Sands Capital Management, LLC released its Q1 2026 investor letter for its “Select Growth Strategy”. A copy of the letter is available to download here. Select Growth mainly targets leading U.S. businesses, driving positive structural changes. U.S. large-cap growth stocks fell in the first quarter. Sharp dispersion driven by AI advances marked the quarter, but late in the quarter, geopolitical tensions with Iran caused a broad-based risk-off move across the market. AI continued to influence market behavior, with AI-related investments increasing dispersion and shifting capital to asset-heavy sectors benefiting from AI infrastructure demand, which faced less disruption risk. While equities struggled, corporate fundamentals remained strong. Select Growth underperformed the Russell 1000 Growth Index, returning -12.9% vs. -9.8%, due to concerns about AI disruption affecting sector and stock choices. The Strategy’s focus on higher-growth, asset-light, service businesses faced challenges as markets rotated toward more capital-intensive, lower-risk sectors. Underweights in cyclical and defensive sectors slightly hurt relative results amid the broader market shift. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Sands Capital Select Growth Strategy highlighted Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) as a notable contributor. Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) is an infrastructure services company that provides engineering and construction services to utilities, energy infrastructure, and telecommunications projects. On June 9, 2026, Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) closed at $691.95 per share. One-month return of Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) was -10.57%, and its shares gained 94.49% over the past 52 weeks. Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) has a market capitalization of $103.83 billion.
Sands Capital Select Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) is the largest U.S. provider of skilled labor and equipment for power and communications infrastructure. The business advanced following the release of fourth-quarter results and alongside a broader rally in companies addressing the physical bottlenecks of AI. Fourth-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, and guidance pointed to broad-based organic growth in 2026 across its core utility, renewables, and data center segments, with strong visibility through 2030. In our view, these results reinforce our thesis that Quanta is well positioned to benefit from the buildout of electric power infrastructure needed to support rising AI-driven demand. Our confidence is further supported by our belief that demand for higher-voltage transmission lines is underappreciated, which should support Quanta’s ability to sustain above-average growth given its leadership in providing the technical services required for this infrastructure expansion.”
Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 94 hedge fund portfolios held Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) at the end of the first quarter, up from 90 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) 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 Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) and shared the list of best civil engineering stocks to buy for smart city projects. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.
