Smead Capital Management Portfolio in 2026: Top Holdings & Recent Changes
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Smead Capital Management continues its hallmark value investing discipline with precise portfolio adjustments in the latest 13F filing. Their $4.8B portfolio shows a pattern of measured reductions across core holdings, with a notable addition to energy exposure via Cenovus Energy (CVE), signaling confidence in commodity plays amid broader market rotations.
Portfolio Overview: Concentrated Value with Tactical Pruning
Portfolio Highlights (Q4’2025): - Market Value: $4,819.1M - Top 10 Holdings: 53.3% - Portfolio Size: 32 -2 - Average Holding Period: 23 quarters - Turnover: 12.5%
Smead Capital Management's Q4 2025 portfolio exemplifies a focused value strategy, where over half the assets reside in just 10 names despite a total of 32 positions. This concentration underscores the firm's conviction in high-quality businesses trading below intrinsic value, balanced by broader diversification to manage risk. The reduction in portfolio size by two positions reflects ongoing discipline in exiting or trimming underperformers.
With an impressive average holding period of 23 quarters—nearly six years—Smead demonstrates patience characteristic of classic value investors like those influenced by Warren Buffett. Low turnover at 12.5% indicates minimal churn, prioritizing long-term compounding over reactive trading. Yet the systematic ~6.5% reductions across most top holdings suggest active risk management, possibly locking in gains or reallocating to higher-conviction ideas.
Across the Smead Capital portfolio, this approach blends real estate, healthcare, financials, energy, and homebuilders, sectors often overlooked in growth-dominated markets. The single addition highlights opportunistic value hunting, positioning the fund for potential mean reversion in cyclicals.
Top Holdings: Real Estate Anchors Meet Energy and Healthcare Bets
The portfolio's top tier reveals Smead's balanced value hunt, led by Simon Property Group (SPG) at 6.9% after a Reduce 6.48% trim, followed closely by Merck (MRK) at 6.2% with a Reduce 6.47% adjustment. American Express (AXP) holds 5.9% via Reduce 6.50%, while the standout move is an Add 2.28% to Cenovus Energy (CVE), also at 5.9%, boosting energy weighting.
Healthcare and real estate remain pillars, with Amgen (AMGN) at 5.4% post-Reduce 6.48% and Macerich (MAC) at 5.3% after Reduce 6.48%. Homebuilders like D.R. Horton (DHI, 5.1%, Reduce 6.48%) and Lennar (LEN, 3.9%, Reduce 6.49%) reflect bets on housing recovery, alongside energy names APA (4.8%, Reduce 6.48%), Diamondback Energy (FANG, 3.8%, Reduce 6.45%).
These moves across the top 10—nine reductions averaging ~6.48% and one addition—paint a picture of fine-tuning rather than overhaul, with real estate (SPG, MAC) at ~12.2%, healthcare (MRK, AMGN) ~11.6%, and energy/homebuilders providing cyclical balance.
What the Portfolio Reveals
Smead Capital's Q4 actions spotlight a defensive value strategy attuned to economic cycles:
- Quality cyclicals over pure growth: Heavy exposure to homebuilders (DHI, LEN) and REITs (SPG, MAC) bets on housing and commercial recovery, while trims manage overexposure.
- Sector diversification with energy tilt: The CVE addition counters broad reductions, favoring commodities amid inflation concerns; energy (CVE, APA, FANG) comprises ~14.5% of top 10.
- Healthcare as steady anchor: MRK and AMGN provide dividend reliability and innovation pipelines, buffering volatility.
- Risk via uniform trims: Consistent ~6.5% reductions suggest portfolio rebalancing, not panic selling, preserving dry powder.
- Long-term U.S. focus: All top holdings are North American, emphasizing understandable moats in familiar sectors.
This reveals Smead's psychology: conviction in beaten-down sectors with tailwinds, executed with mechanical discipline.
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Portfolio Concentration Analysis
| Position | Value | % of Portfolio | Recent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG) | $331.6M | 6.9% | Reduce 6.48% |
| Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) | $298.8M | 6.2% | Reduce 6.47% |
| American Express Company (AXP) | $284.3M | 5.9% | Reduce 6.50% |
| Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE) | $283.6M | 5.9% | Add 2.28% |
| Amgen Inc. (AMGN) | $262.4M | 5.4% | Reduce 6.48% |
| The Macerich Company (MAC) | $257.8M | 5.3% | Reduce 6.48% |
| D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI) | $247.7M | 5.1% | Reduce 6.48% |
| APA Corporation (APA) | $232.4M | 4.8% | Reduce 6.48% |
| Lennar Corporation (LEN) | $187.3M | 3.9% | Reduce 6.49% |
| Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG) | $184.6M | 3.8% | Reduce 6.45% |
This table highlights Smead's prudent concentration, with the top 10 commanding 53.3% of the $4.8B portfolio—no single name exceeds 7%, mitigating blow-up risk while amplifying winners. The near-uniform reductions (average 6.48%) across nine positions total meaningful de-risking, freeing capital equivalent to several percent of AUM, paired with the CVE build signaling selective opportunism.
Such balance supports outsized returns in value rotations: real estate and homebuilders could surge with rate cuts, energy hedges inflation, and financials/healthcare deliver stability. For a 32-stock portfolio, this top-heavy structure demands deep conviction, validated by the 23-quarter hold horizon.
Investment Lessons from Smead Capital Management
Smead Capital's Q4 2025 moves distill timeless value principles:
- Trim winners systematically: Uniform ~6.5% reductions prevent overconcentration, locking gains without abandoning theses.
- Long holding periods compound wealth: 23 quarters average proves patience in quality cyclicals like homebuilders and REITs.
- Opportunistic adds in familiar sectors: The CVE boost shows doubling down where value aligns, not chasing fads.
- Concentration with diversification: 53.3% in top 10 across sectors balances conviction and risk.
- Low turnover preserves edge: 12.5% churn focuses energy on high-conviction monitoring, avoiding transaction costs.
Looking Ahead: What Comes Next?
Smead's positioning primes for 2026 opportunities: trims likely generated cash for deployments into undervalued cyclicals, especially if rates fall boosting homebuilders (DHI, LEN) and REITs (SPG, MAC). Energy bets (CVE, APA, FANG) guard against oil volatility and inflation, while AXP and healthcare provide ballast.
Portfolio shrinkage to 32 suggests further pruning ahead, potentially targeting housing tailwinds or commodity rebounds. In a softening economy, Smead's value tilt could outperform growth, with ValueSense tracking real-time shifts post-13F lag.
FAQ about Smead Capital Management Portfolio
Q: What were the most notable changes in Smead Capital's Q4 2025 13F?
A: Smead trimmed nine of its top 10 holdings by ~6.48% on average, with the exception of an Add 2.28% to Cenovus Energy (CVE), while shrinking overall positions from 34 to 32.
Q: Why does Smead maintain such concentration in its top 10 holdings?
A: At 53.3%, the top 10 reflect high-conviction value bets in understandable sectors like real estate, energy, and healthcare, balanced by 22 smaller positions for diversification.
Q: What sectors dominate Smead Capital's strategy?
A: Real estate (SPG, MAC), healthcare (MRK, AMGN), energy (CVE, APA, FANG), financials (AXP), and homebuilders (DHI, LEN) lead, emphasizing cyclicals with moats.
Q: How can I track Smead Capital Management's portfolio?
A: Follow quarterly 13F filings on ValueSense at Smead Capital's portfolio page, which offers visualizations and change tracking—note the 45-day reporting lag means positions may evolve.
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