Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Meridian Contrarian Fund”. The Fund aims to invest in undervalued companies with clear catalysts for sustainable improvement. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The US equities market started 2026 with volatility driven by trade policy uncertainty and heightened geopolitical risks. Early-period gains were attributed to confidence in domestic companies and to the Federal Reserve easing. However, sentiment deteriorated following increased tariffs and military strikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. During the quarter, Meridian Contrarian Fund returned 1.10% compared to the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 2.04% return and its secondary benchmark, the Russell 2500 Value Index’s 4.77% return. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Meridian Contrarian Fund highlighted Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PACK). Headquartered in Concord, Ohio, Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PACK) provides sustainable protective packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains. On June 26, 2026, Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PACK) closed at $7.31 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $607.36 million. Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PACK) posted a one-month return of 2.90%, and its shares gained 98.60% over the past 52 weeks.
Meridian Contrarian Fund stated the following regarding Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PACK) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Ranpak Holdings Corp. (NYSE:PACK) is a manufacturer of paper-based protective packaging solutions. The company was an early leader in sustainable packaging products, which are superior to plastic, foam, and other common packaging materials. We first invested in 2023 after Ranpak’s earnings declined due to tough ecommerce comps post-pandemic and as profitability was impacted by investments in its automation products. Our thesis was that Ranpak would continue to gain share in the large protective packaging market and that the automation business would gain traction and reach profitable scale. During the quarter, the stock performed poorly due to soft earnings results blamed on the macro environment, and was exacerbated by higher EU energy prices, driven by the conflict in Iran, which will impact profitability for the ~45% of sales that come from that region. We trimmed our position during the quarter for risk management purposes, but we remain shareholders due to the large potential of the automation business.”