Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter for “Artisan Small Cap Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund seeks to invest in companies that possess franchise characteristics, with strong earnings trajectories, and are trading at a discount to the estimated private market value. Despite strong results in 2025, volatility was elevated, and sentiment shifted frequently, influenced by political developments in the US, evolving trade policy rhetoric, changing expectations for monetary policy, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Against this backdrop, the Fund posted strong absolute returns in the fourth quarter, outperforming both the Russell 2000® Growth Index and the Russell 2000® Index. The portfolio delivered strong results in the quarter across all segments. In contrast, for the full year, the Fund generated strong results but trailed both the indexes. In Q4 2025, the market leadership shifted back to companies with durable profit cycles. Moving to 2026, the firm continues to focus on its proven technique of identifying profit cycles in franchise companies at reasonable valuations. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Artisan Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH). Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) is a precision oncology company that specializes in a liquid biopsy test to detect cancer from blood samples. On March 16, 2026, Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) stock closed at $87.18 per share. One-month return of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) was -18.61%, and its shares gained 98.81% over the past twelve months. Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) has a market capitalization of $11.435 billion.
Artisan Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we initiated new positions in nLIGHT, Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) and Cellebrite. Guardant Health is a leader in liquid biopsy diagnostics, using a simple blood draw to detect and monitor cancer. The company holds an enviable market-leading position in tumor-naïve minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, helping clinicians to identify residual cancer without prior tumor tissue, and support therapy selection and disease monitoring. Building on this foundation, Guardant is expanding into tumor-informed MRD testing to address a broader range of clinical needs and further strengthen its position across the MRD landscape.”
