David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital started 2025 on a strong note, delivering a 4% gain in January, a return that saw the form outpace both the S&P 500’s 2.7% rise and the Nasdaq Composite’s 1.6% increase, according to a report by Institutional Investor.
The hedge fund’s early momentum follows modest full-year returns of 22.1% in 2023 and 7.4% in 2024.
Greenlight’s performance last month was driven largely by its biggest long positions, particularly Brighthouse Financial, its third-largest US-listed holding as of September. Shares of the insurance and annuities provider surged 28.5% in January after reports surfaced that the company was exploring a sale.
Another major contributor was Green Brick Partners, a homebuilding and land development firm that has long been Greenlight’s largest holding. The stock gained just over 7% in January. At the end of the third quarter, Greenlight’s stake in Green Brick accounted for 30% of its US-listed long assets, highlighting its importance to the fund’s portfolio.
Greenlight saw mixed results from two of its top European holdings with Lanxess, a German specialty chemicals company, climbing more than 11% in January. Greenlight revealed its stake in the company for the first time in its fourth-quarter investor letter, though it is unclear when the position was first established. Belgian chemicals firm Solvay, meanwhile, was the only top-five holding to decline, falling more than 4% for the month.
The fund’s fifth major holding, CONSOL Energy, completed a merger with Arch Resources on 14 January, forming Core Natural Resources.
In the final quarter of 2024, Greenlight initiated a significant position in CNH Industrial, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery. Despite the farm equipment industry facing a down cycle, Greenlight believes this downturn will be less severe than the one a decade ago. The fund disclosed that it paid an average of $10.53 per share, equating to less than 11 times expected bottom-of-cycle earnings.
Greenlight also increased its stake in Capri Holdings, despite the stock’s struggles after the Federal Trade Commission blocked its planned sale to Tapestry. In its fourth-quarter letter, Greenlight acknowledged Capri had reported “simply awful” financial results while awaiting regulatory approval.
