Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust Reports Strong Returns, Narrowing Discount, and Ongoing Shareholder Activism

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust reports strong half-year returns, a narrowing discount to 6.3%, and continued shareholder activism.

23 January 2026by Joshua Thompson5 min read22 views

This article covers information on Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust PLC.

LON:USA

Half-year to 30 November 2025: strong returns and a tighter discount

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (BGUS) delivered a lively half-year. The share price total return was 18.0%, with NAV total return at 14.1%, against 18.6% for the S&P 500 (all in sterling). The discount to NAV narrowed sharply from 9.4% to 6.3%, helped by steady buybacks and a friendlier backdrop for growth stocks.

Since launch in March 2018, NAV is up 207.9% and the share price 181.1%, versus 220.5% for the S&P 500. The Board flags that five-year numbers remain disappointing due to the comedown from exceptional COVID-era gains, but sees an improving setup for innovative, growth-focused businesses.

Key numbers investors care about

Metric	Figure	Comment
Share price total return (6 months)	18.0%	To 30 November 2025
NAV total return (6 months)	14.1%	Vs S&P 500 at 18.6%
Discount to NAV	6.3%	Narrowed from 9.4%
Buybacks	4,505,000 shares	£11.9 million cost
Total assets	£872.5 million	Before loans of £37.7 million
Net assets	£834.7 million	NAV per share 301.64p
Share price (period end)	282.50p	At 30 November 2025
Net gearing	3%	Down from 4%
Private company exposure	29.9%	27 holdings
3-year NAV growth	60.7%	Chair’s statement
Since launch NAV gain	207.9%	To 30 November 2025

Discount management and why it’s working

BGUS kept the discount in focus and used buybacks as a lever. Repurchasing 4.5 million shares modestly boosted NAV per share and helped smooth discount volatility. At 6.3%, the discount now sits well inside the AIC North America sector average of 20.8% as at 30 November 2025.

Jargon watch: the “discount” is the gap between the share price and NAV per share. Narrowing is usually positive – it means the market is paying closer to full value for the portfolio.

Portfolio moves: AI, crypto infrastructure and hard hats

The team leaned into themes they see compounding: artificial intelligence, digital finance infrastructure and resilient US infrastructure spending.

New buys: Circle Internet (USDC stablecoin issuer), Figma (collaborative design), Coinbase (crypto exchange), AppLovin (adtech), Knife River (aggregates and ready-mix) and Anthropic (private AI model company).
Complete exits: Airbnb, Roku and Chewy.
Additions: CoStar, Oddity and Samsara.
Trims after strength: Roblox, Affirm, Shopify, DoorDash; reduced Circle after post-IPO gains.

Private companies were 29.9% of assets at period end (down from 34.9%). BillionToOne listed successfully during the period.

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SpaceX: trimmed for risk, then a material uplift

BGUS reduced SpaceX during the half as the position had grown beyond 10% and there was no clear IPO timeline. Post period end, a significant corporate event after press speculation about a possible IPO led to a material uplift in the retained holding. As at 21 January 2026, SpaceX represented 11.5% of total assets.

My take: trimming was sensible risk management; concentration at 11.5% is still punchy and will likely be a driver of future NAV volatility – in both directions.

What tops the book today?

At 30 November 2025, the portfolio had notable weights in:

SpaceX (combined series) – 5.9% of total assets at period end; 11.5% as at 21 January 2026
Stripe – 5.5%
Shopify – 5.1%
Amazon – 5.0%
BillionToOne – 4.7%
NVIDIA – 4.5%
Meta Platforms – 4.4%
Netflix – 4.0%
Cloudflare – 3.9%

It’s a high-conviction growth list, with explicit AI exposure via NVIDIA, Databricks, Anthropic and Runway AI, and digital finance via Stripe, Coinbase and Circle.

Financials, gearing and dividends

BGUS reported gains on investments of £107.2 million and a net return after tax of £102.8 million (34.87p per share). Borrowings total US$50 million across two revolving facilities maturing in 2026; net gearing sat at a modest 3% at period end.

Dividend seekers, look elsewhere. No interim dividend was declared and the policy is to prioritise capital growth, paying only what’s required to maintain investment trust status. In plain English: don’t expect income here.

Private valuations: frequency, process and the data

Private holdings are valued at fair value using a robust process overseen by an internal valuations group with independent input from S&P Global. Revaluations are on a rolling three-month cycle, with swift ad hoc updates for trigger events such as IPO intentions or material news.

In the period, the average movement in private company valuations was +7.4% and the average movement in investee share prices +3.7%.
69.5% of the private portfolio was revalued twice, and 30.5% was revalued three to six times over the six months.

Why this matters: transparent and timely private valuations help investors trust the NAV – a key ingredient in narrowing the discount.

Shareholder activism: Saba, the blocked merger, and what’s next

Engagement remained intense. After Saba’s requisitioned meeting in February 2025, the Board explored a merger with Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWIT). Despite strategic overlap, the deal didn’t proceed because Saba, the largest shareholder, blocked it. The Board says it won’t advance the proposal further at this time.

Several AGM resolutions faced significant votes against, largely attributed to Saba. The Board sought engagement; Saba declined. Other shareholders were broadly supportive, so no changes are planned on that front. Expect continued focus on discount control and retail shareholder engagement in the months ahead.

What I’m watching from here

Discount trajectory: buybacks helped; can sustained performance and clearer private valuations push it below 5%?
SpaceX path: after the “material uplift”, how does the Trust manage concentration and any future liquidity events?
AI compounding: execution at NVIDIA, Databricks, Anthropic, Figma and Runway AI will be central to the thesis.
Private exposure: currently 29.9%. A drift lower could broaden the shareholder base and support the discount, but risks missing upside – it’s a balance.
Risk controls: net gearing at 3% is conservative; I’d expect that stance to continue given private holdings.
Activism overhang: no live merger work now, but the register dynamics could still shape capital allocation and discount policy.

Overall, this was a good half: solid returns, active portfolio upgrades, tighter discount, and a clear view on risk. The five-year record still needs rebuilding, but if the AI “vertigo” thesis compounds, BGUS remains well placed to benefit. As ever, past performance is not a guide to future returns.