Giverny Capital Trims Installed Building Products Stake in Q1

Giverny Capital Asset Management cut its position in Installed Building Products (IBP) during the first quarter, the firm disclosed in its latest investor letter. The investment manager did not specify the size of the reduction.

The model portfolio fell 6.88% in Q1, trailing the S&P 500's 4.33% decline. Over the past 12 months, the fund returned 8.52% against the index's 17.80% gain.

The letter pointed to geopolitical conflicts and lingering inflation concerns as headwinds in the quarter. The trim in IBP, a construction-services provider whose revenue tracks U.S. housing starts and repair activity, may reflect a broader cautious stance on housing-sensitive names amid rate uncertainty.

Giverny Capital, based in Florida, runs a concentrated equity portfolio. The firm does not disclose individual position sizes in its letters, only material changes in holdings. IBP shares fell about 10% in Q1, in line with the broader homebuilder selloff, as mortgage rates stayed above 7% and new-home sales softened.

The fund has owned IBP for several quarters. The trim brings the position closer in line with the stock's weight in the benchmark, though the fund remains overweight residential construction exposure relative to the S&P 500, according to the letter.