C3.ai (AI) Stays Central to AI Debate as Capital Intensity Challenges Investor Confidence

Apis Capital Advisors’ Apis Flagship Fund released its Q4 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Apis Flagship Fund delivered strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the Fund up 10.0% net for the quarter and gaining 55.1% for the full year, significantly outperforming the MSCI ACWI global benchmark by approximately 7.0% in Q4 and 33.0% for the year. Long positions drove the majority of gains as they generated 11.9% gross contribution, while shorts added a further 0.8% gross, with the portfolio positioned around 68% net long as of December. Performance was broad-based, as Technology and Healthcare led quarterly returns, and strong contributions also came from basic materials, while small-capitalization stocks narrowed their traditional underperformance relative to large caps. Looking ahead, the firm highlighted its continued emphasis on bottom-up stock selection, structural exposures to niche opportunities across healthcare, semiconductors, and industrials, and the persistent attractiveness of non-U.S. markets as key drivers for future potential returns. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Apis Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like C3.ai (NYSE:AI). C3.ai (NYSE:AI) is an enterprise software company providing artificial intelligence applications and platforms that enable organizations to deploy AI at scale across industrial and government use cases. The one-month return of C3.ai (NYSE:AI) was -21.40% while its shares traded between $10.90 and $35.98 over the last 52 weeks. On January 30, 2026, C3.ai (NYSE:AI) stock closed at approximately $11.01 per share, with a market capitalization of about $1.55 billion.

Apis Capital Advisors’ Apis Flagship Fund stated the following regarding C3.ai (NYSE:AI) in its Q4 2025 investor letter:

On the short side, the fourth quarter was particularly strong, with small absolute gains despite rising equity markets. C3.ai (NYSE:AI) was among the top contributors, which is highlighted in the accompanying Value Investor Insight article, and ranked among the top short-side gainers for both the quarter and the full year. The largest detractor in the short book also appeared in both periods – a “quantum computing” name that captured retail investor attention.

C3.ai (NYSE:AI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 21 hedge fund portfolios held C3.ai (NYSE:AI) at the end of the third quarter, which was 30 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of C3.ai (NYSE:AI) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered C3.ai (NYSE:AI) and shared the list of Agentic AI stocks to buy right now. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.