An update on how our Spaceship Earth Portfolio has performed since it launched in November 2020.
It has officially been six months since we launched the Spaceship Earth Portfolio, our managed fund focused on finding companies that have a positive impact on people and the planet.
More specifically, we select companies that meet both our Where the World is Going methodology, and advance one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
While we’re not focused on short term returns at Spaceship, it’s been interesting to examine how companies and stock prices have fared during such a volatile time. This period included the election of a new US President, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the GameStop saga, a sell-off in technology companies, and much more.
For your interest, here are the top five and bottom five performers in the period from when the Spaceship Earth Portfolio launched on 12 November 2020 (the funded date) to 31 March 2021.
We currently have 40 companies in the portfolio. You can find out more about each of them by visiting our Spaceship Earth Portfolio page or, if you’re already an investor in the portfolio, by opening up the portfolio tab in your Spaceship app.
Top performers
Etsy (+51.36%)
Etsy is a two-sided online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of primarily handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies
Etsy’s growth continues to skyrocket off the gains they have made during the initial wave of COVID-19. The company has consistently doubled its sales each quarter. Furthermore its active buyer base is up 77% year on year and its active seller base is up 62% year on year. The question is whether Etsy can sustain its growth and what other opportunities within its total addressable market (or overall revenue opportunity) can it take advantage of.
Generac Holdings (+42.05%)
Generac is the world’s leading manufacturer of home backup generators for residential and commercial premises. The company also recently entered the market for home solar energy systems.
Generac has benefitted from strong demand for its home standby generators due to increased trends of power outage activity across the US and Canada, such as the recent Texas snow storms and the public utility power shut offs in California, as well as more people working and learning from home. There’s a substantial backlog for its home generators and the company can’t expand manufacturing fast enough to meet demand.
ASML Holding (+39.02%)
ASML is the leading manufacturer of photolithographic machines, which are used in semiconductor manufacturing. ASML’s pioneering of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure equipment is key to both Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung’s technology development and subsequently the development of devices such as new iPhones.
ASML has performed well off the back of recent earnings growth.The expectation is for it to maintain double digit growth over the next few years as semiconductor trends such as 5G, high performance computing, and automotive electrification drive heavy investments in EUV technology. ASML stands to benefit given its monopoly-like position in the supply chain and ability to extend Moore’s law. Moore's law states that we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to increase every couple of years, and we will pay less for them.
Here’s a video that explains more about Moore’s Law and ASML’s technology.
Schrodinger (+38.04%)
Schrodinger is a software platform that leverages “physics, chemistry, and predictive modelling” to aid drug development.
Schrodinger’s stock price has been volatile over the last few months. Its stock dropped recently after its last earnings result, which reported lower growth than analysts expected. The long term story is still about leveraging its software platform to build an in-house Drug Discovery Program. This was recently validated by a deal with Bristol Myers Squibb that is potentially worth US $2.7 billion (while Schrodinger’s own market cap is around US $5.2 billion)
Enphase Energy (+31.90%)
Enphase Energy is a leading supplier of solar microinverters. Inverters are typically described as the brains of a solar energy system.
Enphase has been gaining share from its competitors with its market share potentially as high as 60% within US residential microinverters. Revenue from its storage business Encharge is also starting to ramp up.
Bottom performers:
Resmed (-14.44%)
ResMed is the leading sleep apnea company with more than 15 million patients monitored by fully cloud-connected medical devices on their bedside tables.
Resmed stock fell on the back of concerns of fewer ventilator sales this year which may impact year on year growth.
Ocado Group (-12.29%)
Ocado is an online grocery retailer in the UK. Ocado Solutions provides vertically integrated software and physical solutions to commercial retail partners.
The shift towards online grocery continues to accelerate and remains a strong tailwind for Ocado, which means it should lead to future growth. We are more focused on its Solutions business and any news regarding new orders for customer fulfilment centres and partnerships.
Lululemon Athletica (-11.36%)
Lululemon is a yoga inspired, technical athleticwear company for women and men, based out of Canada.
Lululemon stock fell on the back of its latest earnings report despite strong results, with management’s forecast of 2021 earnings being lower than what analysts expected. We don’t think its growth story has significantly changed and its increased costs largely represent reinvestments in the business. Same-store sales were up 21% on the quarter, which is extremely impressive given Lululemon’s large bricks and mortar footprint and the continued impact of COVID-19 restrictions.
American Water Works (-11.15%)
American Water Works is the largest listed water utility in the US. It provides water and wastewater solutions to approximately 15 million customers in the US.
American Water Works stock fell on the back of rising bond yields but has since partially recovered.
Advanced Micro Devices (-8.55%)
AMD develops high-performance computing and visualisation products for business and consumer markets.
Despite strong earnings, AMD has faced challenges with the ongoing chip shortage which has impacted its growth.
Important! We’re sharing with you our thoughts on the companies in which Spaceship Voyager invests for your informational purposes only. We think it’s important (and interesting!) to let you know what’s happening with Spaceship Voyager’s investments. However, we are not making recommendations to buy or sell holdings in a specific company. Past performance isn’t a reliable indicator or guarantee of future performance.
