NPORT-EX 2 edgar.htm
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 securities 100.03% (cost: $115,777,425,000)   198,697,345
Other assets less liabilities (0.03)%   (62,570)
Net assets 100.00%   $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