Broyhill Asset Management Sold Ball Corporation (BALL) as the Thesis Validated

Soumya Eswaran

Mon, May 18, 2026 at 9:53 AM EDT 2 min read

Broyhill Asset Management, an investment advisor, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Broyhill Equity Composite declined 6.0% in the first quarter, net of all fees and expenses, lagging the MSCI All Country World Index, which declined 3.1%. After a strong start to the year, global stocks fell sharply following the strikes on Iran. The firm’s defensive strategy, with nearly half the portfolio invested in noncyclical sectors, failed to provide the historical protection in the quarter. The portfolio underperformed in the quarter because of its high exposure to non-cyclical industries, lack of energy investments, and over half of its investments are made outside the United States. In addition, please check the Portfolio’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Broyhill Asset Management highlighted stocks like Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL). Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) is a leading aluminum packaging company serving beverage, personal care, and household products industries. On May 15, 2026, Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) closed at $55.20 per share. One-month return of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) was -12.42%, and its shares gained 3.21% over the past 52 weeks. Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion.

Broyhill Asset Management stated the following regarding Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

"Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) rounded out our top three contributors during the quarter. When we initially acquired the position, our thesis centered around the company’s post-aerospace-divestiture status, which left it a pure-play packaging company well positioned to return significant capital to investors. As the thesis played out, we sold into the re-rating and redeployed proceeds into more attractive opportunities."

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 45 hedge fund portfolios held Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 43 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.