Giverny Capital Asset Management, LLC, an investment management company, recently published its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The Portfolio returned 0.01% compared to 2.66% for the S&P 500. YTD, the fund returned 12.58% compared to 17.88% for the Index. The firm faced a challenging fourth quarter and calendar year, despite solid appreciation. The outperformance of a few large technology companies has negatively impacted performance, given the portfolio’s underweight in large tech and overweight in smaller niche leaders. While portfolio companies are excelling in earnings growth and capital returns, the market is fixated on AI investments, leaving the actual benefits unclear. Additionally, you can review the Portfolio’s top 5 holdings to see its best picks for 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Giverny Capital Asset Management highlighted Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN), which it exited during the year. Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners and iTero intraoral scanners and services. The one-month return of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) was 5.18%, and its shares lost 25.10% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 29, 2026, Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) stock closed at $164.12 per share, with a market capitalization of $11.896 billion.
Giverny Capital Asset Management stated the following regarding Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
” In the fourth quarter we exited CarMax, Fiserv and Align Technology. Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN): The maker of Invisalign clear aligners, Align has a terrific product and should, over time, displace wires and brackets as the preferred way to straighten teeth. What is also clear to me, however, is that if clear aligners displace braces, they will also go some way to displacing orthodontists. The orthodontist community – well educated, highly trained and handsomely paid, prefers not to facilitate its own demise. With metal braces, the 5 orthodontist oversees treatment. With clear aligners, a digital scanner does. Few adults with crooked teeth would agree to wear braces, so Align essentially created a new market for adults that did not threaten orthodontists’ livelihood. Indeed, it continues to dominate the market for adult orthodontia.
