Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Meridian Growth Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The US equity market started 2026 with elevated volatility amid trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks. Initial optimism from domestic company confidence and the Federal Reserve easing waned following increased tariffs and military strikes against Iran. The value outperformed across the entire market-cap spectrum. Against this backdrop, the Meridian Growth Fund (the “Fund”) returned -7.90%, trailing the Russell 2500 Growth Index benchmark, which returned -3.52%. The underperformance was driven by industry allocation effects, while stock selection was a meaningful positive contributor. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Meridian Growth Fund highlighted Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS). Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) is a leading semiconductor foundry that offers wafer fabrication services and technologies. On May 22, 2026, Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) closed at $85.64 per share. One-month return of Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) was 41.91%, and its shares gained 134.31% over the past 52 weeks. Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion.
Meridian Growth Fund stated the following regarding Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) is a specialty semiconductor foundry with differentiated manufacturing capabilities and a geographically strategic production footprint outside of China and Taiwan. The company is well-positioned to benefit from a structural mix shift toward secularly growing end markets including data center, satellite communications, automotive, and edge AI applications. Shares advanced meaningfully during the quarter as the company delivered strong results that confirmed the inflection in growth and margins, with its silicon photonics business emerging as a particularly compelling growth driver. Management’s constructive outlook for continued revenue acceleration reinforced the thesis.”
Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 37 hedge fund portfolios held Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 27 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026 Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) reported revenue of $1.63 billion, down 11% sequentially and up 3.1% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Globalfoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
