ClearBridge Trims Oracle, Holds Broadcom as AI-Led Market Concentration Weighs on Results

Overview

• ClearBridge’s Q4 2025 investor letters for its Dividend Strategy and Large Cap Growth Strategy describe a third straight AI-driven, highly concentrated market.
• The Dividend Strategy says it significantly reduced Oracle after 2025’s surge, citing the capital intensity of AI data center contracts, potential balance-sheet strain, and investment‑grade rating concerns, while retaining a modest stake.
• ClearBridge maintained Broadcom exposure, highlighting ASIC leadership, customer diversification from Nvidia, improving margins, and limited incremental capital requirements.
• The Large Cap Growth Strategy underperformed the Russell 1000 Growth Index by about 900 basis points in 2025 and lagged in Q4, and it regrets not scaling Alphabet and Broadcom more after Alphabet’s gains tied to Gemini and TPU traction and a less onerous DOJ outcome.
• ClearBridge notes 2025’s return gap between the market-cap and equal-weight S&P 500 (17.9% vs. 11.4%), with hedge fund ownership rising for Broadcom (183 portfolios) and Alphabet (186) in Q3 2025 and slightly declining for Oracle (122).