NPORT-EX 3 edgar.htm
The Growth Fund of America®
Investment portfolio
May 31, 2020
unaudited
Common stocks 92.50%
Information technology 23.01% 		Shares Value
(000)
Microsoft Corp. 54,587,356 $10,003,133
Broadcom Inc. 11,130,909 3,242,100
ASML Holding NV1 6,728,529 2,202,597
ASML Holding NV (New York registered) 3,116,182 1,026,813
Mastercard Inc., Class A 9,455,641 2,845,108
PayPal Holdings, Inc.2 15,472,493 2,398,391
Autodesk, Inc.2 10,491,221 2,207,143
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.1 168,618,820 1,642,214
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ADR) 10,540,071 530,482
Visa Inc., Class A 8,455,133 1,650,780
ServiceNow, Inc.2 4,148,495 1,609,326
RingCentral, Inc., Class A2 4,822,032 1,322,442
MongoDB, Inc., Class A2 4,840,440 1,123,514
Shopify Inc., Class A, subordinate voting shares2 1,428,592 1,082,587
FleetCor Technologies, Inc.2,3 4,338,618 1,057,712
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.2 17,628,900 948,435
Fiserv, Inc.2 6,664,272 711,544
Atlassian Corp. PLC, Class A2 3,626,765 672,040
Applied Materials, Inc. 11,474,244 644,623
Adobe Inc.2 1,604,451 620,281
Intel Corp. 9,315,039 586,195
Keyence Corp.1 1,242,900 511,861
Accenture PLC, Class A 2,116,979 426,825
Micron Technology, Inc.2 8,383,466 401,652
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.1 9,782,006 401,632
Apple Inc. 1,226,868 390,070
DocuSign, Inc.2 2,564,596 358,377
Trimble Inc.2 8,668,285 339,103
Alteryx, Inc., Class A2 2,303,925 331,627
Square, Inc., Class A2 3,916,403 317,542
Motorola Solutions, Inc. 2,090,000 282,840
Tyler Technologies, Inc.2 741,000 278,105
Guidewire Software, Inc.2 2,689,722 275,912
Analog Devices, Inc. 2,150,451 242,893
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. 1,277,587 231,064
Global Payments Inc. 1,217,895 218,600
Paycom Software, Inc.2 683,753 203,232
Ceridian HCM Holding Inc.2 2,938,966 202,407
NetApp, Inc. 3,788,062 168,720
Workday, Inc., Class A2 909,691 166,865
Zendesk, Inc.2 1,825,000 156,494
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. 2,647,561 153,281
NortonLifeLock Inc. 6,462,290 147,211
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., Class A2 1,626,098 142,788
VMware, Inc., Class A2 894,694 139,814
Zoom Video Communications, Inc., Class A2 696,266 124,966
HubSpot, Inc.2 589,759 117,916
The Growth Fund of America — Page 1 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Information technology (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
Nice Ltd. (ADR)2 566,780 $105,500
Amphenol Corp., Class A 1,074,733 103,776
EPAM Systems, Inc.2 421,064 97,114
ON Semiconductor Corp.2 5,828,449 96,111
Elastic NV, non-registered shares2 1,115,133 95,812
LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.2 1,341,462 67,650
GoDaddy Inc., Class A2 790,399 61,058
Qorvo, Inc.2 524,083 54,892
VeriSign, Inc.2 248,800 54,490
CDK Global, Inc. 1,201,940 47,248
salesforce.com, inc.2 270,202 47,229
Anaplan, Inc.2 917,000 42,109
Arista Networks, Inc.2 168,047 39,232
Smartsheet Inc., Class A2 647,693 37,346
TeamViewer AG1,2 629,345 32,061
TeamViewer AG1,2 95,655 4,873
Flex Ltd.2 3,456,200 33,560
Cree, Inc.2 599,100 31,567
QUALCOMM Inc. 387,737 31,360
Datadog, Inc., Class A2 307,221 21,896
Coupa Software Inc.2 86,500 19,680
    45,983,821
Communication services 18.87%    
Facebook, Inc., Class A2 52,538,591 11,825,912
Netflix, Inc.2,3 26,797,503 11,247,716
Alphabet Inc., Class C2 3,194,485 4,564,663
Alphabet Inc., Class A2 1,894,567 2,715,900
Charter Communications, Inc., Class A2 4,331,196 2,356,171
Activision Blizzard, Inc. 28,116,895 2,023,854
T-Mobile US, Inc.2 8,607,193 861,064
Comcast Corp., Class A 17,345,010 686,862
Snap Inc., Class A2 15,796,624 299,188
Pinterest, Inc., Class A2 10,907,339 221,310
Zillow Group, Inc., Class C, nonvoting shares2 2,025,542 117,461
Zillow Group, Inc., Class A2 1,025,264 59,425
Nintendo Co., Ltd.1 348,000 140,646
Electronic Arts Inc.2 925,850 113,768
SoftBank Group Corp.1 2,462,700 110,613
ViacomCBS Inc., Class B 5,150,000 106,811
New York Times Co., Class A 2,660,000 104,352
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.2 1,000,000 49,160
Iridium Communications Inc.2 1,457,900 33,532
Liberty Broadband Corp., Class C, nonvoting shares2 235,200 32,133
Fox Corp., Class A 859,388 25,068
GCI Liberty, Inc., Class A2 233,000 16,121
    37,711,730
Health care 17.53%    
UnitedHealth Group Inc. 17,577,576 5,358,524
Abbott Laboratories 27,657,133 2,625,215
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 6,821,589 2,382,031
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.2 8,078,267 2,326,218
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.2 3,383,775 2,073,611
Gilead Sciences, Inc. 19,631,621 1,527,929
The Growth Fund of America — Page 2 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Health care (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
Seattle Genetics, Inc.2,3 9,134,440 $1,436,025
Illumina, Inc.2 3,174,669 1,152,564
Humana Inc. 2,272,011 933,001
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.2 8,495,429 905,188
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.2 3,660,147 822,508
Boston Scientific Corp.2 20,735,379 787,737
Centene Corp.2 11,844,547 784,701
Amgen Inc. 3,160,733 726,020
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.2 1,249,384 724,680
Cigna Corp. 3,516,595 693,895
Insulet Corp.2,3 3,382,472 637,833
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (ADR)2 49,403,721 619,029
Eli Lilly and Co. 3,842,630 587,730
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.1 6,018,800 563,865
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.2,3 11,169,127 537,905
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.2 4,161,768 519,222
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.2 2,625,631 399,805
Zoetis Inc., Class A 2,629,557 366,534
Bluebird Bio, Inc.2,3 5,496,422 349,737
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.2,3 5,058,267 346,289
ResMed Inc. 1,998,338 321,373
Mettler-Toledo International Inc.2 386,408 307,194
Stryker Corp. 1,540,458 301,514
Allakos Inc.2,3 4,631,966 301,078
Teladoc Health, Inc.2 1,701,000 296,076
AbbVie Inc. 2,782,747 257,877
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd.2,3 3,631,770 226,877
Anthem, Inc. 700,968 206,162
CVS Health Corp. 3,085,349 202,306
PerkinElmer, Inc. 2,004,941 201,436
Novo Nordisk A/S, Class B1 3,066,539 199,929
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. 1,574,950 198,979
NovoCure Ltd.2 2,856,017 192,581
DexCom, Inc.2 462,300 174,893
Baxter International Inc. 1,771,837 159,483
Molina Healthcare, Inc.2 822,675 152,869
Danaher Corp. 877,654 146,226
Pfizer Inc. 3,585,012 136,912
Incyte Corp.2 1,333,366 135,883
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.2,3 814,651 94,516
Galapagos NV1,2 443,146 90,805
Verily Life Sciences LLC1,2,4,5 673,374 83,909
Cortexyme, Inc.2,3 1,508,153 69,511
AstraZeneca PLC1 636,287 67,653
Grail, Inc.1,2,4,5,6 10,878,487 55,567
GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (ADR)2 384,854 47,241
BeiGene, Ltd. (ADR)2 239,332 39,619
Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc.2 550,000 38,456
Acerta Pharma BV1,2,4,5 273,779,325 34,907
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.2 213,500 28,880
Sage Therapeutics, Inc.2 670,643 23,955
PPD, Inc.2 833,000 22,691
The Growth Fund of America — Page 3 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Health care (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.2 541,300 $20,948
CRISPR Therapeutics AG2 177,000 11,431
    35,037,533
Consumer discretionary 14.43%    
Amazon.com, Inc.2 4,244,406 10,366,410
Tesla, Inc.2 5,145,353 4,296,370
Home Depot, Inc. 7,288,059 1,810,937
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (ADR)2 5,405,126 1,120,969
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.1,2 15,940,936 410,946
NIKE, Inc., Class B 10,449,928 1,030,154
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.2 782,091 785,149
Booking Holdings Inc.2 434,156 711,764
Peloton Interactive, Inc., Class A2 13,980,700 589,846
D.R. Horton, Inc. 10,229,699 565,702
Flutter Entertainment PLC (GBP denominated)1 2,265,329 288,665
Flutter Entertainment PLC (EUR denominated)1 1,999,346 257,041
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE1 1,176,174 492,535
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 8,843,530 458,714
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. 4,998,322 396,417
NVR, Inc.2 120,900 389,493
Las Vegas Sands Corp. 8,045,358 385,694
Burlington Stores, Inc.2 1,829,832 383,661
General Motors Co. 10,900,000 282,092
Hermès International1 333,054 277,667
Vail Resorts, Inc. 1,288,649 255,578
Grand Canyon Education, Inc.2,3 2,592,244 252,977
Darden Restaurants, Inc. 3,207,500 246,528
Marriott International, Inc., Class A 2,624,066 232,230
Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.2 1,886,000 211,006
Restaurant Brands International Inc. 3,612,005 197,071
Mattel, Inc.2,3 19,340,066 178,122
Lennar Corp., Class A 2,601,349 157,278
Dollar General Corp. 793,000 151,867
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. 379,700 146,503
Sony Corp.1 2,267,900 144,823
EssilorLuxottica1,2 1,024,633 132,313
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Class A2 2,521,027 131,093
Five Below, Inc.2 1,035,000 108,313
Evolution Gaming Group AB1,2 1,782,719 105,581
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc.2 2,993,302 98,480
Industria de Diseño Textil, SA1 3,393,662 94,865
Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 1,089,962 90,772
Moncler SpA1,2 2,416,254 90,236
Kering SA1 165,882 86,959
Aramark 3,107,000 80,440
Wayfair Inc., Class A2 305,219 52,360
Toll Brothers, Inc. 1,570,833 50,754
Naspers Ltd., Class N1 304,345 48,393
Prosus NV1,2 532,891 44,368
YUM! Brands, Inc. 480,198 43,088
lululemon athletica inc.2 124,400 37,332
DraftKings Inc., Class A2 862,000 34,221
The Growth Fund of America — Page 4 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Consumer discretionary (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
Carnival Corp., units 1,285,000 $20,226
Volkswagen AG1,2 108,884 17,143
    28,841,146
Industrials 6.08%    
CSX Corp. 28,371,916 2,030,862
TransDigm Group Inc.3 3,505,338 1,489,138
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.3 6,699,126 1,146,153
Northrop Grumman Corp. 2,438,264 817,306
Honeywell International Inc. 3,441,106 501,885
Lockheed Martin Corp. 1,231,588 478,398
Airbus SE, non-registered shares1,2 7,517,083 477,617
Union Pacific Corp. 2,762,664 469,266
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. 2,234,271 445,625
Equifax Inc. 2,090,351 320,994
Safran SA1,2 2,979,538 285,862
Uber Technologies, Inc.2 7,109,211 258,207
Raytheon Technologies Corp. 3,997,000 257,886
Carrier Global Corp.2 12,210,800 249,955
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC1,2 62,827,039 211,986
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC1 2,926,112 9,873
Delta Air Lines, Inc. 8,436,000 212,672
Caterpillar Inc. 1,651,049 198,340
BWX Technologies, Inc. 3,153,105 197,290
Boeing Co. 1,136,800 165,802
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. 2,465,909 150,593
Fortive Corp. 2,439,393 148,754
Norfolk Southern Corp. 831,150 148,186
Harmonic Drive Systems Inc.1 2,501,800 144,627
HEICO Corp. 900,400 90,724
HEICO Corp., Class A 597,421 50,154
Waste Management, Inc. 1,315,000 140,376
Deere & Co. 683,669 104,000
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. 820,000 102,869
Waste Connections, Inc. 1,062,798 99,945
MTU Aero Engines AG1,2 592,837 95,147
Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.1 2,430,000 83,840
Otis Worldwide Corp. 1,359,500 71,578
AMETEK, Inc. 775,196 71,093
Cummins Inc. 400,000 67,840
ASSA ABLOY AB, Class B1 3,035,000 61,697
Epiroc AB, Class B1 4,340,674 48,527
Epiroc AB, Class A1 646,917 7,211
Experian PLC1 1,455,000 50,800
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. 635,689 47,925
Generac Holdings Inc.2 380,200 42,305
Lennox International Inc. 196,000 41,913
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. 375,031 31,510
Ryanair Holdings PLC (ADR)2 159,200 11,426
    12,138,157
Financials 5.30%    
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class B2 5,283,046 980,427
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Class A2 195 54,335
CME Group Inc., Class A 4,329,108 790,495
The Growth Fund of America — Page 5 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Financials (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
First Republic Bank 6,894,520 $745,780
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 6,891,353 670,184
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 6,829,461 664,575
BlackRock, Inc. 953,600 504,111
Bank of America Corp. 14,878,178 358,862
Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. 3,189,950 337,880
AIA Group Ltd.1 41,304,695 336,748
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 2,877,312 328,129
SVB Financial Group2 1,486,470 319,219
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 1,572,595 308,999
S&P Global Inc. 937,999 304,868
Arch Capital Group Ltd.2 10,609,843 299,410
Fannie Mae2 127,225,509 268,446
HDFC Bank Ltd. (ADR) 3,205,295 134,078
HDFC Bank Ltd.1 8,630,879 108,820
Progressive Corp. 2,723,000 211,523
Willis Towers Watson PLC 1,001,866 203,279
London Stock Exchange Group PLC1 1,984,413 197,575
Morgan Stanley 4,469,915 197,570
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.2 91,396,254 191,932
Carlyle Group Inc. 6,780,000 187,535
Onex Corp. 3,918,339 183,872
KKR & Co. Inc. 6,180,508 171,509
Legal & General Group PLC1 68,835,192 170,038
Chubb Ltd. 1,292,458 157,602
Moody’s Corp. 572,450 153,079
MSCI Inc. 459,095 150,973
Capital One Financial Corp. 1,915,660 130,342
American International Group, Inc. 3,518,574 105,768
Wells Fargo & Co. 3,680,992 97,436
The Blackstone Group Inc., Class A 1,658,516 94,204
Aon PLC, Class A 475,950 93,738
Travelers Cos., Inc. 616,100 65,910
Ares Management Corp., Class A 1,616,865 61,053
Royal Bank of Canada 746,162 48,411
State Street Corp. 785,417 47,879
Tradeweb Markets Inc., Class A 678,000 44,721
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. 1,025,019 38,100
East West Bancorp, Inc. 1,004,500 35,107
Clarivate PLC2 1,186,000 27,148
Fifth Third Bancorp 556,055 10,782
    10,592,452
Consumer staples 2.34%    
Costco Wholesale Corp. 4,287,317 1,322,509
Philip Morris International Inc. 10,812,334 793,193
Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., Class A 2,415,885 477,065
Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A 2,581,798 445,876
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC1 4,871,969 435,804
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.2,3 9,120,065 399,824
Kerry Group PLC, Class A1 1,984,777 246,577
Altria Group, Inc. 4,894,509 191,131
British American Tobacco PLC1 2,081,852 82,331
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.2 1,537,200 56,584
Church & Dwight Co., Inc. 564,307 42,362
The Growth Fund of America — Page 6 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Consumer staples (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
JUUL Labs, Inc., Class A1,2,4,5 433,213 $38,378
Nestlé SA1 334,000 36,162
Procter & Gamble Co. 275,000 31,878
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. 1,103,560 30,811
Danone SA1,2 288,317 19,763
Glanbia PLC1 1,437,278 15,705
Pernod Ricard SA1 70,804 11,057
    4,677,010
Energy 1.95%    
EOG Resources, Inc. 21,620,392 1,101,991
Concho Resources Inc.3 13,190,611 719,152
Diamondback Energy, Inc.3 11,560,837 492,260
Baker Hughes Co., Class A 18,170,779 300,000
Chevron Corp. 2,684,336 246,154
Suncor Energy Inc. 9,283,421 159,595
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. 1,386,238 126,979
ConocoPhillips 2,915,239 122,965
Exxon Mobil Corp. 2,007,949 91,301
Hess Corp. 1,789,435 84,945
Noble Energy, Inc. 9,457,000 82,560
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. (CAD denominated) 3,519,401 64,286
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. 525,500 9,512
BP PLC1 17,000,000 64,554
Cenovus Energy Inc. 13,864,000 60,416
Murphy Oil Corp. 4,448,540 53,160
Parsley Energy, Inc., Class A 3,500,000 31,990
Schlumberger Ltd. 1,661,206 30,683
Equitrans Midstream Corp. 3,283,738 26,565
Halliburton Co. 914,663 10,747
Weatherford International2,3 4,369,722 8,740
    3,888,555
Real estate 1.59%    
Equinix, Inc. REIT 1,858,044 1,296,227
American Tower Corp. REIT 3,777,190 975,157
SBA Communications Corp. REIT 1,550,243 486,978
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. REIT 2,281,685 327,559
Crown Castle International Corp. REIT 480,198 82,671
    3,168,592
Materials 1.29%    
Sherwin-Williams Co. 1,044,357 620,191
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.1 4,351,000 510,553
Linde PLC 1,358,839 274,948
Rio Tinto PLC1 5,101,189 273,428
Vale SA, ordinary nominative 13,510,365 134,185
Vale SA, ordinary nominative (ADR) 7,137,628 69,663
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. 17,768,120 161,157
Celanese Corp. 1,521,123 136,764
Norsk Hydro ASA1,2 28,095,693 71,717
Allegheny Technologies Inc.2,3 7,458,575 64,740
PPG Industries, Inc. 587,987 59,781
LyondellBasell Industries NV 801,166 51,082
Asahi Kasei Corp.1 5,858,200 46,279
The Growth Fund of America — Page 7 of 13
unaudited
Common stocks (continued)
Materials (continued) 		Shares Value
(000)
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (CAD denominated) 622,200 $26,807
Packaging Corp. of America 209,321 21,227
Barrick Gold Corp. 832,700 19,985
Franco-Nevada Corp. 137,000 19,259
Alcoa Corp.2 1,983,418 18,267
    2,580,033
Utilities 0.11%    
Xcel Energy Inc. 2,800,000 182,084
NextEra Energy, Inc. 125,000 31,945
    214,029
Total common stocks (cost: $94,798,669,000)   184,833,058
Preferred securities 0.67%
Financials 0.55% 		   
Fannie Mae, Series S, 8.25% noncumulative, preferred shares2 41,175,677 368,522
Fannie Mae, Series T, 8.25% noncumulative, preferred shares2 16,710,351 136,189
Fannie Mae, Series O, 7.00% noncumulative, preferred shares2 6,554,622 92,682
Fannie Mae, Series R, 7.625% noncumulative, preferred shares2 3,680,090 28,852
Fannie Mae, Series P, 4.50% noncumulative, preferred shares2 755,000 5,512
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series Z, 8.375% noncumulative, preferred shares2 49,550,079 443,473
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series V, 5.57% noncumulative, preferred shares2 2,031,012 14,156
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series X, 6.02% noncumulative, preferred shares2 239,000 1,972
    1,091,358
Consumer discretionary 0.10%    
Waymo LLC, Series A-2, 8.00% noncumulative, preferred shares1,2,4,5 1,164,589 100,000
GM Cruise Holdings LLC, Series F, preferred shares1,2,4,5 5,205,500 73,294
Volkswagen AG, nonvoting preferred shares1,2 209,260 30,678
    203,972
Information technology 0.02%    
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., nonvoting preferred shares1 920,159 31,936
Total preferred securities (cost: $1,221,437,000)   1,327,266
Rights & warrants 0.00%
Financials 0.00% 		   
American International Group, Inc., warrants, expire 20212 1,988,397 1,789
Total rights & warrants (cost: $29,977,000)   1,789
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments 0.05%
U.S. Treasury bonds & notes 0.05%
U.S. Treasury 0.05% 		Principal amount
(000) 		 
U.S. Treasury 2.00% 2050 $85,631 97,950
Total U.S. Treasury bonds & notes   97,950
The Growth Fund of America — Page 8 of 13
unaudited
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments (continued)
Corporate bonds & notes 0.00%
Energy 0.00% 		Principal amount
(000) 		Value
(000)
Weatherford International PLC 11.00% 20246 $15,155 $10,277
Total corporate bonds & notes   10,277
Total bonds, notes & other debt instruments (cost: $113,924,000)   108,227
Short-term securities 6.69%
Money market investments 6.69% 		Shares  
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 0.28%3,7 133,611,984 13,362,535
Total short-term securities (cost: $13,361,222,000)   13,362,535
Total investment securities 99.91% (cost: $109,525,229,000)   199,632,875
Other assets less liabilities 0.09%   188,145
Net assets 100.00%   $199,821,020
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 nine months ended May 31, 2020, appear below.
  Beginning
shares 		Additions Reductions Ending
shares 		Net
realized
gain (loss)
(000) 		Net
unrealized
(depreciation)
appreciation
(000) 		Dividend
income
(000) 		Value of
affiliates at
5/31/2020
(000)
Common stocks 10.54%
Information technology 0.53%                
FleetCor Technologies, Inc.2 4,245,574 1,820,200 1,727,156 4,338,618 $144,372 $(301,209) $— $1,057,712
Communication services 5.63%                
Netflix, Inc.2 24,438,914 4,741,061 2,382,472 26,797,503 37,259 3,507,643 — 11,247,716
Health care 2.00%                
Seattle Genetics, Inc.2 8,850,700 335,985 52,245 9,134,440 3,200 760,813 — 1,436,025
Insulet Corp.2 15,300 3,463,460 96,288 3,382,472 (645) 44,502 — 637,833
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.2 4,238,253 6,966,241 35,367 11,169,127 61 230,300 — 537,905
Bluebird Bio, Inc.2 5,250,577 1,698,815 1,452,970 5,496,422 (153,245) (36,177) — 349,737
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.2 4,614,346 470,734 26,813 5,058,267 34 65,723 — 346,289
Allakos Inc.2 3,972,600 684,937 25,571 4,631,966 2,052 (101,387) — 301,078
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd.2 — 3,639,621 7,851 3,631,770 29 31,710 — 226,877
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.2 819,405 — 4,754 814,651 (35) 19,044 — 94,516
Cortexyme, Inc.2 — 1,508,153 — 1,508,153 — (5,903) — 69,511
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.2,8 9,545,516 130,700 1,180,787 8,495,429 (6,454) 282,989 — —
                3,999,771
Consumer discretionary 0.22%                
Grand Canyon Education, Inc.2 1,500,000 1,241,238 148,994 2,592,244 (5,997) (43,462) — 252,977
Mattel, Inc.2 23,392,000 — 4,051,934 19,340,066 (24,691) 10,942 — 178,122
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc.2,8 7,780,514 1,824,029 6,611,241 2,993,302 (270) (182,104) — —
                431,099
The Growth Fund of America — Page 9 of 13
unaudited
Investments in affiliates  (continued)
  Beginning
shares 		Additions Reductions Ending
shares 		Net
realized
gain (loss)
(000) 		Net
unrealized
(depreciation)
appreciation
(000) 		Dividend
income
(000) 		Value of
affiliates at
5/31/2020
(000)
Industrials 1.32%                
TransDigm Group Inc. 3,106,300 1,522,173 1,123,135 3,505,338 $23,399 $(243,818) $63,234 $1,489,138
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. 5,974,023 2,504,933 1,779,830 6,699,126 48,616 396,613 3,406 1,146,153
                2,635,291
Consumer staples 0.20%                
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.2 9,145,000 28,286 53,221 9,120,065 1,597 84,635 — 399,824
Energy 0.61%                
Concho Resources Inc. 13,140,553 2,132,200 2,082,142 13,190,611 (161,268) (138,479) 7,546 719,152
Diamondback Energy, Inc. 11,480,000 1,348,300 1,267,463 11,560,837 (74,996) (600,861) 11,361 492,260
Weatherford International2 — 4,553,973 184,251 4,369,722 (5,245) (102,534) — 8,740
                1,220,152
Real estate 0.00%                
Redfin Corp.2,8 5,765,790 — 5,765,790 — (3,119) 22,632 — —
Materials 0.03%                
Allegheny Technologies Inc.2 7,502,100 — 43,525 7,458,575 147 (83,167) — 64,740
First Quantum Minerals Ltd.8 34,611,924 — 34,611,924 — (126,955) 168,696 — —
Alcoa Corp.2,8 9,843,000 — 7,859,582 1,983,418 (242,083) 190,351 — —
                64,740
Short-term securities 6.68%
Money market investments 6.68%                
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 0.28%7 120,293,690 185,857,563 172,539,269 133,611,984 (900) 1,376 128,529 13,362,535
Total 17.22%         $(545,137) $3,978,868 $214,076 $34,418,840
1 Valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of all such securities was $13,013,251,000, which represented 6.51% of the net assets of the fund. This amount includes $12,627,196,000 related to certain securities trading outside the U.S. whose values were adjusted as a result of significant market movements following the close of local trading.
2 Security did not produce income during the last 12 months.
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 Acquired in a transaction exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. May be resold in the U.S. in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. The total value of all such securities was $65,844,000, which represented .03% of the net assets of the fund.
7 Rate represents the seven-day yield at 5/31/2020.
8 Unaffiliated issuer at 5/31/2020.
Private placement securities Acquisition
date 		Cost
(000) 		Value
(000) 		Percent
of net
assets
Waymo LLC, Series A-2, 8.00% noncumulative, preferred shares 5/1/2020 $100,000 $100,000 .05%
Verily Life Sciences LLC 12/21/2018 83,000 83,909 .04
GM Cruise Holdings LLC, Series F, preferred shares 5/7/2019 95,000 73,294 .04
Grail, Inc. 4/17/2020 55,567 55,567 .03
JUUL Labs, Inc., Class A 4/8/2019 120,000 38,378 .02
Acerta Pharma BV 5/7/2015 15,750 34,907 .01
Total private placement securities   $469,317 $386,055 .19%
The Growth Fund of America — Page 10 of 13
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 11 of 13
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 May 31, 2020 (dollars in thousands):
  Investment securities
  Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
Assets:        
Common stocks:        
Information technology $41,188,583 $4,795,238 $— $45,983,821
Communication services 37,460,471 251,259 — 37,711,730
Health care 33,940,898 922,252 174,383 35,037,533
Consumer discretionary 26,349,611 2,491,535 — 28,841,146
Industrials 10,660,970 1,477,187 — 12,138,157
Financials 9,779,271 813,181 — 10,592,452
Consumer staples 3,791,233 847,399 38,378 4,677,010
Energy 3,824,001 64,554 — 3,888,555
Real estate 3,168,592 — — 3,168,592
Materials 1,678,056 901,977 — 2,580,033
Utilities 214,029 — — 214,029
Preferred securities 1,091,358 62,614 173,294 1,327,266
Rights & warrants 1,789 — — 1,789
Bonds, notes & other debt instruments — 108,227 — 108,227
Short-term securities 13,362,535 — — 13,362,535
Total $186,511,397 $12,735,423 $386,055 $199,632,875
Key to abbreviations
ADR = American Depositary Receipts
CAD = Canadian dollars
EUR = Euros
GBP = British pounds
The Growth Fund of America — Page 12 of 13
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-005-0720O-S78102 The Growth Fund of America — Page 13 of 13