Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The U.S. equities have experienced a significant performance surge over the past two years. In the fourth quarter, the strategy returned 4.9% (gross) and 4.65% (net) compared to 7.07% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and 2.41% for the S&P 500 Index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Polen Focus Growth Strategy emphasized stocks such as Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP). Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) provides a cloud-based commerce platform and services. The one-month return of Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) was -10.48%, and its shares gained 40.91% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 5, 2025, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) stock closed at $106.15 per share with a market capitalization of $136.835 billion.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP), a new addition to the portfolio in the second quarter, represented the top contributor to relative performance in the fourth quarter. The company is firing on all cylinders and the stock responded, up 21% on the back of its latest set of strong results. Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) growth accelerated despite a tough YoY comparison, +24%. The company is experiencing strength across its Shopify Plus enterprise business, offline point of sale (“POS”) segment, and international and “B2B” segments. With several powerful tailwinds at their back (eCommerce, mobile commerce, social media, digital payments, seamless omnichannel, DTC, cloud software digitization) and a highly scalable business model, we think Shopify is exceptionally well-positioned for where the world is heading, with growth likely stronger for longer than investors expect.”
Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 64 hedge fund portfolios held Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 56 in the third quarter. Shopify Inc.’s (NYSE:SHOP) fourth quarter revenue was $2.8 billion, up 31% year-over-year, and full-year revenue was up 26% to $8.9 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) 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 Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) and shared AI news you can’t miss. Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) contributed notably to Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund’s Q4 2024 performance. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.