George Soros is a billionaire who primarily invests according to macro events or his view of the markets. He believes that investors’ biases highly influence the direction of stocks and markets. Last year, for instance, he made a substantial sum betting against fellow investor Bill Ackman’s public short of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF). Though Soros has closed his $29 billion Soros Fund Management to outside investors, he still participates in the management of family funds.
George Soros’ long stock portfolio contains 237 positions, after turning over by 30% in the fourth quarter. These are his top growth stock selections: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).
George Soros: Apple (AAPL)
George Soros has traded Apple shares intermittently since second quarter 2009, when the price averaged $129 per share. At the end of 2013 he owned 290,551 after adding 225,151 during the fourth quarter, for a 1.4% stake in his portfolio.
Apple has a 10-year EBITDA growth rate of 63.60% annually – the highest of any stock in Soros’ portfolio. The company in fiscal first quarter 2014 earned EBITDA of $19.94 billion, on record revenue of $57.6 billion and earnings of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share. For fiscal second quarter 2014, the company expects revenue between $42 billion and $44 billion.
Apple Inc. is a California corporation established in 1977. Apple Inc. has a market cap of $473.09 billion; its shares were traded at around $530.38 with a P/E ratio of 13.20 and P/S ratio of 2.80. The dividend yield of Apple Inc stocks is 2.30%.
George Soros: Netflix Inc. (NFLX)
George Soros owns 280,000 Netflix shares, after adding 18,000 in fourth quarter 2013, in a position he has traded since first quarter 2013. The stake reflects 0.088% of his portfolio.
Netflix has a 10-year EBITDA growth rate of 44.70% annually. In its fiscal first quarter 2014, Netflix recorded $685 million in EBITDA, after four consecutive quarters of growth. Its U.S. streaming service grew by 2.25 million net members to 35.7 million, while international membership grew by 1.75 million, up to 12.7 million.
Netflix Inc., was incorporated in Delaware in August 1997 and completed its initial public offering in May 2002. Netflix Inc. has a market cap of $20.83 billion; its shares were traded at around $348.33 with a P/E ratio of 188.30 and P/S ratio of 4.70.
George Soros: Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST)
George Soros holds 377,415 shares of Monster Beverage Corp., purchased in fourth quarter 2013 at an average share price of $59. The holding accounts for 0.22% of his portfolio.
Monster grew EBITDA at a rate of 32.7% over the past 10 years, recording $141 million in EBITDA in fourth quarter 2013. Monster’s fourth quarter revenue increased 14.7% to $540.8 million year over year, as net income increased 12% to $76.1 million.
Monster Beverage Corp was formerly known as Hansen Natural Corporation was incorporated in Delaware on April 25, 1990. Monster Beverage Corp has a market cap of $11.19 billion; its shares were traded at around $67.06 with a P/E ratio of 34.30 and P/S ratio of 5.10. Monster Beverage Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 32.70% over the past 10 years.
George Soros: Google Inc. (GOOG)
George Soros owns 155,130 shares of Google, after selling 9,370 shares of the holding in the fourth quarter.
Google has a 10-year EBITDA growth rate of 32.5%, growing it to $5.2 billion in the fiscal first quarter. The company’s revenue was also up 19% year over year, to $15.4 billion. Net income rose slightly to $4.3 billion from $4.04 billion a year prior.
Google Inc. was incorporated in California in September 1998 and reincorporated in Delaware in August 2003. Google Inc. has a market cap of $355.71 billion; its shares were traded at around $528.62 with a P/E ratio of 28.00 and P/S ratio of 6.10. Google Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 32.50% over the past 10 years.
