Sosin Partners, the concentrated hedge fund headed by Howard Sosin, is up more than 41 percent for the year after nearly quadrupling its performance in May. The hedge fund owns just four stocks, and more than three quarters of its assets are invested in online used-car company Carvana.
Shares of Carvana surged 34 percent in May and were up about 61 percent over the first five months of the year.
Not surprising, Sosin’s performance moves with Carvana’s stock — although the fund was down a bit less than 1 percent in the first quarter as Carvana’s stock rose slightly.
Notably, Carvana was Third Point’s biggest loser in March and the third-biggest detractor in the first quarter, according to the firm’s March monthly report. This was unexpected, as Third Point had not reported owning a stake in the company in either its fourth-quarter or first-quarter filing. The fund apparently established the position in the first quarter and liquidated it before quarter-end.
Sosin established his position in 2018 and has been betting his fund’s fortunes on Carvana for several years. That bet has paid off, albeit with a huge speed bump along the way.
Sosin Partners was up 94 percent in 2024 and 80 percent the previous year, after losing 77 percent in 2022. But since bottoming out just before Christmas 2022, Carvana’s shares have swelled about 73 times.
In the first quarter of 2025, Sosin trimmed its stake by nearly 11 percent. With the hedge fund up 41 percent this year, it seems to have finally returned to its high-water mark. Sosin declined to comment or to confirm this estimate.
In 2024, Carvana reported $990 million in operating income on roughly $13.7 billion in revenues. In first-quarter 2025, it reported about $4.2 billion in revenue, up 20 percent from the previous year, as operating income surged 51 percent, to $394 million.
Only one of Sosin’s three other stocks plays a meaningful role in performance: Time share giant Hilton Grand Vacations accounted for nearly 14 percent of assets at the end of the first quarter, though Sosin reduced its stake by about 12 percent during the period. The stock was up almost 14 percent in May but is down slightly for the year.
Financial services company Capital One Financial, Sosin’s third-largest long, made up more than 8 percent of assets at the end of March. Cardlytics, the hedge fund’s smallest position, represented less than 1 percent. It partners with financial institutions to help marketers identify potential customers.
In the fourth quarter, Sosin liquidated its tiny position in consumer finance company World Acceptance Corp., reducing its portfolio to just four stocks.
