Antipodes Partners published its “Antipodes Global Strategy” first-quarter 2026 investor letter, highlighting the key performance stocks, portfolio changes, and the market outlook. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The first quarter of 2026 was highly volatile. Early optimism shifted to a historic energy shock caused by US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Global equities dropped 3.2% in USD, with US equities falling 4.6%, and value stocks outperformed growth stocks as the rotation away from mega-cap tech accelerated due to AI fears. The strategy outperformed the benchmark over the quarter and the 12 months to March 31, 2026. Exposure in North America, Korea, Western Europe, and Latin America regions boosted performance, while Canada and the UK lagged. Energy, consumer discretionary, industrials, and healthcare sectors led the performance, while financials, real estate, and materials lagged. To manage risk, the firm increased its holdings in defensive sectors during the quarter. For insights into their key selections for 2026, please review the Strategy’s top five holdings.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Antipodes Global Strategy highlighted The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) as a newly added position. The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is a leading auto insurer in the United States offering personal autos and special lines products. On June 26, 2026, The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) closed at $224.34 per share. The one-month return of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) was 16.44%, and its shares lost 15.93% over the past 52 weeks. The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) has a market capitalization of $131.09 billion.
Antipodes Global Strategy stated the following regarding The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR): We initiated a position in Progressive, a leading US personal and commercial auto insurer with top-tier market positions, a hybrid distribution model, and a strong track record of innovation and underwriting discipline. Despite derating from its September 2025 highs, Progressive reported strong fourth-quarter results with net income up 25%, policies in force growing 10% to 38.6 million, and a full-year combined ratio of ~88%. The company has a proven track record, most recently as the fastest to react to auto loss cost inflation in 2022 and subsequently able to start reducing rates and rapidly gain market share in 2023-24. At ~11x forward earnings, we see an opportunity to own a high-quality compounder with a proven underwriting discipline.”
The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 82 hedge fund portfolios held The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) at the end of the first quarter, the same as in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) 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 Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) and shared the list of most undervalued NYSE stocks to invest in. 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.
