade at the same multiple total Kraft currently trades today. This would result in a combined stock price over $40 per share. We are also extremely pleased with Steve Cahillane being named CEO. We got to know Steve during our successful investment in Kellanova / Kellogg’s, and we believe Steve is the perfect operator to lead Global Taste Elevation and help decide who should lead North American Grocery.”

UBS Maintains Neutral Stance on Kraft Heinz (KHC) Ahead of Q3 Results

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 50 hedge fund portfolios held The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) at the end of the third quarter, up from 45 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) 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 Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer discussed. In its Q3 2025 commentary, Longleaf Partners Fund cited the same reason for the The Kraft Heinz Company’s (NASDAQ:KHC) decline. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.