Lululemon calls founder’s ideas ‘misguided’ in public letter

By Jordan Valinsky

3 hours ago

New York —  Lululemon has publicly rejected founder Chip Wilson’s ideas to fix the struggling athleisure brand, which includes an overhaul of its board, with some strongly worded criticisms of its former leader.

Wilson, who is also the company’s second largest shareholder, launched his latest salvo last December in his campaign against the company’s management. He nominated three new directors for Lululemon’s board, including executives from ESPN and Activision Blizzard, saying they were needed to “redefine Lululemon.”

In a letter to shareholders, Lululemon on Monday rejected Wilson’s nominations for the company’s board, saying that voting for them would “endorse his misguided perspectives” and accusing him of attempting to “regain increased influence” over** **the brand he left more than a decade ago.

“Mr. Wilson has shown that he does not have a full understanding of the business today or the brand’s future potential and remains intractably focused on the past,” Lululemon said. “His vision for Lululemon appears to be frozen in time, viewing Lululemon through the lens of a founder who has been outside the boardroom for over a decade and away from any operating responsibility within the company for nearly 15 years.”

The public battle began after Lululemon announced that its CEO, Calvin McDonald, was leaving the company, capping off a seven-year stint. A few months later, Lululemon named former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO, starting in September.

Lululemon’s letter is its first public response to Wilson. He said that the company needs visionary creative leadership to thrive” and that its current board members “lack these skills.”

Wilson, who stepped down as CEO in 2005, has accused the company of losing its “cool” factor and routinely attacked its decisions. In 2025, he criticized Lululemon’s diversity and inclusion efforts. In a 2018 interview with CNN, he said he lost control of the company when it went public and was stifled by its bureaucracy.

Monday’s pointed letter was released ahead of Lululemon’s next shareholders meeting in June, when they will vote on the board. Wilson didn’t immediately respond for comment.

Lululemon also said that it interviewed Wilson’s picks, and “determined that their appointment would not be beneficial to shareholders and, if elected, would remove critical skills” from the board.

Lululemon’s stock has lost 40% of its value this year. It’s been struggling with tariffs, consumer pullback fromdiscretionary spending and mounting competition from brands like Vuori and Alo.

Berkshire Sold Stocks in First Quarter. 6 Takeaways and a Buffett Mystery.

By Andrew Bary

May 17, 2026, 11:32 am EDT

Berkshire Hathaway investors got a look at the conglomerate’s stock holdings as of the end of the first quarter. (AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

About This Summary

• Berkshire Hathaway bought $16 billion and sold $24 billion in the first quarter, liquidating about $14 billion in holdings managed by Todd Combs.
• Berkshire tripled its Alphabet stake to 58 million shares, now valued at $23 billion, and initiated a $3 billion Delta Air Lines position.
• The $24 billion in stock sales resulted in a $2 billion tax bill and sparked debate over divesting blue-chip companies.

Berkshire Hathaway just had one of its most active quarters for stock purchases and sales in recent memory.

First quarter highlights included a big increase in the company’s stake in Alphabet, the initiation of a $3 billion position in Delta Air Lines, and the sale or virtual elimination of stakes in more than a dozen companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, UnitedHealth Group, Constellation Brands, Aon, and Pool.

The changes were detailed in a quarterly 13-F report released after the close of trading on Friday.

All told, Berkshire bought $16 billion of stocks and sold $24 billion in the first quarter, leaving its equity portfolio with a market value of more than $300 billion.

Here are six takeaways from the report:

1. It looks like Berkshire got rid of all—or nearly all—of the equity holdings run by former manager Todd Combs. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett, decided to unload the Combs stocks, and that appears to have happened.

It’s notable that the combined total of the eliminated positions is around $14 billion, Barron’s estimates, in line with the roughly 5% of the portfolio that Combs oversaw before leaving Berkshire for an investment job at JPMorgan Chase in December.

2. The Combs-related sales have prompted a debate about whether it was a bad move by Abel to dump the stocks after Combs left.

Some think it was petty, shortsighted, and expensive, since Berkshire has to pay taxes on the gains—its total tax bill in the quarter related to all its equity sales was about $2 billion. Visa, Mastercard, and Amazon for instance are blue-chip companies with favorable outlooks. Why sell them? The counterargument is that that Combs positions were just 5% of the portfolio, and that without him actively monitoring the stocks, it didn’t make sense to keep them.

3. A big question is which Berkshire manager decided to triple the Alphabet stake to 58 million shares on March 31, from 18 million at year-end. That stake is now Berkshire’s fifth largest holding at $23 billion, behind Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America.

The size of the stake is more than the roughly $18 billion to $20 billion of equities managed by Berkshire manager Ted Weschler, who runs about 6% of the portfolio with Abel overseeing it all.

It therefore could it have been Abel’s first major investment move. Then again, it could have been a choice by chairman Warren Buffett, who still has a hand in running equity investments.

It is a winning investment since Alphabet stock is up 25% this year. It may signal that Abel is willing to make sizable equity investments—an encouraging sign given Berkshire’s desire to invest a chunk of its $380 billion in cash.

4. Weschler’s holdings now are more visible with the sales of the Combs stocks. The bulk of the Berkshire holdings of under $5 billion likely are Weschler investments. They include Davita ($4 billion) and Sirius XM Holdings ($3 billion), both of which he owns personally. Other possible Weschler investments are Kroger ($3.6 billion) and Capital One ($1.3 billion).

Berkshire’s new investment in Delta likely was a Weschler investment. The size of it exactly matches the increased authority of about $3 billion that he got this year as his responsibility went to 6% of the portfolio from 5%, based on Abel’s comments in his annual letter around March 1. Weschler has a value bent, and Delta is the industry leader valued at around 10 times earnings.

5. Combs and Weschler’s investments probably were behind the S&P 500 over the past five years. Looking at the likely Combs and Weschler holdings, there isn’t much that beat the tech-dominated S&P 500 over the past five years. Maybe that’s why Buffett never talked about their investment performance over the past seven years. Each operated independently, although it’s possible there was some investment overlap.

6. Berkshire initiated a small investment in Macy’s , buying three million shares in the first quarter, and raising the question of who was behind that decision. That’s a 1% stake in the depressed retailer, valued at about $55 million.

That purchase could have been made by Buffett. In a CNBC interview on March 31, he was asked whether he was still “making new purchases” of stock as chairman. He replied: “Got one tiny purchase.” It could have been Macy’s. What’s the retailer’s potential appeal? It could be its real estate holdings.

END

(Note the Flair)

It started as a place where value investors hung out, to discuss sieving through high quality gems among stocks that are cheap.

Then this subreddit attracted people looking for serious conversations they could not find elsewhere (eg.”Why did my stock fall?”) but many did not bring the valueinvesting mindset into the conversation. They also did not care. ( case in point: someone here recently lamented that we engaged in bottom feeding, another accused us of catching a falling knife)

The last type of people who come here are the “influencers”, the pond-scums and the scallywags, who are just trying to pump their unprofitable short term below investment-grade stocks onto unsuspecting investors.

———-

Now, I don’t propose we kick out the unconverted but we should seek out the pumpers, the DRAM traders, the momo penny stock pushers, and then block them.

By Andrew Bary
Follow

Updated May 15, 2026 4:58 am EDT / Original May 15, 2026 1:00 am EDT

Key points

- The S&P 500’s 9% rise this year is largely due to a 25% tech sector increase, while other key sectors underperform.

- Many blue-chip stocks outside tech are hitting 52-week lows, with 10 identified, often due to sector-specific issues or AI concerns.

- Stocks like Home Depot, Zoetis, and Accenture are down significantly this year, now trading at lower valuations and offering high dividend

https://www.barrons.com/articles/mcdonalds-home-depot-bargain-quality-stocks-6165b7f8

Aside from technology, a roaring bull market this isn’t.

Several key sectors—financials, healthcare, and consumer staples—are trading below their early-year highs. The S&P 500 index’s 10% rise so far this year has been driven by a 25% rise in the tech sector.

With an effective weighting of about 50% in the index, tech is so dominant now that it can power the market even if other sectors are in the red, as healthcare and financials are this year.

“If you’re not a chip company or building data centers, you’re out of luck,” says Michael Jamison, managing partner at Griffin Asset Management.

One sign of the malaise outside tech is that many blue-chip stocks have been hitting 52-week lows lately. Barron’s identified 10 quality stocks that hit the new-lows list in the past week. Many carry 3%-plus dividend yields.

Let’s start with the king of home improvement.

“I know Home Depot is out of favor, but its scale is enormous,” says Jamison, a fan of the stock and its 3% dividend yield. There are few more dominant retailers.

Investors are worried about depressed home-building and remodeling activity, and the recent uptick in interest rates doesn’t help. The stock is down almost 20% in the past year, to $304, and trades for about 20 times estimated 2026 earnings. When housing perks up, Home Depot should rally.

As the leader in animal health, Zoetis once was viewed as a can’t-miss play on Americans’ infatuation with pets. But pet-oriented medical spending unexpectedly slowed, and Zoetis has been hammered. The stock, at around $75, is off 40% this year and 70% from its 2021 peak.

Morgan Stanley analyst Erin Wright is bullish on the stock, citing the “unmatched breadth” of the Zoetis portfolio.

The stock now trades for about 11 times projected 2026 earnings and yields almost 3%. Zoetis isn’t broken. It’s still capable of high-single-digit annual earnings growth, and there have been recent purchases by company insiders.

Accenture, the consulting and outsourcing leader, keeps telling investors that AI won’t disrupt its business, but Wall Street fears the worst, and the stock keeps dropping.

Accenture shares, at $164, are down nearly 40% this year and trade for under 12 times projected earnings for its fiscal year ending in August. It has a 4% dividend yield and has been making ample stock buybacks, which could eventually lift the share price.

A consulting initiative from OpenAI has rattled the stock lately. UBS analyst Kevin McVeigh remains bullish, noting that Accenture has the scale, “deployment capability,” and skills that upstart AI players lack. He has a Buy rating and an admittedly ambitious $320 price target.

Marsh, a leader in the property-and-casualty insurance brokerage industry, long commanded a premium valuation of over 20 times earnings as a “capital light” way to play insurance industry growth without taking underwriting risk.

Shares of Marsh and other insurance brokers have been hit for two reasons: a potential AI threat to brokerage and consulting services, and a more competitive P&C pricing environment, which is dampening revenue growth. The AI threat to the brokerage business seems overblown given the complexity of corporate insurance needs.

Marsh stock, at $160, is down 28% over the past year and now trades for 15 times projected 2026 earnings. UBS analyst Brian Meredith has a Buy rating and $235 price target, citing a resilient business model and ample capital returns.

In a K-shaped economy driven by affluent Americans, McDonald’s reliance on lower-income consumers hurting from high gasoline prices worries Wall Street.

The stock, at around $275, trades for around 20 times earnings and yields almost 3%.

“We believe risk/reward for MCD shares is attractive despite near-term pressures, given catalysts with potential to drive market share gains & strengthen U.S. sales growth, and defensive characteristics,” wrote UBS analyst Dennis Geiger in a recent client note.

Wall Street hates McCormick’s deal in March to buy the larger Unilever food business. Investors fear McCormick is overpaying, taking on too much debt, and diluting one of the better food franchises, which had been focused on spices and flavorings.

The damage to McCormick stock could be over with the shares off 31% this year to around $46. TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow is bullish, arguing that Unilever has good brands like Hellmann’s and gives McCormick greater exposure to higher-growth emerging markets.

The stock now trades for about 15 times projected 2026 earnings—half the multiple of three years ago—and yields 4%.

Republic Services is No. 2 nationally behind Waste Management in garbage collection and recycling. It has a steady growth business with a competitive moat in scarce landfills, annuity-like revenue, and 90%-plus annual customer retention.

This year’s earning growth is expected to be subpar at around 4% but accelerating to nearly 10% in 2027. The stock, at about $208, has an above-market multiple at 28 times projected 2026 earnings. Garbage is a good business, and Republic stock is rarely cheap.

Abbott Laboratories used to be one of the most reliable big companies in the healthcare sector.

That changed this year. First-quarter results showed a decline in its infant formula business, and there was a cut to 2026 earnings guidance related to Abbott’s pricey purchase of Exact Sciences, a maker of a colon cancer diagnostic test.

The stock now looks appealing after falling 32% this year to $85. It trades for 15 times projected 2026 earnings—down from a price/earnings ratio of 25 a year ago—and yields 3%. UBS’s Priya Sachdeva is bullish, citing “the resiliency of ABT’s diversified portfolio.” The company could get back to 10%-plus earnings growth in 2027.

Medtronic, a leader in medical devices, has seen its stock fall 20% this year to around $77 and is no higher than it was a decade ago.

The potential negative impact of GLP-1 drugs on knee and hip replacements, on top of tariffs, has depressed the medical-devices sector this year. Medtronic’s business, however, is focused on GLP-1 resistant cardiology and neurology.

The stock looks inexpensive, trading for 13 times earnings in its fiscal year ending in April 2027 and yielding 3.7%. Profit growth is expected to accelerate to about 10% next fiscal year from 2% in the current one.

Danaher offers medical diagnostic products and equipment used in the biotech industry.

Those are strong end markets, but the stock is down 28% this year, to $164, as investors reacted to weak core sales growth of just 1% in the first quarter. The company has a high-single-digit long-term annual revenue target. The stock now trades for 20 times 2026 earnings. Danaher’s earnings per share are expected to rise about 8% this year and in 2027, with the company targeting double-digit long-term growth.

Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com

Company / Ticker	Recent Price	52-Week Change	Market Value (billion)
Abbott Laboratories / ABT	$84.90	-34.0%	$148
Accenture / ACN	163.99	-48.8	101
Danaher / DHR	164.54	-12.4	116
Home Depot / HD	304.35	-18.4	303
Marsh / MRSH	160.02	-28.1	77
McCormick / MKC	46.51	-36.7	13
McDonald's / MCD	274.97	-10.6	195
Medtronic / MDT	76.97	-8.6	99
Republic Services / RSG	208.68	-12.3	64
Zoetis / ZTS	75.48	-51.3	32

Note the flair: Humor

Speculation only. Definitely off topic but no less interesting:

Well as of 6 hours ago, the news have reported that the bosses of BA and GE are confirmed going to China.

Speculation: The administration will sign a 500 plane deal with China. 737max and 777 wide bodies. AllPowered by GE engines.

Speculation: GE will separately sign a deal with China to supply Comac C919 domestic China planes with the GE engines.

(Again) this is my speculation only. My last post on this topic was October last year which didn’t happen as the trip was postponed. I feel more confident now because the last minute trip confirmation came from GE.

(Disclosure: GE is half my portfolio, bought and held since 2018. It is probably too late to buy BA or GE. My last WTB price on GE was 270-250)