The Growth Fund of America®
Investment portfolio
November 30, 2019
unaudited
Common stocks 93.02% Information technology 22.50% | Shares | Value (000) |
Microsoft Corp. | 67,528,919 | $10,222,528 |
Broadcom Inc. | 12,385,177 | 3,916,317 |
Mastercard Inc., Class A | 10,627,767 | 3,105,752 |
ASML Holding NV | 6,931,660 | 1,886,242 |
ASML Holding NV (New York registered) | 4,315,005 | 1,167,727 |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 182,966,000 | 1,829,030 |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) | 8,743,000 | 464,166 |
Autodesk, Inc.1 | 8,971,286 | 1,622,906 |
Fiserv, Inc.1 | 13,443,369 | 1,562,657 |
Visa Inc., Class A | 7,885,261 | 1,454,910 |
ServiceNow, Inc.1 | 4,877,736 | 1,380,594 |
FleetCor Technologies, Inc.1 | 3,861,659 | 1,185,220 |
PayPal Holdings, Inc.1 | 10,496,639 | 1,133,742 |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 25,115,380 | 1,069,554 |
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | 7,541,244 | 1,041,823 |
Applied Materials, Inc. | 17,713,505 | 1,025,612 |
Intel Corp. | 16,272,010 | 944,590 |
RingCentral, Inc., Class A1 | 4,151,247 | 715,966 |
Workday, Inc., Class A1 | 3,602,431 | 645,267 |
MongoDB, Inc., Class A1 | 4,302,939 | 639,847 |
Micron Technology, Inc.1 | 12,204,383 | 579,830 |
Atlassian Corp. PLC, Class A1 | 4,526,725 | 575,392 |
Square, Inc., Class A1 | 6,449,475 | 445,788 |
Shopify Inc., Class A, subordinate voting shares1 | 1,270,000 | 427,673 |
Keyence Corp. | 1,074,000 | 367,371 |
NetApp, Inc. | 5,307,874 | 321,604 |
Paycom Software, Inc.1 | 1,115,544 | 308,794 |
Adobe Inc.1 | 973,711 | 301,393 |
salesforce.com, inc.1 | 1,838,832 | 299,527 |
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. | 4,313,748 | 259,041 |
Analog Devices, Inc. | 2,162,802 | 244,288 |
Accenture PLC, Class A | 1,186,891 | 238,755 |
DocuSign, Inc.1 | 3,284,699 | 233,903 |
Trimble Inc.1 | 5,193,744 | 210,502 |
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. | 1,369,875 | 208,139 |
Global Payments Inc. | 1,034,905 | 187,421 |
Qorvo, Inc.1 | 1,657,848 | 172,764 |
Apple Inc. | 610,044 | 163,034 |
NortonLifeLock Inc. | 6,499,405 | 161,835 |
TE Connectivity Ltd. | 1,739,841 | 161,301 |
Arista Networks, Inc.1 | 803,747 | 156,835 |
VMware, Inc., Class A | 999,908 | 155,606 |
Guidewire Software, Inc.1 | 1,209,889 | 147,401 |
Hexagon AB, Class B | 2,599,762 | 146,950 |
Alteryx, Inc., Class A1 | 1,174,892 | 133,386 |
QUALCOMM Inc. | 1,534,891 | 128,240 |
Amphenol Corp., Class A | 1,174,892 | 122,189 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 1 of 12
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Information technology (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Slack Technologies, Inc., Class A1 | 3,105,009 | $70,856 |
Slack Technologies, Inc., Class B1,2 | 1,785,366 | 40,742 |
Elastic NV, non-registered shares1 | 1,366,611 | 108,523 |
Dell Technologies Inc., Class C1 | 2,150,803 | 104,292 |
HubSpot, Inc.1 | 593,146 | 89,565 |
Lam Research Corp. | 334,969 | 89,380 |
Nice Ltd. (ADR)1 | 532,951 | 80,737 |
Zoom Video Communications, Inc., Class A1 | 753,971 | 56,171 |
Texas Instruments Inc. | 367,066 | 44,125 |
LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.1 | 670,346 | 33,578 |
Datadog, Inc., Class A1 | 764,156 | 31,155 |
ON Semiconductor Corp.1 | 1,292,682 | 27,754 |
CDK Global, Inc. | 507,663 | 27,185 |
Zendesk, Inc.1 | 94,989 | 7,504 |
44,684,979 | ||
Communication services 17.36% | ||
Facebook, Inc., Class A1 | 54,792,884 | 11,048,437 |
Netflix, Inc.1,3 | 28,153,415 | 8,858,754 |
Alphabet Inc., Class C1 | 3,493,987 | 4,559,513 |
Alphabet Inc., Class A1 | 2,075,180 | 2,706,222 |
Charter Communications, Inc., Class A1 | 6,072,685 | 2,854,223 |
Activision Blizzard, Inc. | 29,753,476 | 1,631,383 |
T-Mobile US, Inc.1 | 11,273,968 | 885,570 |
Comcast Corp., Class A | 17,010,791 | 751,026 |
CBS Corp., Class B | 6,733,384 | 271,894 |
Fox Corp., Class A | 6,999,359 | 250,297 |
SoftBank Group Corp. | 4,459,600 | 173,283 |
Snap Inc., Class A1 | 9,199,158 | 140,287 |
Nintendo Co., Ltd. | 350,000 | 135,421 |
Pinterest, Inc., Class A1 | 4,976,432 | 96,941 |
Altice USA, Inc., Class A1 | 3,035,485 | 77,648 |
Spotify Technology SA1 | 329,970 | 47,037 |
Zillow Group, Inc., Class A1 | 22,845 | 892 |
34,488,828 | ||
Health care 16.84% | ||
UnitedHealth Group Inc. | 23,100,849 | 6,465,235 |
Abbott Laboratories | 31,000,587 | 2,649,000 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 6,982,161 | 2,192,049 |
Humana Inc. | 5,977,853 | 2,039,823 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.1 | 8,199,561 | 1,818,253 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1 | 3,709,960 | 1,368,975 |
Boston Scientific Corp.1 | 30,077,247 | 1,300,841 |
Illumina, Inc.1 | 3,730,659 | 1,196,646 |
Seattle Genetics, Inc.1,3 | 9,004,376 | 1,083,677 |
Cigna Corp. | 5,197,006 | 1,038,985 |
Amgen Inc. | 4,391,904 | 1,030,868 |
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.1 | 3,643,494 | 892,437 |
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.1,3 | 9,675,330 | 780,896 |
Centene Corp.1 | 10,501,062 | 634,999 |
DexCom, Inc.1 | 2,198,498 | 499,741 |
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (ADR)1 | 46,903,240 | 488,732 |
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.1 | 4,090,126 | 476,950 |
Allakos Inc.1,3 | 4,407,142 | 418,678 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 2 of 12
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Health care (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.1 | 690,629 | $409,474 |
WellCare Health Plans, Inc.1 | 1,199,890 | 386,449 |
Insulet Corp.1 | 2,042,813 | 379,350 |
Bluebird Bio, Inc.1,3 | 4,664,016 | 377,505 |
Eli Lilly and Co. | 2,976,028 | 349,237 |
Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 5,117,672 | 344,112 |
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. | 5,074,500 | 318,133 |
Stryker Corp. | 1,551,355 | 317,811 |
ResMed Inc. | 2,009,816 | 300,668 |
Sage Therapeutics, Inc.1 | 1,897,093 | 293,613 |
AbbVie Inc. | 3,315,037 | 290,828 |
CVS Health Corp. | 3,103,070 | 233,568 |
Zoetis Inc., Class A | 1,799,835 | 216,916 |
Mettler-Toledo International Inc.1 | 299,973 | 215,804 |
Biogen Inc.1 | 686,937 | 205,951 |
NovoCure Ltd.1 | 2,099,808 | 193,560 |
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.1,3 | 4,621,249 | 183,232 |
Novo Nordisk A/S, Class B | 3,084,152 | 173,350 |
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.1 | 1,539,859 | 173,219 |
PerkinElmer, Inc. | 1,757,839 | 163,303 |
Pfizer Inc. | 4,229,613 | 162,925 |
Align Technology, Inc.1 | 584,032 | 161,975 |
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.1 | 5,137,424 | 144,773 |
Anthem, Inc. | 453,558 | 130,924 |
Molina Healthcare, Inc.1 | 814,425 | 110,355 |
Danaher Corp. | 749,031 | 109,343 |
Incyte Corp.1 | 1,108,898 | 104,414 |
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1,3 | 819,330 | 90,692 |
Roche Holding AG, nonvoting, non-registered shares | 275,975 | 85,055 |
Verily Life Sciences LLC1,2,4,5 | 673,374 | 83,000 |
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd.1 | 1,370,274 | 78,544 |
Galapagos NV1 | 371,266 | 73,154 |
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp.1 | 1,047,904 | 63,912 |
AstraZeneca PLC | 639,941 | 61,727 |
GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (ADR)1 | 387,065 | 39,523 |
Acerta Pharma BV1,2,4,5 | 273,779,325 | 33,292 |
BeiGene, Ltd. (ADR)1 | 94,991 | 19,311 |
33,455,787 | ||
Consumer discretionary 11.30% | ||
Amazon.com, Inc.1 | 4,212,009 | 7,584,986 |
Home Depot, Inc. | 10,000,023 | 2,205,105 |
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (ADR)1 | 7,674,206 | 1,534,841 |
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.1 | 8,000,000 | 202,758 |
Tesla, Inc.1 | 5,109,532 | 1,685,839 |
NIKE, Inc., Class B | 10,874,005 | 1,016,611 |
Marriott International, Inc., Class A | 6,685,678 | 938,402 |
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | 7,582,506 | 796,163 |
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.1 | 673,638 | 548,287 |
Booking Holdings Inc.1 | 287,624 | 547,645 |
Ross Stores, Inc. | 3,468,383 | 402,853 |
D.R. Horton, Inc. | 6,669,389 | 369,151 |
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.1 | 6,388,737 | 342,692 |
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE | 693,936 | 311,385 |
General Motors Co. | 8,439,227 | 303,812 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 3 of 12
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Consumer discretionary (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Mattel, Inc.1,3 | 23,079,330 | $270,028 |
Hermès International | 325,970 | 244,202 |
Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.1 | 1,582,855 | 238,251 |
Grand Canyon Education, Inc.1,3 | 2,608,785 | 222,242 |
Vail Resorts, Inc. | 749,931 | 181,986 |
EssilorLuxottica | 1,146,179 | 178,047 |
MGM Resorts International | 5,364,509 | 171,396 |
Burlington Stores, Inc.1 | 720,093 | 162,021 |
Lennar Corp., Class A | 2,616,289 | 156,062 |
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. | 499,954 | 147,136 |
Restaurant Brands International Inc. | 2,239,795 | 146,998 |
Wynn Resorts, Ltd. | 1,142,572 | 138,080 |
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc.1 | 3,395,143 | 133,056 |
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | 1,035,905 | 124,329 |
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Class A1 | 2,535,507 | 121,730 |
Industria de Diseño Textil, SA | 3,413,153 | 106,265 |
Caesars Entertainment Corp.1 | 7,462,902 | 97,316 |
GM Cruise Holdings LLC.1,2,4 | 5,205,500 | 95,000 |
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc.1 | 1,379,874 | 90,244 |
Dollar General Corp. | 529,200 | 83,275 |
Five Below, Inc.1 | 624,943 | 77,312 |
Valeo SA, non-registered shares | 1,924,824 | 75,832 |
Toll Brothers, Inc. | 1,579,855 | 63,463 |
Naspers Ltd., Class N | 365,149 | 52,186 |
Las Vegas Sands Corp. | 799,927 | 50,195 |
YUM! Brands, Inc. | 482,956 | 48,619 |
Peloton Interactive, Inc., Class A1 | 1,211,889 | 42,695 |
Prosus NV1 | 535,951 | 36,531 |
Canada Goose Holdings Inc., subordinate voting shares1 | 789,928 | 30,136 |
Wayfair Inc., Class A1 | 306,972 | 26,068 |
Levi Strauss & Co., Class A | 1,499,863 | 25,168 |
Volkswagen AG | 109,509 | 20,890 |
22,447,289 | ||
Industrials 8.05% | ||
TransDigm Group Inc.3 | 3,106,016 | 1,761,422 |
Airbus SE, non-registered shares | 11,645,183 | 1,711,455 |
CSX Corp. | 22,980,896 | 1,644,053 |
Boeing Co. | 4,153,000 | 1,520,746 |
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.3 | 5,934,480 | 1,136,987 |
Safran SA | 5,458,170 | 892,669 |
Northrop Grumman Corp. | 2,039,913 | 717,580 |
General Dynamics Corp. | 3,899,799 | 708,750 |
Union Pacific Corp. | 3,789,671 | 666,944 |
Honeywell International Inc. | 2,844,740 | 507,928 |
Lockheed Martin Corp. | 1,087,900 | 425,402 |
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. | 5,060,957 | 397,639 |
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. | 1,831,732 | 368,343 |
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC1 | 34,212,062 | 314,870 |
Equifax Inc. | 2,179,800 | 304,387 |
Nidec Corp. | 1,749,800 | 258,821 |
Delta Air Lines, Inc. | 4,283,608 | 245,494 |
Middleby Corp.1 | 2,028,714 | 234,844 |
MTU Aero Engines AG | 846,574 | 229,344 |
IDEX Corp. | 1,399,872 | 227,815 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 4 of 12
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Industrials (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Uber Technologies, Inc.1 | 7,150,043 | $211,641 |
Waste Management, Inc. | 1,869,829 | 211,122 |
Norfolk Southern Corp. | 1,086,901 | 210,315 |
Parker-Hannifin Corp. | 1,036,756 | 206,097 |
ASGN Inc.1 | 2,100,808 | 140,775 |
BWX Technologies, Inc. | 2,168,202 | 130,374 |
Fortive Corp. | 1,717,843 | 123,977 |
Deere & Co. | 687,596 | 115,551 |
Waste Connections, Inc. | 1,068,902 | 96,789 |
International Consolidated Airlines Group, SA (CDI) | 12,748,833 | 91,348 |
Epiroc AB, Class B | 4,365,604 | 49,066 |
Epiroc AB, Class A | 650,632 | 7,594 |
Harmonic Drive Systems Inc. | 1,284,900 | 55,819 |
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | 484,556 | 46,527 |
Stericycle, Inc.1 | 345,497 | 21,704 |
15,994,192 | ||
Financials 7.50% | ||
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class A1 | 6,594 | 2,179,285 |
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class B1 | 3,407,913 | 750,763 |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 13,771,206 | 1,814,494 |
CME Group Inc., Class A | 4,448,393 | 901,823 |
First Republic Bank | 6,884,800 | 756,640 |
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | 4,887,566 | 748,824 |
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 2,879,036 | 637,275 |
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | 6,518,185 | 613,817 |
Capital One Financial Corp. | 5,618,953 | 561,951 |
American International Group, Inc. | 10,560,193 | 556,100 |
HDFC Bank Ltd. | 18,786,816 | 333,887 |
HDFC Bank Ltd. (ADR) | 3,223,705 | 199,064 |
Bank of America Corp. | 14,963,630 | 498,588 |
AIA Group Ltd. | 49,390,488 | 494,659 |
Legal & General Group PLC | 111,974,642 | 406,806 |
Fannie Mae1 | 120,976,036 | 335,104 |
Wells Fargo & Co. | 5,859,464 | 319,106 |
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. | 2,817,492 | 304,486 |
BlackRock, Inc. | 499,955 | 247,433 |
Discover Financial Services | 2,877,737 | 244,234 |
Onex Corp. | 3,940,844 | 234,676 |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.1 | 91,921,185 | 233,480 |
Morgan Stanley | 4,495,588 | 222,442 |
London Stock Exchange Group PLC | 2,247,394 | 199,746 |
Chubb Ltd. | 1,299,881 | 196,906 |
SVB Financial Group1 | 761,630 | 176,492 |
Arch Capital Group Ltd.1 | 3,899,643 | 163,668 |
Moody’s Corp. | 671,938 | 152,308 |
The Blackstone Group Inc., Class A | 1,668,042 | 90,441 |
Royal Bank of Canada | 867,921 | 71,045 |
MSCI Inc. | 260,684 | 67,567 |
State Street Corp. | 789,928 | 59,324 |
Ares Management Corp., Class A | 1,626,151 | 53,809 |
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. | 1,030,906 | 50,483 |
Fifth Third Bancorp | 559,249 | 16,884 |
14,893,610 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 5 of 12
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Consumer staples 3.23% | Shares | Value (000) |
Philip Morris International Inc. | 18,712,642 | $1,551,839 |
Costco Wholesale Corp. | 4,843,262 | 1,452,058 |
Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A | 4,226,413 | 786,366 |
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.1,3 | 9,172,446 | 418,355 |
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC | 4,899,951 | 384,424 |
Altria Group, Inc. | 7,661,099 | 380,757 |
Kerry Group PLC, Class A | 2,765,571 | 354,651 |
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | 9,840,199 | 304,456 |
British American Tobacco PLC | 4,068,844 | 161,031 |
British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) | 248,276 | 9,834 |
Pernod Ricard SA | 776,929 | 142,686 |
Glanbia PLC | 9,715,158 | 113,026 |
Coca-Cola European Partners PLC | 1,764,838 | 89,054 |
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | 989,909 | 78,380 |
JUUL Labs, Inc., Class A1,2,4,5 | 433,213 | 75,812 |
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Class A | 226,579 | 44,289 |
Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | 567,548 | 39,865 |
Danone SA | 289,973 | 23,870 |
6,410,753 | ||
Energy 3.19% | ||
EOG Resources, Inc. | 27,248,159 | 1,931,895 |
Concho Resources Inc.3 | 14,396,435 | 1,044,605 |
Diamondback Energy, Inc.3 | 12,827,126 | 992,050 |
Noble Energy, Inc. | 17,805,904 | 369,651 |
Chevron Corp. | 2,699,753 | 316,222 |
Baker Hughes Co., Class A | 13,548,760 | 303,763 |
Suncor Energy Inc. | 9,336,740 | 291,215 |
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. | 1,394,200 | 178,235 |
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. (CAD denominated) | 4,153,820 | 116,049 |
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. | 1,899,826 | 53,138 |
ConocoPhillips | 2,572,864 | 154,218 |
Halliburton Co. | 5,338,511 | 112,055 |
Hess Corp. | 1,699,844 | 105,543 |
Murphy Oil Corp. | 4,474,090 | 102,949 |
Viper Energy Partners LP | 2,820,872 | 66,911 |
Schlumberger Ltd. | 1,670,747 | 60,481 |
Cimarex Energy Co. | 1,219,888 | 56,078 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class B (ADR) | 512,353 | 29,516 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Class B | 876,220 | 24,813 |
Equitrans Midstream Corp. | 3,302,598 | 32,927 |
6,342,314 | ||
Materials 1.70% | ||
Sherwin-Williams Co. | 1,082,100 | 631,005 |
Linde PLC | 1,902,520 | 392,319 |
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | 3,499,000 | 374,339 |
Celanese Corp. | 2,181,800 | 273,969 |
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | 21,887,696 | 249,082 |
Rio Tinto PLC | 4,279,608 | 232,554 |
Vale SA, ordinary nominative | 13,560,775 | 159,908 |
Vale SA, ordinary nominative (ADR) | 5,202,236 | 61,178 |
Alcoa Corp.1,3 | 9,842,099 | 200,287 |
Allegheny Technologies Inc.1,3 | 7,501,413 | 172,983 |
Barrick Gold Corp. | 8,767,197 | 147,289 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 6 of 12
unaudited
Common stocks (continued) Materials (continued) | Shares | Value (000) |
Norsk Hydro ASA | 28,257,059 | $99,981 |
Dow Inc. | 1,699,844 | 90,721 |
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. | 11,583,597 | 76,236 |
LyondellBasell Industries NV | 805,767 | 74,566 |
DuPont de Nemours Inc. | 1,035,805 | 67,130 |
Asahi Kasei Corp. | 5,075,300 | 57,010 |
Packaging Corp. of America | 210,523 | 23,557 |
3,384,114 | ||
Real estate 1.31% | ||
American Tower Corp. REIT | 4,346,879 | 930,363 |
Equinix, Inc. REIT | 1,606,653 | 910,731 |
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. REIT | 2,294,790 | 277,555 |
SBA Communications Corp. REIT | 819,925 | 193,888 |
Iron Mountain Inc. REIT | 3,649,666 | 117,227 |
Redfin Corp.1,3 | 5,765,262 | 111,154 |
Crown Castle International Corp. REIT | 482,956 | 64,552 |
2,605,470 | ||
Utilities 0.04% | ||
NextEra Energy, Inc. | 313,471 | 73,296 |
Total common stocks (cost: $102,153,960,000) | 184,780,632 | |
Preferred securities 0.70% Financials 0.68% | ||
Fannie Mae, Series S, 8.25% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 42,328,178 | 450,372 |
Fannie Mae, Series T, 8.25% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 16,806,326 | 166,719 |
Fannie Mae, Series O, 7.00% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 6,592,272 | 122,286 |
Fannie Mae, Series R, 7.625% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 3,695,715 | 35,109 |
Fannie Mae, Series P, 4.50% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 755,000 | 7,361 |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series Z, 8.375% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 51,604,691 | 541,849 |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series V, 5.57% preferred shares1 | 2,031,012 | 18,259 |
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series X, 6.02% noncumulative, preferred shares1 | 239,000 | 2,407 |
1,344,362 | ||
Consumer discretionary 0.02% | ||
Volkswagen AG, nonvoting preferred shares | 210,462 | 40,688 |
Industrials 0.00% | ||
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC, Class C, noncumulative preferred1,2 | 1,187,398,000 | 1,536 |
Total preferred securities (cost: $1,034,472,000) | 1,386,586 | |
Rights & warrants 0.01% Financials 0.01% | ||
American International Group, Inc., warrants, expire 20211 | 1,999,817 | 22,738 |
Total rights & warrants (cost: $30,137,000) | 22,738 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 7 of 12
unaudited
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments 0.03% Corporate bonds & notes 0.03% Energy 0.03% | Principal amount (000) | Value (000) |
Weatherford International LLC 9.875% 20256 | $15,995 | $4,239 |
Weatherford International LLC 6.80% 20376 | 5,000 | 1,305 |
Weatherford International PLC 5.125% 20206 | 15,389 | 4,040 |
Weatherford International PLC 7.75% 20216 | 6,000 | 1,575 |
Weatherford International PLC 4.50% 20226 | 12,502 | 3,254 |
Weatherford International PLC 8.25% 20236 | 44,220 | 11,939 |
Weatherford International PLC 9.875% 20246 | 39,995 | 10,515 |
Weatherford International PLC 6.50% 20366 | 5,370 | 1,410 |
Weatherford International PLC 7.00% 20386 | 33,995 | 8,924 |
Weatherford International PLC 6.75% 20406 | 37,479 | 9,779 |
Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $109,472,000) | 56,980 | |
Short-term securities 6.27% Money market investments 6.27% | Shares | |
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 1.78%3,7 | 124,504,091 | 12,450,409 |
Total short-term securities (cost: $12,449,384,000) | 12,450,409 | |
Total investment securities100.03% (cost: $115,777,425,000) | 198,697,345 | |
Other assets less liabilities (0.03)% | (62,570) | |
Net assets100.00% | $198,634,775 |
Investments in affiliates
A company is an affiliate of the fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940 if the fund’s holdings represent 5% or more of the outstanding voting shares of that company. Further details on these holdings and related transactions during the three months ended November 30, 2019, appear below.
Beginning shares | Additions | Reductions | Ending shares | Net realized (loss) gain (000) | Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) (000) | Dividend income (000) | Value of affiliates at 11/30/2019 (000) | |
Common stocks 9.12% | ||||||||
Communication services 4.46% | ||||||||
Netflix, Inc.1 | 24,438,914 | 3,834,010 | 119,509 | 28,153,415 | $(3,726) | $641,063 | $— | $8,858,754 |
Health care 1.48% | ||||||||
Seattle Genetics, Inc.1 | 8,850,700 | 154,500 | 824 | 9,004,376 | 54 | 425,235 | — | 1,083,677 |
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.1 | 9,545,516 | 130,700 | 886 | 9,675,330 | 46 | 54,578 | — | 780,896 |
Allakos Inc.1 | 3,972,600 | 434,945 | 403 | 4,407,142 | 19 | 33,280 | — | 418,678 |
Bluebird Bio, Inc.1 | 5,250,577 | 5,867 | 592,428 | 4,664,016 | (66,948) | (54,352) | — | 377,505 |
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.1 | 4,614,346 | 7,326 | 423 | 4,621,249 | (4) | (68,373) | — | 183,232 |
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.1 | 819,405 | — | 75 | 819,330 | —8 | 14,740 | — | 90,692 |
2,934,680 | ||||||||
Consumer discretionary 0.25% | ||||||||
Mattel, Inc.1 | 23,392,000 | — | 312,670 | 23,079,330 | (1,495) | 45,770 | — | 270,028 |
Grand Canyon Education, Inc.1 | 1,500,000 | 1,109,020 | 235 | 2,608,785 | —8 | (80,288) | — | 222,242 |
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc.1,9 | 7,780,514 | 201,202 | 4,586,573 | 3,395,143 | 11,708 | (159,793) | — | — |
492,270 |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 8 of 12
unaudited
Investments in affiliates (continued)
Beginning shares | Additions | Reductions | Ending shares | Net realized (loss) gain (000) | Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) (000) | Dividend income (000) | Value of affiliates at 11/30/2019 (000) | |
Industrials 1.46% | ||||||||
TransDigm Group Inc. | 3,106,300 | — | 284 | 3,106,016 | $135 | $89,264 | $— | $1,761,422 |
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. | 5,974,023 | — | 39,543 | 5,934,480 | 315 | 165,220 | 1,016 | 1,136,987 |
2,898,409 | ||||||||
Consumer staples 0.21% | ||||||||
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.1 | 9,145,000 | 28,286 | 840 | 9,172,446 | 24 | 102,346 | — | 418,355 |
Energy 1.02% | ||||||||
Concho Resources Inc. | 13,140,553 | 1,257,200 | 1,318 | 14,396,435 | 34 | (4,094) | 1,800 | 1,044,605 |
Diamondback Energy, Inc. | 11,480,000 | 1,348,300 | 1,174 | 12,827,126 | (2) | (250,385) | 2,390 | 992,050 |
2,036,655 | ||||||||
Materials 0.19% | ||||||||
Alcoa Corp.1 | 9,843,000 | — | 901 | 9,842,099 | (18) | 23,853 | — | 200,287 |
Allegheny Technologies Inc.1 | 7,502,100 | — | 687 | 7,501,413 | 4 | 24,309 | — | 172,983 |
First Quantum Minerals Ltd.9 | 34,611,924 | — | 34,611,924 | — | (126,955) | 168,696 | — | — |
373,270 | ||||||||
Real estate 0.05% | ||||||||
Redfin Corp.1 | 5,765,790 | — | 528 | 5,765,262 | 1 | 13,780 | — | 111,154 |
Short-term securities 6.27% | ||||||||
Money market investments 6.27% | ||||||||
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 1.78%7 | 120,293,690 | 36,774,796 | 32,564,395 | 124,504,091 | 53 | 1,089 | 59,148 | 12,450,409 |
Total 15.39% | $(186,755) | $1,185,938 | $64,354 | $30,573,956 |
1 | Security did not produce income during the last 12 months. |
2 | Valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of all such securities was $329,382,000, which represented .17% of the net assets of the fund. |
3 | Represents an affiliated company as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. |
4 | Value determined using significant unobservable inputs. |
5 | Acquired through a private placement transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. May be subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale. Further details on these holdings appear below. |
6 | Scheduled interest and/or principal payment was not received. |
7 | Rate represents the seven-day yield at 11/30/2019. |
8 | Amount less than one thousand. |
9 | Unaffiliated issuer at 11/30/2019. |
Private placement securities | Acquisition date | Cost (000) | Value (000) | Percent of net assets |
Verily Life Sciences LLC | 12/21/2018 | $83,000 | $83,000 | .04% |
JUUL Labs, Inc., Class A | 4/8/2019 | 120,000 | 75,812 | .04 |
Acerta Pharma BV | 5/7/2015 | 15,750 | 33,292 | .02 |
Total private placement securities | $ 218,750 | $ 192,104 | .10% |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 9 of 12
unaudited
Valuation disclosures
Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”), the fund’s investment adviser, values the fund’s investments at fair value as defined by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The net asset value of each share class of the fund is generally determined as of approximately 4:00 p.m. New York time each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Security transactions are recorded by the fund as of the date the trades are executed with brokers. Assets and liabilities, including investment securities, denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates supplied by one or more pricing vendors on the valuation date.
Methods and inputs — The fund’s investment adviser uses the following methods and inputs to establish the fair value of the fund’s assets and liabilities. Use of particular methods and inputs may vary over time based on availability and relevance as market and economic conditions evolve.
Equity securities are generally valued at the official closing price of, or the last reported sale price on, the exchange or market on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any sales, at the last available bid price. Prices for each security are taken from the principal exchange or market on which the security trades.
Fixed-income securities, including short-term securities, are generally valued at prices obtained from one or more pricing vendors. Vendors value such securities based on one or more of the inputs described in the following table. The table provides examples of inputs that are commonly relevant for valuing particular classes of fixed-income securities in which the fund is authorized to invest. However, these classifications are not exclusive, and any of the inputs may be used to value any other class of fixed-income security.
Fixed-income class | Examples of standard inputs |
All | Benchmark yields, transactions, bids, offers, quotations from dealers and trading systems, new issues, spreads and other relationships observed in the markets among comparable securities; and proprietary pricing models such as yield measures calculated using factors such as cash flows, financial or collateral performance and other reference data (collectively referred to as “standard inputs”) |
Corporate bonds & notes; convertible securities | Standard inputs and underlying equity of the issuer |
Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies | Standard inputs and interest rate volatilities |
When the fund’s investment adviser deems it appropriate to do so (such as when vendor prices are unavailable or deemed to be not representative), fixed-income securities will be valued in good faith at the mean quoted bid and ask prices that are reasonably and timely available (or bid prices, if ask prices are not available) or at prices for securities of comparable maturity, quality and type.
Securities with both fixed-income and equity characteristics, or equity securities traded principally among fixed-income dealers, are generally valued in the manner described for either equity or fixed-income securities, depending on which method is deemed most appropriate by the fund’s investment adviser. The Capital Group Central Cash Fund (“CCF”), a fund within the Capital Group Central Fund Series (“Central Funds“), is valued based upon a floating net asset value, which fluctuates with changes in the value of CCF’s portfolio securities. The underlying securities are valued based on the policies and procedures in CCF’s statement of additional information.
Securities and other assets for which representative market quotations are not readily available or are considered unreliable by the fund’s investment adviser are fair valued as determined in good faith under fair valuation guidelines adopted by authority of the fund’s board of trustees as further described. The investment adviser follows fair valuation guidelines, consistent with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and guidance, to consider relevant principles and factors when making fair value determinations. The investment adviser considers relevant indications of value that are reasonably and timely available to it in determining the fair value to be assigned to a particular security, such as the type and cost of the security; contractual or legal restrictions on resale of the security; relevant financial or business developments of the issuer; actively traded similar or related securities; conversion or exchange rights on the security; related corporate actions; significant events occurring after the close of trading in the security; and changes in overall market conditions. In addition, the closing prices of equity securities that trade in markets outside U.S. time zones may be adjusted to reflect significant events that occur after the close of local trading but before the net asset value of each share class of the fund is determined. Fair valuations and valuations of investments that are not actively trading involve judgment and may differ materially from valuations that would have been used had greater market activity occurred.
Processes and structure — The fund’s board of trustees has delegated authority to the fund’s investment adviser to make fair value determinations, subject to board oversight. The investment adviser has established a Joint Fair Valuation Committee (the “Fair Valuation Committee”) to administer, implement and oversee the fair valuation process, and to make fair value decisions. The Fair Valuation Committee regularly reviews its own fair value decisions, as well as decisions made under its standing instructions to the investment adviser’s valuation teams. The Fair Valuation Committee reviews
The Growth Fund of America — Page 10 of 12
unaudited
changes in fair value measurements from period to period and may, as deemed appropriate, update the fair valuation guidelines to better reflect the results of back testing and address new or evolving issues. The Fair Valuation Committee reports any changes to the fair valuation guidelines to the board of trustees. The fund’s board and audit committee also regularly review reports that describe fair value determinations and methods.
The fund’s investment adviser has also established a Fixed-Income Pricing Review Group to administer and oversee the fixed-income valuation process, including the use of fixed-income pricing vendors. This group regularly reviews pricing vendor information and market data. Pricing decisions, processes and controls over security valuation are also subject to additional internal reviews, including an annual control self-evaluation program facilitated by the investment adviser’s compliance group.
Classifications — The fund’s investment adviser classifies the fund’s assets and liabilities into three levels based on the inputs used to value the assets or liabilities. Level 1 values are based on quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. Level 2 values are based on significant observable market inputs, such as quoted prices for similar securities and quoted prices in inactive markets. Certain securities trading outside the U.S. may transfer between Level 1 and Level 2 due to valuation adjustments resulting from significant market movements following the close of local trading. Level 3 values are based on significant unobservable inputs that reflect the investment adviser’s determination of assumptions that market participants might reasonably use in valuing the securities. The valuation levels are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with the underlying investment. For example, U.S. government securities are reflected as Level 2 because the inputs used to determine fair value may not always be quoted prices in an active market. The following table presents the fund’s valuation levels as of November 30, 2019 (dollars in thousands):
Investment securities | ||||
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |
Assets: | ||||
Common stocks: | ||||
Information technology | $44,644,237 | $40,742 | $— | $44,684,979 |
Communication services | 34,488,828 | — | — | 34,488,828 |
Health care | 33,339,495 | — | 116,292 | 33,455,787 |
Consumer discretionary | 22,352,289 | — | 95,000 | 22,447,289 |
Industrials | 15,994,192 | — | — | 15,994,192 |
Financials | 14,893,610 | — | — | 14,893,610 |
Consumer staples | 6,334,941 | — | 75,812 | 6,410,753 |
Energy | 6,342,314 | — | — | 6,342,314 |
Materials | 3,384,114 | — | — | 3,384,114 |
Real estate | 2,605,470 | — | — | 2,605,470 |
Utilities | 73,296 | — | — | 73,296 |
Preferred securities | 1,385,050 | 1,536 | — | 1,386,586 |
Rights & warrants | 22,738 | — | — | 22,738 |
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments | — | 56,980 | — | 56,980 |
Short-term securities | 12,450,409 | — | — | 12,450,409 |
Total | $198,310,983 | $99,258 | $287,104 | $198,697,345 |
Key to abbreviations |
ADR = American Depositary Receipts |
CAD = Canadian dollars |
CDI = CREST Depository Interest |
The Growth Fund of America — Page 11 of 12
unaudited
Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.
Investors should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the fund prospectus and summary prospectus, which can be obtained from your financial professional and should be read carefully before investing. You may also call American Funds Service Company (AFS) at (800) 421-4225 or visit the Capital Group website at capitalgroup.com.
All Capital Group trademarks mentioned are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc., an affiliated company or fund. All other company and product names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.
American Funds Distributors, Inc., member FINRA.
© 2020 Capital Group. All rights reserved.
MFGEFPX-005-0120O-S73172 | The Growth Fund of America — Page 12 of 12 |