Polen Capital's Trades and Holdings in Q3 2024

We break down the stocks Polen Capital bought, sold, and held in Q3 2024, including their holdings at the end of the quarter. All data sourced from Polen Capital's 13F filed on November 14, 2025.

Who is Polen Capital?

Polen Capital is a global investment management firm founded in 1979, specializing in high-conviction growth strategies across large-cap, small-cap, and emerging markets portfolios. Known for its disciplined approach and low turnover, Polen has established a strong track record of outperformance over multiple market cycles. The firm's investment philosophy centers on identifying businesses with sustainable competitive advantages, superior financial strength, and proven management teams that can deliver consistent, above-average earnings growth.

Polencapital.com
Wikipedia on Polen Capital

Portfolio Changes in Q3 2024

New positions

Polen Capital established two massive new positions worth over $1 billion each in Apple (AAPL) at $1.57 billion and Oracle (ORCL) at $1.49 billion, while also adding smaller positions in ON (ONON), ELF Beauty (ELF), Vanguard Growth (VUG), Insight Enterprises (NSIT), Paylocity (PCTY), NV5 Global (NVEE), Rambus (RMBS), TopBuild (BLD), and Dutch Bros (BROS).

Bought

The firm significantly increased its stakes in Shopify (SHOP) by 4.2 million shares (+56.3%), Workday (WDAY) by 1.4 million shares (+53.1%), and Paycom (PAYC) by 1.3 million shares (+82.8%), demonstrating strong conviction in these software and e-commerce positions.

Sold

Polen Capital conducted major portfolio restructuring by nearly completely exiting Nike (NKE) (-99.8%) and Salesforce (CRM) (-99.4%), while substantially trimming large technology holdings including Amazon (AMZN) (-16.2%), Alphabet (GOOG) (-29.9%), Microsoft (MSFT) (-24.9%), and Airbnb (ABNB) (-24.5%), and fully liquidating positions in Alight (ALIT), SiTime (SITM), AppFolio (APPF), and Meta (META).

New Investments in Q3 2024

Apple AAPL

Polen Capital bought $1.57B of Apple in Q3 2024. Apple reported record Q1 2025 revenue of $124.3B (up 4% YoY), driven by strong Mac (+16%), iPad (+15%), and Services (+14%) growth, though iPhone sales dipped 1%. Net income rose 7.1% to $36.33B, with diluted EPS climbing 10.1% to $2.40. While Americas and Europe segments grew, Greater China revenue fell 11% to $18.5B, highlighting regional challenges.

• Q1 2025 operating cash flow reached $36.33B, though cash reserves fell to $30.3B due to $18.65B in tax payments.
• Shareholders received $0.25/share dividend in Q1, a 4.2% increase from prior quarter.
• Wearables/Home/Accessories segment declined 2% YoY to $11.75B, marking third consecutive quarterly drop.

Oracle ORCL

Polen Capital bought $1.49B of Oracle in Q3 2024. Oracle has demonstrated strong cloud revenue growth and expanding margins over the last two quarters, though on-premise license declines warrant monitoring. In Q1 FY2025, cloud services revenues surged 21% YoY to $5.6B, driving total revenue growth of 7% . The company's remaining performance obligations skyrocketed 62% to $130B in Q3 FY2025, signaling robust future demand for cloud infrastructure and AI solutions .

• Q3 cloud services/license support revenues grew 10% YoY to $11.0B while on-premise licenses declined 8% in constant currency .
• Non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 44% in Q3 FY2025, up from 43% in Q1 .
• EPS grew 17% YoY in Q1 FY2025 ($1.39) and 4% in Q3 FY2025 ($1.47) despite macroeconomic headwinds .

ON ONON

Polen Capital bought $14.82M of ON in Q3 2024. ON Holding AG delivered strong Q1 2025 results with 40% YoY sales growth to CHF 726.6M ($834M USD), beating EPS estimates by 4.55% ($0.23 vs $0.22 expected). The company raised its FY2025 constant currency growth outlook to 28%+ while expanding gross margins to 59.9%, driven by premium positioning and a 93% YoY surge in apparel sales. Shares gained 3.8% immediately post-earnings as operational efficiency improvements and tariff mitigation strategies demonstrated pricing power.

• Q1 EPS of $0.23 beat estimates by 4.55%, continuing momentum from Q4 2024's 111% EPS surprise.
• DTC revenue share increased to 38.1% (+570 bps YoY) with apparel sales growing 93.1% YoY.
• Raised FY2025 guidance to 28%+ constant currency growth (up from 26%) with EBITDA margins forecast at 16.5-17.5%.

ELF Beauty ELF

Polen Capital bought $6.99M of ELF Beauty in Q3 2024. e.l.f. Beauty delivered 50% net sales growth in Q1 FY2025 with 260 basis points of market share gains, but revised its full-year sales guidance downward in February 2025 due to softer January sales. The stock plunged 20% post-announcement, extending its 12-month decline to over 50%. Strong profitability metrics like a 4.86% net margin and 2.31% ROE continue to outperform industry averages.

• 31% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 FY2025 despite missing EPS estimates by $0.02.
• ROE of 2.31% surpasses peers, reflecting efficient capital utilization.
• Full-year sales guidance reduced from $1.315B-$1.335B to $1.3B-$1.31B in February 2025.

Vanguard Growth VUG

Polen Capital bought $5.3M of Vanguard Growth in Q3 2024. Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) declined 1.36% in Q2 2025 through May 23, extending its Q1 underperformance amid market volatility. However, analysts project upside potential as large-cap growth stocks benefit from strong earnings and AI-driven tech sector momentum. The ETF remains a core holding for growth exposure with 12.2% returns over the last six months, outperforming 75% of large-cap peers.

• 1.36% decline YTD through May 23, 2025 after 4.2% Q1 losses.
• 12.2% return over last 6 months despite recent pullback, beating Russell 1000 Growth Index by 180bps.
• 35% tech weighting positions ETF to capitalize on AI infrastructure spending and cloud computing growth drivers.

Insight Enterprises NSIT

Polen Capital bought $4.6M of Insight Enterprises in Q3 2024. Insight Enterprises (NSIT) reported mixed Q1 2025 results with net sales declining 12% YoY to $2.1 billion, while demonstrating cost discipline through 80 basis points gross margin expansion to 19.3%. The company recently repurchased $80 million worth of shares from ValueAct Capital, signaling confidence in its valuation. Despite beating Q1 earnings estimates by 1.48%, analysts maintain a Hold rating due to ongoing macroeconomic pressures impacting technology spending.

• Adjusted diluted EPS of $2.06 beat estimates by 1.48% but declined 13% YoY.
• Gross margin expanded to 19.3% (+80 bps) despite 8% YoY gross profit decline.
• Recent $80M stock buyback represents ~2.5% of current market cap at purchase time.

Paylocity PCTY

Polen Capital bought $3.85M of Paylocity in Q3 2024. Paylocity has demonstrated consistent growth with 14% year-over-year revenue increases in both Q1 and Q3 FY2025, driven by its expanded spend management capabilities following the Airbase acquisition. The company strengthened shareholder returns through $150 million in share repurchases during Q3 while maintaining robust cash reserves of $477.8 million. Updated FY2025 guidance projects 13% annual revenue growth to $1.58 billion+, reflecting confidence in sustained demand for its modern HCM and CFO-focused solutions.

• Q1 FY2025 recurring revenue grew 14% YoY to $333.1 million, with total revenue reaching $363.0 million.
• Repurchased 800,000 shares ($150M) in Q3 FY2025 while reducing Airbase acquisition debt by $81.3 million.
• Raised full-year revenue guidance to $1.58B-$1.585B (13% YoY growth) on strong broker channel performance (>25% new business).

NV5 Global NVEE

Polen Capital bought $3.81M of NV5 Global in Q3 2024. NV5 Global delivered strong Q1 2025 results with 10% revenue growth to $234 million, including 5% organic growth, while operating cash flows surged 96% to $38.4 million. The company demonstrated improved profitability with net income growing 456% YoY and adjusted EBITDA increasing 8% to $29.7 million. Recent strategic acquisitions position NV5 for geographic expansion and accelerated organic growth, leading management to reaffirm full-year 2025 guidance.

• Q1 revenue of $234M exceeded analyst estimates by 1.8%, continuing a trend of 10 consecutive quarters of revenue growth.
• Operating cash flow surged 96% YoY to $38.4M, demonstrating improved capital efficiency.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin remained healthy at 12.7% despite acquisition-related amortization costs of $1.4M.

Rambus RMBS

Polen Capital bought $2.37M of Rambus in Q3 2024. Rambus (RMBS) delivered a strong Q1 2025 with $166.7 million revenue, beating expectations through record $76.3 million product revenue (up 51.4% YoY) driven by DDR5 memory interface chips. The company improved operating margin to 38% (vs. 26% in Q1 2024) and generated $77.4 million in operating cash flow, signaling operational efficiency. While customer concentration remains a risk (top 5 clients accounted for 71% of Q1 revenue), Rambus is poised for growth with upcoming platform launches and analyst price targets suggesting 43.6-50.2% upside potential.

• Q1 2025 revenue surged 41.4% YoY to $166.7 million, with DDR5 RCD product sales growing 52%.
• Operating income doubled to $63.1 million (vs. $30.1 million in Q1 2024) with record 38% margin.
• Stock gained 12.2% post-earnings (vs. NASDAQ +3.1%) as product revenue outlook for Q2 2025 projects $167-$173 million.

TopBuild BLD

Polen Capital bought $1.66M of TopBuild in Q3 2024. TopBuild reported a 3.6% YoY sales decline to $1.23B in Q1 2025, driven by a 6.7% drop in Installation segment sales partially offset by 2.6% growth in Specialty Distribution. Despite lower revenue, the company maintained strong profitability with 19.0% adjusted EBITDA margin and returned $215.6M to shareholders through stock buybacks. Recent acquisition of Seal-Rite Insulation and confirmed full-year guidance suggest management confidence in achieving $5.05B-$5.35B sales and $925M-$1.075B adjusted EBITDA for 2025.

• Q1 2025 EPS of $4.23 represents a 15.2% decline from Q1 2024.
• 19.0% adjusted EBITDA margin in Q1 remains above industry averages despite sales contraction.
• $215.6M in share repurchases executed during Q1 2025,.

Dutch Bros BROS

Polen Capital bought $1.42M of Dutch Bros in Q3 2024. Dutch Bros BROS reported strong Q1 2025 results with revenue growth of 29.1% YoY to $355.2M and adjusted EPS of $0.14 beating estimates by $0.05. The company is accelerating expansion with 30 new shops opened in Q1 and raised 2025 revenue guidance to $1.555B-$1.575B (top end of prior range). Four-wall economics remain robust with flat gross margins despite pre-opening costs, positioning it for sustained growth in the premium coffee segment.

• Q1 2025 EPS of $0.14 surpassed analyst estimates by 55.6% ($0.09 expected).
• Revenue beat expectations by $15.2M ($340M consensus vs $355.2M actual).
• 2025 system-wide shop openings guidance maintained at 160+ locations with 12-14% cash-on-cash returns.

Holdings at the end of Q3 2024

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