Seth Klarman's hedge fund Baupost adds a handful of value stocks, including a fintech name
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32 minutes ago
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Seth Klarman's Strategic Moves: Fiserv Inc. Takes Center Stage with 3.75% Portfolio Share
Analyzing Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio)'s Latest 13F Filing for Q2 2025 Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with DLPN. Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) recently submitted the 13F filing for the second quarter of 2025, providing insights into his investment moves during this period. Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) is a renowned value investor and the Portfolio Manager of The Baupost Group, an investment partnership he founded in 1983. Known for his cautious and strategic approach, Klarman authored the highly sought-after book "Margin of Safety." He holds an economics degree from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard University. Klarman's investment strategy spans a wide array of assets, from traditional value stocks to more complex investments like distressed debt and foreign equities. He is known for his patience, often holding cash when opportunities are scarce, and emphasizes the importance of risk management over mere returns. Summary of New Buy Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) added a total of three stocks to his portfolio, with the most significant addition being Fiserv Inc (NYSE:FI). This purchase involved 895,000 shares, accounting for 3.75% of the portfolio and valued at $154.31 million. The second largest addition was Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR), consisting of 5,500,000 shares, representing approximately 1.23% of the portfolio, with a total value of $50.55 million. The third largest addition was PagSeguro Digital Ltd (NYSE:PAGS), with 2,500,000 shares, accounting for 0.59% of the portfolio and a total value of $24.1 million. Key Position Increases Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) also increased stakes in a total of nine stocks. The most notable increase was in Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:ELV), with an additional 370,000 shares, bringing the total to 616,000 shares. This adjustment represents a significant 150.41% increase in share count, impacting the portfolio by 3.5%, with a total value of $239.6 million. The second largest increase was in CRH PLC (NYSE:CRH), with an additional 1,131,000 shares, bringing the total to 3,825,395. This adjustment represents a 41.98% increase in share count, with a total value of $351.17 million. Summary of Sold Out Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) completely exited three holdings in the second quarter of 2025. These include Solventum Corp (NYSE:SOLV), where he sold all 1,053,240 shares, resulting in a -2.3% impact on the portfolio. Additionally, he liquidated all 10,777,863 shares of Clarivate PLC (NYSE:CLVT), causing a -1.22% impact on the portfolio. Key Position Reduces Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) also reduced positions in four stocks. The most significant changes include a reduction in Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ:WTW) by 211,483 shares, resulting in a -13.86% decrease in shares and a -2.05% impact on the portfolio. The stock traded at an average price of $310.55 during the quarter and has returned 10.35% over the past three months and 7.46% year-to-date. Additionally, he reduced Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP) by 233,376 shares, resulting in a -25.66% reduction in shares and a -1.49% impact on the portfolio. The stock traded at an average price of $215.61 during the quarter and has returned 1.50% over the past three months and -2.01% year-to-date. Portfolio Overview At the end of the second quarter of 2025, Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio)'s portfolio included 22 stocks. The top holdings were 11.36% in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), 9.94% in WESCO International Inc (NYSE:WCC), 9.79% in Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ:WTW), 8.54% in CRH PLC (NYSE:CRH), and 7.5% in Fidelity National Information Services Inc (NYSE:FIS). The holdings are mainly concentrated in nine of the eleven industries: Communication Services, Technology, Industrials, Basic Materials, Financial Services, Consumer Defensive, Consumer Cyclical, Healthcare, and Energy. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
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40 minutes ago
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Trump gave China the AI chips it wanted. Beijing isn't saying thank you
In a surprising reversal of the United States' years-long technology restrictions on China, President Donald Trump last month allowed Nvidia to resume sales of a key AI chip designed specifically for the Chinese market. Yet rather than celebrating, Beijing's response has been noticeably lukewarm, despite having long urged Washington to ease the stringent export controls. In the weeks since the policy U-turn, Beijing has called the chip a security risk, summoned Nvidia for explanations and discouraged its companies from using it. The less-than-welcoming sentiment reflects Beijing's drive to build a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain – and its confidence in the progress its rapidly advancing chip industry has made. But the cold shoulder may also represent some political posturing. Despite significant advances in its semiconductor sector, China still needs America's chips and technology. Experts said China's national champion Huawei has developed chips with performance comparable to — and in some cases surpassing — the newly approved Nvidia chip. However, China still wants the more advanced AI processors that remain blocked under US export controls. In the years since Trump first imposed tech restrictions on Huawei during his first term, China's chip technology has made significant strides, spurred by the frustration that mounted as Washington piled on export controls, said Xiang Ligang, director-general of a Beijing-based technology industry group and an advisor to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 'We have this capability, it's not as they imagine – that if China is blocked, China won't be able to function, or that China will be finished,' he said. To him, the policy about-face only reflects the importance of having a wholly homegrown chip supply chain. 'For Chinese companies, we may only have one choice if we wish to ensure a relatively secure supply of chips – that means relying on our own domestically produced chips,' Xiang said. That may be China's goal, but in the high-stakes AI race, with all its national security implications, the US remains the leader, at least for now. China is not 'naive' The chip in focus is Nvidia's H20, which was released by the AI chip leader last year to maintain access to the Chinese market following strict export controls put in place under the Biden administration that stopped the export of chips with high processing power. Last month, Trump greenlit the sales of the chip to China after banning it in April as the US trade frictions with China deepened. Trump has justified his decision by calling the chip 'obsolete,' as it lags behind the company's cutting-edge AI processors like Blackwell or H100, from which H20 is derived. He and his officials appeared to have embraced a view long promoted by Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang – that US can maintain its tech leadership only through ensuring its chips remain the global standard. 'You want to sell the Chinese enough that their developers get addicted to the American technology stack,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month. But the dramatic reversal has fueled questions about Trump's transactional approach to national security – once considered off-limits to bargaining. China, on the other hand, is alarmed by the alleged security risks of Nvidia's H20s like 'tracking and positioning' and 'remote shutdown' features, capabilities that some US lawmakers have called for but Nvidia denies it has placed in its chips. China's cyberspace watchdog and industry ministry have since summoned the American chip giant over the security concerns and urged firms to avoid H20 chips, a development which was previously reported by Bloomberg. One major Chinese tech company which has developed its AI models has received notice from the authorities urging it to exercise caution in the use of H20s, and advising it not to purchase them, a company insider said on the condition of anonymity. CNN has reached out to the ministry and the cyberspace authorities for comment. An Nvidia spokesperson told CNN that NVIDIA 'does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.' 'Banning the sale of H20 in China would only harm US economic and technology leadership with zero national security benefit,' the spokesperson added. But China believes the US isn't playing fairly, Xiang said. 'What we actually want, you refuse to sell us. For the things you already consider obsolete, you still want to dump them into our market and occupy our market. Do you really think we're that naive?' he said. Still coveted Despite Beijing's concerns and the H20's reduced performance, the chips remain highly sought after by Chinese companies. Equity research firm Bernstein estimated that shipment of the chips to China this year would have reached 1.5 million units, or about 23 billion in revenue, without Trump's export restrictions. Major buyers include Chinese tech giants such as TikTok owner ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent. While Huawei's top AI chips excel in computing power – one of the key measures in evaluating processors' performance – in comparison with H20, they fall short in terms of memory bandwidth, which determines how much data can move between a chip's memory and computing unit. That bandwidth depends on a technology known as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) used in AI chips to ensure efficient data transmission in AI model training. China's top HBM maker CXMT, or ChangXin Memory Technologies, is still about three to four years behind industry leaders like South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung, and American Micron, according to MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research, a research firm. Last year, the Biden administration further tightened export controls on China, including restrictions on HBM sales, forcing Chinese companies to rely on existing stockpiles. Beijing has requested Washington to lift restrictions on HBM as part of the trade deal negotiations, Financial Times reported this week. Key appeal of H20 for Chinese companies also lies in Huawei's limited production capacity and Nvidia's well-established ecosystem, said Qingyuan Lin, senior analyst at Bernstein focusing China's semiconductor industry. 'Even when you want to completely replace the H20 demand with the local guys, they're not able to deliver the amount of chips that's needed,' he said. The supply bottlenecks stem from constraints in scaling up production of both the manufacturing of computing units of the AI chips and the integration of various components in them, a technology known as advanced packaging in the industry, Lin said. Bernstein estimated that Huawei's shipments of its advanced AI chips in 2025 would amount to around 700,000 units, still far short of the demand in the country. CNN has reached out to Huawei for comment. Meanwhile, Nvidia's powerful ecosystem, which integrates its chips with its software platform, has created what experts call a 'moat,' making it difficult and costly for AI developers who train models on its software to switch to alternatives. 'The H20 comes with a complete ecosystem covering both hardware and software support, ensuring better compatibility and ease of integration,' said Brady Wang, associate director at Counterpoint. 'This ecosystem maturity is still a challenge for many Chinese-developed chips, making the H20 more attractive despite its cost disadvantage.' 'Very close' Still, experts said China's rapid progress in semiconductor technology should not be underestimated. Years of tightening export controls have injected both urgency and opportunity into Beijing's push for self-sufficiency, Lin said. While chipmaking technology appeared to stall after Huawei's 2023 flagship smartphone showcased advanced chips that American officials had deemed extremely difficult to produce, domestic chipmaking equipment companies have been steadily gaining ground, he said. 'The local guys actually had very little chance to gain share from the global players because of the technology gap, but export controls created a market that didn't exist before and accelerated the domestic substitution,' he said. Bernstein projects that the percentage of homemade AI chips in China will surge from 17% in 2023 to 55% by 2027, while American suppliers like Nvidia and AMD will shrink to 45% from 83%. In April, Huang of Nvidia met with Trump in Washington, urging the administration to loosen export controls on chips and saying that the diffusion of American AI technology around the world needs to be accelerated. 'There's no question that Huawei is one of the most formidable technology companies in the world…they made enormous progress in the last several years,' he said. 'China is right behind us. We're very, very close.' CNN's Hassan Tayir and Fred He contributed reporting. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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2 hours ago
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Green Hydrogen Production Group Closes on Major Investment
A California-based hydrogen production group said it has completed a funding round in support of the company's first 100-kilotonne carbon dioxide removal (CDR) commercial facility. Equatic, which is considered a pioneering company in combined carbon dioxide removal and green hydrogen production, on August 11 announced the successful closure of its Series A round, with Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health (C3H) leading an $11.6-million investment. C3H is a catalytic vehicle by Temasek Trust, along with Kibo Invest, a Singapore-based private investment office with a focus on climate technology. The funding round, with participation from a consortium of global investors, will accelerate the engineering scale-up and commercialization of Equatic's patented seawater electrolysis technology. This substantial capital infusion will support the ongoing engineering of Equatic's CDR commercial facility, alongside further commercialization, manufacturing, and technological development. Equatic's proprietary technology is designed to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and produce green hydrogen in a single, scalable process, advancing two critical net-zero pathways. 'This investment marks a pivotal moment for Equatic, enabling us to significantly scale our production capabilities and accelerate our mission to deliver durable carbon removal at scale,' said Gaurav N. Sant, founder and chief technology officer for Equatic. 'The Temasek Trust ecosystem has been a foundational partner to Equatic, from early-stage philanthropic backing from Temasek Foundation to catalytic investment through C3H. We welcome Kibo Invest as co-lead and recognize their commitment to invest in companies that are revolutionizing industries and addressing urgent climate challenges.' 'Truly innovative carbon management technologies are needed to mitigate climate change before the consequences become irreversible,' said Lord John Browne, chairman of Equatic's advisory board. Browne also is founder and chairman at BeyondNetZero, and the former CEO of British Petroleum. 'By removing carbon dioxide and simultaneously generating green hydrogen, Equatic's solution provides unique advantages in terms of cost and scalability.' Ryan Tan, head of C3H, said, 'Equatic's technology and approach exemplify the type of bold and scalable innovation that aligns with C3H's mandate. We are delighted to support Equatic's goal in advancing promising climate mitigation solutions that offer permanent, durable carbon removal with green hydrogen production for scalable, tangible impact and commercial benefit.' 'Equatic represents an exciting opportunity to scale deep-tech innovation that addresses two critical needs: decarbonisation and clean energy. As an investor focused on climate solutions, we are proud to partner with C3H and Equatic to help bring this breakthrough technology to commercial scale,' said James Marshall, CEO of Kibo Invest. Equatic's Technology Since commencing operations in 2023, the Equatic technology has been successfully deployed at two pilot plants in Los Angeles and Singapore. The company is now expanding its operations with a demonstration plant in Singapore, known as Equatic-1, and a commercial-scale plant in Canada. In May 2024, Equatic was recognized as a CDR Purchase Prize semifinalist by the U.S. Department of Energy, acknowledging its high-quality, permanent carbon credits and rigorous Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) practices. In September 2024, Equatic announced a significant climate breakthrough with the U.S. manufacture of oxygen-selective anodes, which unlock scalable hydrogen production through direct seawater electrolysis. That same month, Equatic was named a finalist for The Earthshot Prize, a prestigious international recognition for groundbreaking solutions to repair the planet. Equatic's commitment to high-integrity carbon removal is underscored by its adoption of an ISO-14064 standard for MRV, first published by Equatic in May 2023. Subsequently, this standard was validated by two leading carbon removal registries, Isometric and making Equatic one of the only marine companies capable of issuing high-quality CDR credits under either registry, with full transparency and auditability. Buyers of Equatic's CDR credits include Boeing, a leading global aerospace company and other large industrial companies committed to market-based mechanisms for decarbonization. —POWER edited this content, which was contained in a press release from Equatic. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
