12th Aug 2025 10:14
(Alliance News) - Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust PLC on Tuesday announced that it outperformed the S&P index in its financial year, as it expects the year ahead to present "significant opportunities" for its investment strategy.
The Edinburgh-based investor in US companies said net asset value per share rose 22% to 264.48 pence at May 31 from 216.65p a year ago.
NAV total return in the financial year ended May 31 was 22.1%, easily outperforming the S&P 500 index in sterling terms, which had a return of 7.2%.
The company said Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX, Duolingo, Netflix, Cloudflare and Shopify were the main contributors to performance.
For top contributor Space Exploration, Baillie Gifford US said: "We are excited by its pursuit of reduced launch costs, thus opening avenues for growth, such as tourism and transportation. A clear segment leader, it looks positioned to capture an attractive share of the growing space industry, while Starlink may become the first globally relevant utility."
Conversely, main detractors were Moderna, Brex, Pinterest, Lyra Health and Sweetgreen.
Regarding the main detractor Moderna, Baillie Gifford US noted: "Moderna's business suffered in the first half of the reporting period due to a weaker Covid vaccine market in the US and weaker than expected uptake of its second drug, a vaccine for another respiratory illness called RSV [respiratory syncytial virus]. The under‑performance continued in the second half of the period as these issues were compounded by fears over the incoming administration's attitude towards vaccines."
Looking ahead, the US Equity Growth Team at Baillie Gifford & Co said: "Generative AI's emergence and President Trump's tariff whiplash can make people feel uncomfortable and foster fear, but it is in these moments that builders thrive. Strong foundational cultures provide the scaffolding; adaptable created cultures scramble the workers to pour fresh concrete when cracks appear."
Baillie Gifford US Chair Tom Burnet commented: "The year ahead presents significant opportunities for our investment strategy. Technology continues to reshape entire industries, creating opportunities for the visionary companies in our portfolio. Our shareholders' patient capital enables us to participate in this transformation, and I am optimistic about what we can achieve together and the resulting returns for shareholders."
Baillie Gifford US shares were down 1.3% at 266.50 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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