Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) Traded Down on Weak Earnings

Oakmark Funds, advised by Harris Associates, recently released its “Oakmark Global Fund” second quarter 2025 investor letter. The fund did not perform as well as its benchmark, the MSCI World Index (net), during the second quarter. The letter, which can be downloaded here, highlighted that the largest performance contributors were industrials and financials at the sector level, while health care and energy detracted from the fund’s performance.

One of the stocks mentioned in the investor letter was Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX). Becton, Dickinson and Company is a medical device company known for developing and manufacturing medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. Despite a one-month return of 4.21%, the company’s shares lost 23.24% of their value over the last 52 weeks. As of July 14, 2025, Becton, Dickinson and Company stock closed at $177.09 per share with a market capitalization of $50.755 billion.

In the investor letter, Oakmark Global Fund expressed its views on Becton, Dickinson and Company’s performance during the quarter. The company faced challenges in its fiscal second-quarter earnings, which were impacted by research spending cuts, volume-based procurement challenges in China, and pharma syringe destocking. Despite these headwinds, Oakmark believes that the market is overlooking Becton, Dickinson and Company’s strong margin progress and operational improvements. The fund sees potential for the company to leverage its innovation and low-cost manufacturing capabilities to unlock further value.

While Becton, Dickinson and Company is not among the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds, it was held in 54 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the first quarter. Oakmark Global Fund acknowledges the investment potential of Becton, Dickinson and Company but believes that certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and lower downside risk. For investors looking for an undervalued AI stock that could benefit from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, Oakmark suggests checking out their free report on the best short-term AI stock.

Overall, Oakmark Global Fund’s investor letter provides valuable insights into the fund’s performance and investment strategy for the second quarter of 2025. Investors interested in learning more about the fund’s top holdings and investment outlook can refer to the full letter for detailed information.