Robust Results and Better-Than-Expected Guidance Lifted Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

Sands Capital, an investment management company, released its “Sands Capital Select Growth Strategy” Q1 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Select Growth Strategy primarily targets U.S. companies that are leading the way in crucial areas of positive structural transformation within the economy. U.S. growth equities, tracked by the Russell 1000 Growth Index, experienced their poorest quarterly performance since 2022, significantly lagging behind U.S. value equities, represented by the Russell 1000 Value Index, in the widest gap observed since 2001. The strategy slightly underperformed the Russell 1000 Growth Index in the quarter. You can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to know more about its best picks for 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Sands Capital Select Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE). Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is a financial services company that offers market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities. The one-month return of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) was 2.93%, and its shares gained 33.81% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 2, 2025, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) stock closed at $180.32 per share with a market capitalization of $103.44 billion.

Sands Capital Select Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is one of the world’s largest operators of financial exchanges and clearinghouses. The business reported solid quarterly results and issued better than-expected 2025 guidance for its mortgage technology segment, which it expects to grow in the low-to-mid single digits compared to a 2 percent decline in 2024. The lower end of guidance is conservative, assuming flat origination volumes in 2025 after nearly three years of contraction, and with interest rates now roughly 75 basis points below their post-pandemic highs. ICE also plans to resume its stock buyback program as leverage has largely normalized following the Black Knight acquisition.”

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 94 hedge fund portfolios held Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) at the end of the first quarter, which was 91 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2025, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) reported an 8% increase in net revenue. While we acknowledge the potential of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) 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 Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) and shared the list of best monopoly stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.