Miska Repo @mick_repo: "2025 Performance YTD @mick_repo: +44.39% MSCI World..."

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2025 Performance YTD @mick_repo: +44.39% MSCI World Index: +19.66% S&P 500: +16.17% Interesting month of increased volatility, and it looks like things are starting to shape up for next year. Since the latest update, there have been some updates on some of the companies currently in our portfolio. Let’s start with $GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc ADR) . They continue executing their strategy, and almost all the metrics are pointing to the right direction. Specialty Medicines are growing at double digits (+16%), while also Vaccines and General Medicines registered single digit growth (+2% and +4%). Operating margin is up, EPS is up, free cash flow is up, and 2025 guidance is upgraded. As mentioned in my previous posts, GSK’s main issue in the past years has been their (lack of a good) pipeline, and markets have had little faith in their ability to solve the issue. That seems to be turning now, and if they keep executing well I believe they still have a good upside potential ahead of them. Also $PEP (PepsiCo) announced their quarterly earnings since the last update. It’s a big ship, but they are taking action by reshaping their portfolio and by optimizing their cost structure. Given their size and geographical reach, they have lots of levers they can pull for optimizing their operations and improving their financial profile and asset allocation. It’s not a fast process due to their size, but the progress they make should be visible on a quarterly basis. They are also defensive in case there is a larger downturn on the markets. $DGE.L (Diageo) has been suffering lately due to changing consumer habits and impact on US tariffs, and the turnaround is still not clearly visible. They are executing their renewed strategy with sharper focus on cost-cutting, premium brand innovation, and geographic diversification, but some risks (e.g. changing consumer habits) remain and are difficult to estimate, hence the share price has been under pressure already for quite some time (DGE share price is down approx. 50% in the last 3 years). I personally think that the negative sentiment is overdone, i.e. the market has priced in too much bad news. They will also have a new CEO, Dave Lewis, who will start in January. That usually speeds up the transformational processes, since the new CEO doesn’t have any legacy burden inside the company. I entered a bit too early into DGE, but we should see in the next few months whether it was a good (or not so good) decision nevertheless. Finally, $NWL (Newell Brands Inc.) , one of the riskier bets in the current portfolio. Newell is in the middle of a turnaround: bottom line is recovering (moving back to profit) but the top line is still weak and being hit by macro/trade headwinds. If they can keep margins up and sales stabilize or improve, there’s upside - but it’s still a higher-risk scenario. The share price dropped heavily when the latest earnings were released, and I added to the position by deploying available cash to Newell Brands after the drop. We are still down with the position, but this one can move back up quite rapidly if the signs (or expectations) of fixing the declining sales will become visible. Lots of things going on at the moment in the markets. However, as always, let’s keep our eyes on the ball and keep compounding regardless of the ups and downs. This year has been good so far, and the new year is already behind the corner. I will continue the process of reshaping the portfolio for next year, in order to be well positioned also for 2026. Cheers, Mick P.S. We had eToro’s Popular Investor Summit in Cyprus two weeks ago (photo from the hotel room), and it was a real pleasure to personally meet fellow PIs from around the world, as well as to speak with eToro’s management and hear the latest news from the company. Looking forward to the next Summit next year.

Not investment advice. The author may have financial interests in the mentioned instruments.