By: Philip MacKellar

Published: Dec 29, 2025

Another year is nearly in the books, which means it is time to review our columns to see how each stock performed.

To kick-start the year, Benj Gallander wrote about Banco Bradesco. This Brazil-based bank saw its ticker jump nearly 19 per cent in May after a strong first quarter, and it never looked back. Results have continued to grow and impress since then. The bank was recently added to the Brazil IBRX 50 Index, reinforcing its position as a leader in the country’s financial sector. BBD is up 75.4 per cent year-to-date, before its handsome dividend, a respectable run since its purchase last December.

Neo Performance Materials Inc. was one of Philip MacKellar’s top picks for 2025 and was featured in January. Our average purchase price is $7.41 and, since landing in the portfolio, it has excelled. Neo is up 97.5 per cent year-to-date as it is one of the few rare-earth companies with significant operations outside of China. In August, nearly a third of the position was sold at $18.09. This translated into a return of 114.1 per cent. The ticker rallied further in September but has tapered off since then. We remain bullish on Neo and have upped our sell target on the remainder of the holding.

Ceragon Networks Ltd. was a top pick in 2024. We trimmed our stake at $4.94 in January, 2025, for a 161.4-per-cent gain and wrote about this sale in February. Since then, the stock has fallen by more than half. Ceragon has been weighed down by poor performance in India where many projects have been delayed and a large customer faced financial hardship in the summer. These challenges may persist into next year but India’s underlying trends are excellent. We have now repurchased our original position, and then some.

Telefónica SA’s 2025 was strong up until November, when it marked a sharp reversal. The shares suffered their largest single-month decline in years after management halved the dividend for 2026. The move reflects a pivot toward debt reduction and possible M&A. Telefónica also transferred its ADR (American Depository Receipt) listing on the NYSE to the Over-the-Counter exchange in a bid to save more money. As Benj wrote back in February, this Spanish telecom is not for the faint of heart.

Banco Santander, referred to back in March as our dividend aristocrat, has boomed this year, appreciating 159.2 per cent. The performance has been driven by record profits, improving efficiency and solid credit quality. A generous dividend and buyback further boosted investor confidence. We sold roughly half of the stake at $8.11 in June for a 197.1-per-cent gain, and then another quarter of the position at $9.53 in August for a 249-per-cent return.

We wrote about the Hudson’s Bay Co. bankruptcy and its impact on our holding in RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust in April. The article concluded that the issues could be significant but not problematic enough to justify selling the REIT. Since then, RioCan has performed well and is up roughly 14.6 per cent.

Also in April, Philip wrote about his crisis investing playbook, arguing that it was a good time to buy. In early April, the benchmarks were plummeting and sentiment was awful as investors worried about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. As contrarians, we welcome such sell-offs. The stock market has done remarkably well since this write-up, which highlights the value of investing against the crowd.

In May, we penned a bearish article on Beyond Meat Inc. On the surface, it seems like a good contrarian candidate as it is beaten up and unloved. Unfortunately, the reality could not be further from the truth. The top line was in decline, the bottom line was losing hundreds of millions and the balance sheet looked awful. Though we do not short stocks here at Contra the Heard, sometimes companies such as Beyond Meat tempt us to consider it. Since publishing this article, the ticker has fallen 71.2 per cent.

In June, Century Aluminum Co. was covered. We used to own the aluminum smelter years ago as it was volatile and once had a clean balance sheet. Alas, the organization has taken on too much debt since we sold our final tranche in 2022. Nevertheless, we thought it might benefit from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Investors willing to hold leveraged corporations have been rewarded and the stock is up 103.6 per cent since June.

Back in July, we looked at the global condom market, focusing on leader Reckitt Benckiser. It has hada strong year, with a 35-per-cent gain year-to-date. Steady demand, cost management and brand campaigns helped boost revenue and margins, while new product launches reinforced its market leadership.

Also in July, we discussed trimming our holding in the Global X MSCI Greece ETF for a 109.2-per-cent gain. We took a position in GREK in October, 2015, when the Greek financial crisis was in full swing. The investment in GREK highlighted the value of patience, diversification overseas, and buying during a crisis. We continue to own roughly half our original stake as the valuations are good and the Greek economy is performing well. The ETF is up a modest 11.7 per cent since July.

The Laurentian Bank saga appears to be nearing an end. In September, we argued the bank looked ripe for a takeover. In November, Fairstone Bank and National Bank announced an acquisition deal, including the purchase of all common shares at $40.50 apiece. Then in December, we discussed the transaction in detail. The company should exit the public market next year, providing investors with cash for their next trade.

TransAlta Corp.was the subject of choice in October. It had been in our portfolio since 2016 when it was purchased at an average price of $6.30. We unloaded the position in pieces starting in December, 2024. Our final tranche was sold as the artificial-intelligence boom jolted utilities higher. This October, the final sale price was $21.09 for a gain of 234.8 per cent. We thought the valuations were stretched and argued utilities would be in trouble if the AI trade did not work out as expected. Since then, the shares have tumbled and are down 17.3 per cent.

Thank you to all our readers this year, and happy holidays. Stay tuned for more columns in 2026 and best of luck in your investment endeavours next year.

Philip MacKellar is a writer for the Contra the Heard Investment Letter