Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron FinTech Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund declined 2.25% (Institutional Shares) compared to a (5.78)% return for the FactSet Global FinTech Index (Benchmark) and a 4.28% gain for the S&P 500 index. US equities rose with major market indices reaching all-time highs during the second quarter. Overwhelming corporate results were accompanied by mixed economic data that points to further moderation of inflation. However, the rally was concentrated and driven by mega-cap technology companies. The fund’s smaller market cap profile and lack of exposure to the Magnificent Seven led the fund to underperform the broader market. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron FinTech Fund highlighted stocks like Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) is a logistics real estate. The one-month return of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) was 4.73%, and its shares lost 19.54% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 9, 2024, Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) stock closed at $102.06 per share with a market capitalization of $25.968 billion.
Baron FinTech Fund stated the following regarding Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of payment processor Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) fell due to concerns about margins in its merchant acquiring segment as well as weak performance of payments stocks overall during the quarter. Nevertheless, the company reported solid quarterly results with revenue growth of 7% and earnings per share (EPS) growth of 8% or mid-teens excluding a business divestiture. Management reaffirmed annual guidance, calling for 6% to 7% revenue growth and 11% to 12% EPS growth on an adjusted basis. We view the shares as significantly undervalued at less than nine times earnings given our expectations for continued double-digit EPS growth.”
A payment terminal in action with customers apart of the experience.
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 52 hedge fund portfolios held Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) at the end of the first quarter which was 53 in the previous quarter. Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) reported adjusted net revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter up 6% from the prior year. While we acknowledge the potential of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) 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 cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) and shared the list of best fintech stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 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.
