Middle Coast Investing Tops Q3 Benchmarks as AI Thesis Guides Moves

Overview

• The investor letter reports Q3 2025 U.S. portfolio returns of 9.6% versus 7.8% for the S&P 500, with European portfolios up 5.5%.
• Microsoft remains a key beneficiary of AI demand as Azure gains ground on AWS, and 294 hedge fund portfolios held the stock at the end of Q2.
• Middle Coast highlights Alphabet’s improving outlook, citing Gemini’s rising profile, expanding Waymo deployments, and a recent antitrust ruling that did not require divesting Chrome as a tailwind for shares.
• Broadcom is framed as a leading non‑Nvidia chip winner but is regularly trimmed due to valuation of roughly 85x trailing earnings, even as it posted record quarterly revenue of $16 billion, up 22% year over year.
• The firm reduced its Lululemon stake, pointing to de minimis tariff effects on small shipments, intensifying competition from Alo and Vuori, and international growth that has not offset pressures.