A year ago we wrote that Intel was struggling with a combination of falling behind the cutting edge of technology and a high debt load, and the stock was priced accordingly. This quarter Intel was our largest contributor by a wide margin, adding 4.94% to Fund performance. The improvement has been fundamental as well as sentimental. Intel reported second quarter revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% year over year and its fastest growth in more than fifteen years, with gross margin expanding to 40.4% from 27.5%. Demand for server processors has been stronger than expected, and the company has moved its 18A manufacturing process into high volume production at its new facility in Arizona. Domestic semiconductor manufacturing has become a matter of national policy, and Intel remains strategically important to the buildout of computing capacity now underway.
Though we did not explicitly forecast this, owning good businesses at good prices, over time, in a careful and diversified way, can produce steady results and occasionally an outsized one like Intel this quarter.

Centene was another significant contributor. In our fourth quarter letter we wrote that Centene faced dual pressure from higher medical costs and lower government reimbursement rates on its large Medicaid book, which is why the shares were cheap. Since then the backdrop for managed care has improved. The cost trends that had been a headwind for the industry are beginning to subside, and rate resets have largely caught up to them. Centene’s health benefits ratio improved to 89.6% from 93.0%, and the company raised its full-year revenue guidance. The larger insurers have reported movement in the same direction.

Beyond Intel and Centene, our top contributors were Cisco, Eaton and Trane. All three have varying degrees of exposure to the buildout of data centers and the electrical infrastructure that supports it, and in each case demand has been strong. Cisco nearly doubled its full-year outlook for artificial intelligence infrastructure orders during the period, from roughly $5 billion to $9 billion, which is representative of the pattern.

Our top detractors for the quarter were Hershey, Pfizer, McDonald’s, RTX and Allegion. Hershey has spent the past two years absorbing historically high input costs, and while those pressures have eased, margin recovery is still working its way through reported results. Consumer staples more broadly have been out of favor, with shoppers trading down and health-related shifts in eating habits weighing on packaged food volumes. Pfizer raised the midpoint of its full-year revenue guidance by $500 million on stronger non-COVID product sales while lowering its expectation for COVID-related revenue, and the market remains focused on what replaces those franchises. McDonald’s grew global comparable sales 1.3% and U.S. comparable sales 0.8%, with guest counts down and management pointing largely at its own execution. A large share of McDonald’s U.S. customer base is absorbing higher food and fuel costs.

We are focused on the long-term fundamental performance of the businesses we own rather than short-term market trends, and we avoid predictions about narrow market direction. We will continue to manage the portfolio with diligence, discipline and patience.
We appreciate your trust in us to be good stewards of your capital. If you would like to discuss performance or the Fund’s holdings in greater detail, please let us know.

Respectfully,

Steve Scruggs, CFA
Portfolio Manager