Loomis Sayles, an investment management company, released its “International Growth Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund returned 13.10% vs. 8.06% for the MSCI ACWI Ex USA Index (Net) in the quarter. Stock selection in consumer discretionary, information technology, financials, consumer staples, and communication services sector, as well as allocation s to the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors, all positively impacted the fund’s relative performance. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Loomis Sayles International Growth Fund highlighted stocks like NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) provides a wide range of semiconductor products. The one-month return of NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) was -6.25%, and its shares lost 6.37% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 26, 2024, NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) stock closed at $215.04 per share with a market capitalization of $54.654 billion.
Loomis Sayles International Growth Fund stated the following regarding NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) is a specialty semiconductor company and a leading provider of high performance mixed-signal (HPMS) integrated chips and microcontrollers (MCUs). With a heritage of security, connectivity, and processing that enables secure communications and connection of electronic products, NXP is focused on secure, ubiquitous connections that enable a smarter world. In particular, NXP focuses on highly differentiated, application-specific devices where its products are critical to the achievement of customer goals. As a result of its focus, NXP is the leader in segments including automotive, mobile transactions, secure identification, and broad-based MCUs used in industrial applications and for the internet of things (IoT). The company has operations in over 30 countries and generates greater than 85% of its revenue outside of the United States.
A holding in the fund since inception, NXP reported quarterly financial results that were in line with consensus expectations, but provided guidance for the coming quarter that was below expectations. The company has been growing below our long-term expectations for the past few years due to cyclical weakness in some of its key end markets which contributed to a build-up of inventory in its distribution channels that has depressed near-term growth. However, we believe the company has exercised discipline by prudently keeping production levels meaningfully below historic monthly averages such that it is currently shipping below end-market demand. While the company could have met forward expectations if it had resumed production at historic levels, this approach has enabled it to maintain its pricing power and protect profitability, including delivering operating margins through both the pandemic and subsequent recovery at the high end of its long-term guidance. While the company had expected to return to normal levels of inventory production in 2024, it now expects to return to secular growth in 2025…” (Click here to read the full text)
A close-up of a semiconductor component, highlighting its complex design.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 44 hedge fund portfolios held NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) at the end of the third quarter which was 52 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) 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.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) detracted from Sound Shore Management’s performance in Q3 2024 due to uncertain auto demand. 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.