Invesco Distributors, Inc., an investment management firm, released its “Invesco Growth and Income Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US stocks experienced increases in the third quarter despite a drop in early August as inflation subsided and the Federal Reserve (Fed) initiated its much-anticipated monetary easing cycle. As interest rates became more predictable, investors shifted their focus from technology and artificial intelligence (AI) equities, which had dominated much of 2024, to small-cap and value stocks that may profit from lower rates. Against this benchmark, the fund underperformed the benchmark. The fund’s under performance was driven by the stock selection in the financial, consumer discretionary, information technology (IT), and communication services industries. Relative performance was enhanced by the choice of stocks in consumer staples, industrials, and real estate. In addition, check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Invesco Growth and Income Fund highlighted stocks like Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is a global coffee brand that roasts, markets, and sells coffee. The one-month return of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) was -13.40%, and its shares lost 6.89% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 19, 2024, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) stock closed at $88.76 per share with a market capitalization of $100.636 billion.
Invesco Growth and Income Fund stated the following regarding Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX): The coffee retailer has struggled with China’s economic softness, declining sales and weaker US store traffic that have hampered revenues and profit margins. However, we believe the company has several positive, long-term catalysts, including strong growth in store count, better labor relations, improving productivity from labor, technology and innovation, and easier future earnings comparisons. We believed a management change was imminent, and shortly after we purchased the stock, Starbucks named a new CEO, which was seemingly greeted enthusiastically by investors.”
A barista pouring freshly brewed coffee from an espresso machine to a cup in a bustling cafe.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 76 hedge fund portfolios held Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) at the end of the third quarter which was 70 in the previous quarter. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) consolidated revenue was $9.1 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024, down 3% from the prior year, driven by a 7% decline in comparable store sales. While we acknowledge the potential of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) 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 Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and shared billionaire Daniel Sundheim’s top stock picks heading into 2025. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.