Longleaf Partners, managed by Southeastern Asset Management, released its “Partners Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund returned -5.14% in the first quarter, compared to the S&P 500’s -4.27% return and Russell 1000 Value’s 2.14% return. The firm’s stock price performance was volatile, but its confidence in future returns grew as the quarter progressed. The firm invested in quality companies that it thinks are strong and resilient to difficult circumstances. The portfolio has significantly outperformed the index, demonstrating this resiliency since the market peak on February 19th. The rise of its underlying value per share outpaced the performance of the stock price during the quarter. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Longleaf Partners Fund highlighted stocks such as Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT). Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) is a toy and family entertainment company. The one-month return of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was -25.96%, and its shares lost 18.38% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 17, 2025, Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) stock closed at $14.83 per share with a market capitalization of $4.789 billion.
Longleaf Partners Fund stated the following regarding Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) – Global toy and media company Mattel contributed for the quarter, reporting solid results for the all-important 4Q, with 2% revenue growth and 6% growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). We were also pleased to see management repurchase a material amount of shares at great prices and commit to repurchasing at a high-single-digit percentage of shares outstanding in 2025 if the share price remains attractive. Mattel provided a relatively straightforward and growing outlook for 2025, even taking into account tariff risk at the time. Although conditions have deteriorated since then, CEO Ynon Kreiz’s foresight in diversifying the company’s supply chain years ago will pay dividends. The market continues to price in little future growth for the existing business or further success in media and gaming.”
A child with a wide smile playing with the latest interactive toy.
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 30 hedge fund portfolios held Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 25 in the previous quarter. Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) reported net sales $1,646 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 2% in reported or 3% in constant currency. While we acknowledge the potential of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) 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.
