Capital Research Global's $542B Q4 Filing: Netflix Up 800%, Applied Materials Built to $8.4B, and $1B in MicroStrategy

Capital Research Global Investors just filed the second Capital Group 13F in a row with a massive Netflix build. Shares surged 800% in Q4 2025, turning a modest position into a $4 billion holding. Its sister division, Capital International Investors, did the same thing — building Netflix by 710% in the same quarter.

When two independent divisions of the same firm make nearly identical multi-billion-dollar moves simultaneously, that's not coincidence. That's institutional conviction at the organizational level.

TL;DR

• AUM: $541.7 billion across 434 holdings (up from $533.0B in Q3)
• Top-5 concentration: 26.7% — meaningfully concentrated for a $542B fund
• Top holding: Microsoft at $35.5B (6.5%), followed by NVIDIA at $32.0B (5.9%)
• Netflix build: Shares up 800% to $4.0B — second Capital Group entity to do this
• Applied Materials: Shares doubled (+120%) to $8.4B — massive semiconductor equipment conviction
• MicroStrategy (MSTR): Up 67% to $1.06B — a Bitcoin proxy in a $542B institutional portfolio
• Eli Lilly: $26.4B at #4 (4.9% of portfolio) — fourth-largest single position
• Meta trimmed: Shares cut 25% despite remaining at $11.8B
• UnitedHealth cut 52%, Las Vegas Sands cut 52% — aggressive selling
• Uber at #10: $9.3B position, unusual for a mega-filer top-10

The Netflix Signal Across Capital Group

Capital Group operates multiple investment divisions that make independent decisions. But in Q4 2025, two of them converged on the same trade:

Division	NFLX Share Increase	New Position Size
Capital International Investors	+710%	$2.5B
Capital Research Global Investors	+800%	$4.0B
Royal Bank of Canada	+893%	$2.1B

Three of the largest filers in the world — representing over $1.8 trillion in combined AUM — all made enormous Netflix moves in the same quarter. Combined, these three added roughly $7.6 billion in Netflix exposure in Q4 alone. This is the kind of institutional consensus formation that retail investors typically discover only months later.

Applied Materials: The Semiconductor Equipment Bet

Applied Materials shares more than doubled (+120%) in Capital Research Global's portfolio, pushing the position to $8.4 billion. This makes AMAT one of the largest single-stock positions outside the Magnificent Seven.

The thesis goes beyond the generic AI narrative. Applied Materials makes the equipment that fabricates chips — it profits regardless of whether NVIDIA, Broadcom, or AMD wins the AI chip war. As semiconductor capex surges globally (TSMC, Intel, Samsung are all spending record amounts), AMAT captures the picks-and-shovels upside.

With Corning also up 53% ($1.5B) — a glass and fiber optic supplier to the tech infrastructure buildout — Capital Research Global is betting on the companies that enable AI infrastructure, not just the ones that design the chips.

MicroStrategy: The Institutional Bitcoin Proxy

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising position: MicroStrategy (now called Strategy Inc.) at $1.06 billion, up 67% in shares. In a $542 billion institutional portfolio managed by one of the world's most conservative investment firms, a billion-dollar Bitcoin proxy is notable.

Capital Research Global isn't buying Bitcoin directly — 13F rules wouldn't capture that anyway. But by holding MSTR, which has accumulated over 506,000 Bitcoin on its balance sheet, they're gaining crypto exposure through a publicly-traded equity. It's a calculated way to add alternative asset exposure without deviating from the 13F reporting framework.

Combined with the Uber position at #10 ($9.3B) and Carvana at $2.4B (+43%), this portfolio has a growth-at-any-valuation streak that distinguishes it from more conservative peers.

The $26 Billion Eli Lilly Position

Eli Lilly at $26.4 billion (4.9% of portfolio) makes it the fund's fourth-largest position. Only Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Broadcom rank higher.

The context makes this interesting: Lilly Endowment — the pharmaceutical family's charitable foundation — has been legally forced to sell $111.8 billion in LLY stock over two decades. Capital Research Global, meanwhile, has been buying on the other side. This quarter, shares were trimmed just 2.1% — essentially holding steady while the GLP-1 drug narrative plays out.

What Got Cut: Meta, UnitedHealth, Las Vegas Sands

The sell side of the portfolio is equally revealing:

• Meta — shares cut 25% ($11.8B remaining). While most mega-filers added to Meta in Q4, Capital Research Global went the other direction. This is a contrarian trim of a consensus favorite.
• UnitedHealth Group — cut 52% ($2.1B remaining). A dramatic halving of a healthcare giant, potentially reflecting regulatory risk concerns or profit-taking after years of outperformance.
• Las Vegas Sands — cut 52% ($1.1B). The Macau-exposed casino operator faces ongoing China recovery uncertainty.
• Caterpillar — cut 34% ($1.6B). Industrial trimming, interesting given that sister entity Capital International added Caterpillar as a new $1.2B position — the two divisions diverging on the same stock.

RTX and Uber: The Non-Obvious Top 10

Most mega-filer top 10 lists look identical: NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, META. Capital Research Global diverges with two unusual entries:

RTX Corporation at #8 ($14.0B, 2.6%) — The defense and aerospace conglomerate (formerly Raytheon Technologies). With defense budgets rising globally and commercial aviation in a multi-year recovery, RTX sits at the intersection of two secular tailwinds. Holding $14B in a defense contractor makes this one of the largest institutional defense bets in the 13F universe.

Uber at #10 ($9.3B, 1.7%) — Few $500B+ filers carry Uber in their top 10. Capital Research Global sees it as a core holding, likely valuing the autonomous vehicle optionality alongside the ride-sharing and delivery cash flows.

Capital Research Global vs. Capital International: Sister Funds, Different Bets

Both entities are divisions of Capital Group, but their Q4 portfolios reveal meaningful differences:

Metric	Capital International	Capital Research Global
AUM	$638B	$542B
Top holding	AVGO (7.7%)	MSFT (6.5%)
LLY position	Not in top 10	#4 at $26.4B
Caterpillar	New $1.2B buy	Trimmed 34%
Netflix	+710%	+800%
MicroStrategy	No position	$1.06B

The Netflix convergence is striking against the Caterpillar divergence. Independent research teams within the same firm, reaching opposite conclusions on the industrial cycle but unanimous conviction on streaming. This is what active management looks like at institutional scale.

What Would You Ask About This Portfolio?

Why trim Meta while everyone else is adding?

Capital Research Global may be taking profits after Meta's 2024 rally or expressing concern about AI capex costs exceeding revenue generation. A 25% trim while maintaining $11.8B is a moderation of conviction, not an exit. The fund still holds more Meta than most hedge funds hold in their entire portfolio.

Is the MicroStrategy position a Bitcoin bet?

Effectively, yes. MSTR holds 506,000+ Bitcoin and trades as a leveraged crypto proxy. At $1.06B, it represents 0.2% of the portfolio — small enough to be experimental, large enough to matter if Bitcoin doubles. It's a convex bet: limited downside relative to portfolio, meaningful upside if crypto surges.

What does the Applied Materials build signal about semiconductors?

AMAT benefits from all semiconductor capex regardless of which chip designer wins. The +120% build to $8.4B suggests Capital Research Global sees the capex cycle extending further, with TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and new fab entrants all spending aggressively on next-gen manufacturing equipment.