Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The first quarter of 2026 was highly volatile for US equities, driven by AI disruption concerns and the US-Israel conflict in Iran and the Middle East. In this backdrop, the Polen Focus Growth Strategy declined 17.16% in the quarter, compared to a -9.78% return for the Russell 1000 Growth and -4.33% return for the S&P 500. The Strategy focuses on mission-critical businesses with recurring revenue and competitive advantages and capitalizes on the volatility to increase investments in software and semiconductor companies. The Strategy remains confident in the long-term potential of the Portfolio, emphasizing businesses with strong economic moats, robust balance sheets, and multi-year earnings growth. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), the parent company of dominant social media platforms, is a multinational technology company that develops products to connect people. On April 28, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) closed at $671.34 per share. One-month return of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was 15.90%, and its shares gained 22.28% over the past 52 weeks. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“In addition, we also re-initiated a position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), a name we previously owned in 2022. While we remain mindful of elevated data center capex and the uncertainty around its ultimate return without a comparable cloud business, we are encouraged by Meta’s strong execution in monetizing AI across its platforms. Advertising revenues are growing at approximately 25% despite already exceeding a $200bn annual run rate, supported by an unparalleled global reach of 3.2bn monthly and 2.2bn daily active users. Although margins are likely to face near term pressure from continued investment, we expect re-expansion as management balances growth and spending. With the stock trading at ~21x FY26 earnings after a prolonged period of sideways performance, we see an attractive valuation for a business capable of delivering mid-teens EPS growth, with additional upside potential if investment intensity moderates.”
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) holds 5th position on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 256 hedge fund portfolios held Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 273 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) 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 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and shared a list of most popular stocks on Robinhood in 2026. 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.
