Marathon Halves Its Copa Stake—The Panama Hub Advantage Still Stands

On May 13, 2026, Marathon Capital Management disclosed in an SEC filing that it sold 23,765 shares of Copa Holdings (NYSE:CPA), an estimated $3.12 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.

• Sold 23,765 shares of Copa Holdings; estimated trade size was $3.12 million based on quarterly average pricing
• Quarter-end position value decreased by $3.06 million, reflecting both share sales and stock price movements
• Transaction represented a 0.7% change in 13F reportable AUM
• Post-trade stake: 27,788 shares valued at $3.16 million
• Position now accounts for 0.71% of fund AUM, which places it outside the fund's top five holdings

What happened

According to a SEC filing dated May 13, 2026, Marathon Capital Management reduced its holding in Copa Holdings by 23,765 shares during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated transaction value was $3.12 million, based on the average unadjusted closing price for the quarter. The quarter-end value of the position decreased by $3.06 million, reflecting both trading activity and market price changes. The firm now holds 27,788 shares, worth $3.16 million at quarter end.

What else to know

• Marathon Capital Management continued to reduce its position in Copa Holdings, which now represents 0.71% of 13F reportable AUM
• Top holdings after the filing:
  • NASDAQ:TROW: $57.56 million (12.9% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT:BIL: $17.91 million (4.0% of AUM)
  • NYSE:GLW: $14.30 million (3.2% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ:GOOGL: $14.19 million (3.2% of AUM)
  • NYSE:AZN: $12.85 million (2.9% of AUM)
• As of May 21, 2026, shares of Copa Holdings were priced at $137.07, up 34.37% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 by 6.9 percentage points

Company overview

Company snapshot

• CPA provides scheduled airline passenger and cargo services across 69 destinations in the Americas and the Caribbean, operating a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft.
• Copa generates revenue primarily from ticket sales, ancillary services, and cargo transport, leveraging its hub-and-spoke model based in Panama City.
• The company serves business and leisure travelers, as well as commercial cargo clients, with a focus on connectivity throughout North, Central, and South America.

Copa Holdings is a leading Latin American airline group, operating over 200 daily flights from its strategic hub in Panama City.

What this transaction means for investors

Marathon trimmed Copa Holdings during the first quarter, and with the stock up nearly 19% over the past year, the trade reads more like portfolio housekeeping than a change in view. Copa is worth understanding on its own terms. The airline operates out of Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, which functions as the busiest connecting hub in Latin America — a geographic position that no single-country carrier in the Americas can easily replicate. The business model is simple and disciplined: one fleet type, a focused route network, and a cost structure that has historically supported margins well above the regional airline average. That combination of hub scarcity, operational focus, and lean costs is a durable setup, not one that ages quickly. The risks are real. Copa's passenger base spans markets that can turn fast on currency moves or political instability, and fuel costs come in dollars while revenue is partly denominated in weaker regional currencies. The metrics worth watching are load factor and unit costs — when those move together, the earnings story tends to follow. Copa isn't priced like a premium business despite operating like one, which is partly the EM risk discount that follows any Latin American asset. For investors comfortable with that trade-off, the setup is more interesting than a routine institutional trim might suggest.

Seena Hassouna has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, AstraZeneca Plc, Corning, and T. Rowe Price Group. The Motley Fool recommends Copa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.