Broyhill Asset Management’s Leading Contributor: Valvoline (VVV)

Soumya Eswaran

Mon, May 18, 2026 at 9:58 AM EDT 3 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 Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) as a leading performance contributor. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) is a US-based automotive preventive maintenance company that offers oil changes, battery, bulb, and wiper replacements; tire rotations; and other maintenance services. On May 15, 2026, Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) closed at $32.39 per share. One-month return of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) was -6.50%, and its shares lost 7.35% over the past 52 weeks. Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion.

Broyhill Asset Management stated the following regarding Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

"Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) was our largest contributor in the quarter. While the market spent its days hallucinating about the terminal value of artificial intelligence, Valvoline went on quietly changing oil, opening new stores, while moving more cars through its bays than any other competitor in the industry. Since we’ve owned it, shares have exhibited significantly more volatility than the business itself, but what matters is that the underlying unit economics are intact, while unit growth, service mix, and price continue moving in the same direction."

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 40 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) delivered sales of $504 million, a 25% increase year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) 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.