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N-CSRS 1 gfa_ncsrs.htm N-CSRS

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

Certified Shareholder Report of

Registered Management Investment Companies

Investment Company Act File Number: 811-00862

The Growth Fund of America

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

6455 Irvine Center Drive

Irvine, California 92618

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (949) 975-5000

Date of fiscal year end: August 31

Date of reporting period: February 28, 2022

Hong T. Le

The Growth Fund of America

6455 Irvine Center Drive

Irvine, California 92618

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

ITEM 1 – Reports to Stockholders

The Growth Fund of America^®

Semi-annual report
for the six months ended
February 28, 2022

We believe in
discovering long-term
growth opportunities
around the world on
behalf of our investors

The Growth Fund of America seeks to provide you with growth of capital.

This fund is one of more than 40 offered by Capital Group, home of American Funds, one of the nation’s largest mutual fund families. For over 90 years, Capital Group has invested with a long-term focus based on thorough research and attention to risk.

Fund results shown in this report, unless otherwise indicated, are for Class F-2 shares. Class A share results are shown at net asset value unless otherwise indicated. If a sales charge (maximum 5.75%) had been deducted from Class A shares, the results would have been lower. Results are for past periods and are not predictive of results for future periods. Current and future results may be lower or higher than those shown. Prices and returns will vary, so investors may lose money. Investing for short periods makes losses more likely. For current information and month-end results, visit capitalgroup.com.

Here are the average annual total returns on a $1,000 investment for periods ended March 31, 2022 (the most recent calendar quarter-end):

	1 year			5 years			10 years

Class F-2 shares		4.20	%		16.59	%		15.27	%
Class A shares (reflecting 5.75% maximum sales charge)		–1.99			14.98			14.34

For other share class results, visit capitalgroup.com and americanfundsretirement.com.

The total annual fund operating expense ratios are 0.40% for Class F-2 shares and 0.61% for Class A shares as of the prospectus dated November 1, 2021.

Investment results assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect applicable fees and expenses. When applicable, investment results reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which they would have been lower. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information.

Investing outside the United States involves risks, such as currency fluctuations, periods of illiquidity and price volatility, as more fully described in the prospectus. These risks may be heightened in connection with investments in developing countries. Refer to the fund prospectus and the Risk Factors section of this report for more information on these and other risks associated with investing in the fund.

Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity, so they may lose value.

Fellow investors

Results for The Growth Fund of America for the periods ended February 28, 2022, are shown in the table below, as well as results of the fund’s benchmark.

For additional information about the fund, its investment results, holdings and portfolio managers, visit capitalgroup.com/individual/investments/fund/GFFFX. You can also access information about Capital Group’s American Funds and read our insights about the markets, retirement, saving for college, investing fundamentals and more at capitalgroup.com.

Contents

1		Results at a glance

2		Investment portfolio

12		Financial statements

16		Notes to financial statements

26		Financial highlights

Results at a glance

Total returns for periods ended February 28, 2022, with all distributions reinvested

	Cumulative total returns						Average annual total returns
	6 months			1 year			5 years			10 years			Lifetime¹

The Growth Fund of America (Class F-2 shares)²		–10.78	%		2.08	%		16.15	%		15.21	%		14.02	%
The Growth Fund of America (Class A shares)		–10.86			1.89			15.91			14.96			13.77
Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index³		–2.62			16.39			15.17			14.59			11.40

¹	Since Capital Research and Management Company (CRMC) began managing the fund on December 1, 1973.
²	Class F-2 shares were first offered on August 1, 2008. Class F-2 share results prior to the date of first sale are hypothetical based on the results of the original share class of the fund without a sales charge, adjusted for typical estimated expenses. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.
³	Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. The market index is unmanaged and, therefore, has no expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

The Growth Fund of America

Investment portfolio February 28, 2022

unaudited

Sector diversification

Percent of net assets

Largest equity holdings	Percent of net assets
Tesla		7.09	%
Microsoft		5.94
Alphabet		5.05
Amazon.com		4.73
Netflix		2.88
Meta Platforms		2.73
UnitedHealth Group		2.67
Broadcom		1.88
ASML		1.60
Mastercard		1.27

Common stocks 95.14%	Shares		Value (000)
Information technology 23.76%
Microsoft Corp.		50,308,490	$	15,031,674
Broadcom, Inc.		8,091,914		4,753,514
ASML Holding NV¹		3,484,560		2,297,032
ASML Holding NV (New York registered) (ADR)		2,622,661		1,748,030
Mastercard, Inc., Class A		8,936,828		3,224,586
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.¹		108,508,000		2,310,357
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (ADR)		5,855,130		626,557
Applied Materials, Inc.		17,124,749		2,298,141
Apple, Inc.		11,960,455		1,974,910
MongoDB, Inc., Class A^2,3		4,772,185		1,822,927
ServiceNow, Inc.³		2,918,735		1,692,633
Shopify, Inc., Class A, subordinate voting shares³		2,425,470		1,683,907
Micron Technology, Inc.		14,646,660		1,301,502
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.³		9,779,313		1,206,180
Block, Inc., Class A³		9,229,109		1,176,711
Cloudflare, Inc., Class A³		10,014,726		1,165,914
Motorola Solutions, Inc.		4,469,807		985,280
RingCentral, Inc., Class A³		7,370,891		964,407
NVIDIA Corp.		3,692,602		900,441
Bill.com Holdings, Inc.³		3,589,050		853,763
Atlassian Corp. PLC, Class A³		2,238,421		684,330
Okta, Inc., Class A³		3,380,912		618,166
Affirm Holdings, Inc., Class A³		13,864,763		580,102
Wolfspeed, Inc.³		4,940,282		507,466
MicroStrategy, Inc., Class A^3,4		874,232		387,285
Visa, Inc., Class A		1,787,652		386,347
Fiserv, Inc.³		3,906,391		381,537
Zscaler, Inc.³		1,524,060		364,479
Adobe, Inc.³		773,812		361,896
Autodesk, Inc.³		1,635,313		360,145
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A		4,034,076		347,455
Trimble, Inc.³		4,971,995		346,797
Zendesk, Inc.³		2,921,813		340,888
Lam Research Corp.		580,399		325,807
Tyler Technologies, Inc.³		738,680		316,347
Intuit, Inc.		655,500		310,950
SentinelOne, Inc., Class A^3,4		7,289,884		302,530
PayPal Holdings, Inc.³		2,653,597		297,017
Snowflake, Inc., Class A³		1,112,001		295,414
Datadog, Inc., Class A³		1,487,032		239,576
Nice, Ltd. (ADR)³		1,011,444		228,839
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.		2,281,641		217,281
Keyence Corp.¹		452,600		215,178
NortonLifeLock, Inc.		6,442,057		186,691
EPAM Systems, Inc.³		811,552		168,600
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., Class A³		834,954		162,991
Arista Networks, Inc.³		1,251,296		153,572
Accenture PLC, Class A		454,731		143,704

2	The Growth Fund of America

Common stocks (continued)	Shares		Value (000)
Information technology (continued)
MKS Instruments, Inc.		952,225	$	143,405
TE Connectivity, Ltd.		995,936		141,851
Nuvei Corp., subordinate voting shares³		2,487,605		135,047
Elastic NV, non-registered shares³		1,430,802		123,979
DocuSign, Inc.³		1,039,982		123,165
Concentrix Corp.		591,040		118,143
Smartsheet, Inc., Class A³		2,115,896		112,502
Intel Corp.		2,274,771		108,507
Ciena Corp.³		1,469,200		100,523
TELUS International (Cda), Inc., subordinate voting shares³		3,868,607		94,974
Ceridian HCM Holding, Inc.³		1,302,466		94,963
Paycom Software, Inc.³		267,983		90,903
VeriSign, Inc.³		418,788		89,503
Alteryx, Inc., Class A³		1,432,058		89,217
Marqeta, Inc., Class A³		7,268,518		85,260
Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc.		1,525,495		79,692
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.¹		1,305,500		78,766
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Inc.^3,4		1,288,876		78,338
Keysight Technologies, Inc.³		479,861		75,516
Genpact, Ltd.		1,725,200		72,182
Qorvo, Inc.³		522,442		71,460
QUALCOMM, Inc.		386,285		66,437
GoDaddy, Inc., Class A³		787,924		65,721
Zebra Technologies Corp., Class A³		158,102		65,350
Enphase Energy, Inc.³		391,909		65,331
Confluent, Inc., Class A^3,4		1,506,883		64,480
Toast, Inc., Class A^3,4		3,132,844		64,286
Globant SA³		234,134		64,153
Thoughtworks Holding, Inc.³		2,548,837		58,266
NXP Semiconductors NV		300,000		57,036
Stripe, Inc., Class B^1,3,5,6		1,123,404		45,296
Amadeus IT Group SA, Class A, non-registered shares^1,3		527,300		34,954
HashiCorp, Inc., Class A^3,4		693,200		34,930
Freshworks, Inc., Class A^3,4		1,833,974		33,598
Appfolio, Inc., Class A³		260,338		29,455
Gitlab, Inc., Class A^3,4		450,071		26,226
CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings, Inc.³		1,480,590		16,079
Guidewire Software, Inc.³		164,593		14,509
Zoom Video Communications, Inc., Class A³		83,000		11,006
Paylocity Holding Corp.³		8,999		1,912
				60,176,777

Consumer discretionary 23.46%
Tesla, Inc.³		20,623,010		17,950,887
Amazon.com, Inc.³		3,902,668		11,986,108
Home Depot, Inc.		5,474,036		1,728,865
MercadoLibre, Inc.³		1,464,217		1,649,660
Caesars Entertainment, Inc.^2,3		19,495,380		1,641,316
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.^2,3		19,625,183		1,584,145
General Motors Company³		33,615,011		1,570,493
Airbnb, Inc., Class A³		9,687,084		1,467,496
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE¹		1,699,698		1,232,853
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.³		745,706		1,135,971
NIKE, Inc., Class B		7,619,926		1,040,501
NVR, Inc.^2,3		191,373		948,912
Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.³		6,215,292		925,208
Rivian Automotive, Inc., Class A^1,3,4,7		8,667,299		527,007
Rivian Automotive, Inc., Class A³		5,651,808		381,836
Coupang, Inc., Class A³		33,815,914		896,798
D.R. Horton, Inc.		9,352,439		798,698
Flutter Entertainment PLC^1,3		5,337,270		765,198
Booking Holdings, Inc.³		315,352		685,023
Aptiv PLC³		5,213,717		674,863
Darden Restaurants, Inc.		4,486,017		651,459
Dollar General Corp.		3,218,552		638,368
Burlington Stores, Inc.³		2,531,270		571,789
Mattel, Inc.^2,3		21,041,666		525,621
Las Vegas Sands Corp.³		11,999,361		514,293

The Growth Fund of America

Common stocks (continued)	Shares		Value (000)
Consumer discretionary (continued)
Hermès International¹		332,011	$	454,054
DoorDash, Inc., Class A³		4,001,022		419,907
Evolution AB¹		3,675,758		418,164
Moncler SpA¹		6,379,239		381,743
Wayfair, Inc., Class A^3,4		2,342,847		330,037
Xpeng, Inc., Class A (ADR)³		8,489,458		308,762
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd.³		15,676,019		305,526
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.³		2,014,797		286,262
Starbucks Corp.		2,939,643		269,830
CarMax, Inc.³		2,417,971		264,357
YETI Holdings, Inc.³		4,066,858		250,356
Polaris, Inc.		1,991,873		242,032
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Class A³		2,513,134		240,306
Vail Resorts, Inc.		872,979		227,455
lululemon athletica, inc.³		673,382		215,442
Etsy, Inc.³		1,372,014		212,511
Lennar Corp., Class A		2,161,657		194,290
Mercari, Inc.^1,3		6,087,800		193,631
Peloton Interactive, Inc., Class A³		5,984,000		173,895
eBay, Inc.		2,999,808		163,759
YUM! Brands, Inc.		1,318,641		161,639
Adient PLC³		3,440,780		153,975
Kering SA¹		199,506		139,981
Helen of Troy, Ltd.³		611,620		125,792
Aramark		3,160,431		116,810
Marriott International, Inc., Class A³		651,500		110,846
Cie. Financière Richemont SA, Class A¹		694,768		93,241
Carvana Co., Class A³		575,963		86,665
LGI Homes, Inc.³		562,094		70,897
Toll Brothers, Inc.		1,304,776		70,797
Domino’s Pizza, Inc.		140,644		60,788
Arrival Group^3,4		15,549,430		54,267
DraftKings, Inc., Class A³		2,243,964		53,137
On Holding AG, Class A^3,4		1,860,610		45,306
TopBuild Corp.³		105,457		22,639
				59,412,467

Communication services 13.64%
Alphabet, Inc., Class C³		2,729,858		7,364,665
Alphabet, Inc., Class A³		2,011,337		5,432,903
Netflix, Inc.³		18,481,232		7,291,216
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A³		32,754,236		6,912,126
Charter Communications, Inc., Class A³		3,328,186		2,002,836
Comcast Corp., Class A		32,711,480		1,529,589
ZoomInfo Technologies, Inc., Class A³		12,577,471		687,862
Snap, Inc., Class A, nonvoting shares³		14,178,515		566,290
Activision Blizzard, Inc.		5,300,761		432,012
Tencent Holdings, Ltd.¹		5,712,600		310,474
Sea, Ltd., Class A (ADR)³		1,958,600		285,172
T-Mobile US, Inc.³		1,995,562		245,873
Frontier Communications Parent, Inc.³		7,505,040		206,764
Twitter, Inc.³		5,000,000		177,750
Iridium Communications, Inc.³		4,450,036		176,177
ROBLOX Corp., Class A³		3,399,502		175,312
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.³		923,000		149,526
Match Group, Inc.³		1,204,110		134,246
SoftBank Group Corp.¹		2,455,000		110,175
Pinterest, Inc., Class A³		3,671,996		98,226
Epic Games, Inc.^1,3,5,6		84,249		92,312
Electronic Arts, Inc.		580,215		75,480
Yandex NV, Class A^1,3,5		9,341,235		69,000
Playtika Holding Corp.³		750,000		15,450
				34,541,436

4	The Growth Fund of America

Common stocks (continued)	Shares		Value (000)
Health care 12.05%
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.		14,218,691	$	6,766,248
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.		5,423,689		2,950,487
Abbott Laboratories		15,294,393		1,844,810
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.³		2,504,959		1,548,966
Centene Corp.³		13,433,062		1,109,840
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.³		4,702,427		1,081,652
CVS Health Corp.		8,248,995		855,008
NovoCure, Ltd.^2,3		9,436,361		772,461
Zoetis, Inc., Class A		3,942,123		763,392
Humana, Inc.		1,703,064		739,675
Stryker Corp.		2,784,544		733,310
Eli Lilly and Company		2,822,748		705,546
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.³		6,007,031		675,010
Insulet Corp.³		2,420,696		640,734
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.³		2,168,309		629,525
Seagen, Inc.³		4,770,825		614,816
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co., Ltd.^2,3		4,278,537		507,905
PerkinElmer, Inc.		2,790,741		501,245
ResMed, Inc.		1,792,708		442,351
Molina Healthcare, Inc.³		1,441,201		442,261
DexCom, Inc.³		1,056,879		437,453
Danaher Corp.		1,552,079		425,906
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. (ADR)³		51,152,146		415,867
Novo Nordisk A/S, Class B¹		3,334,720		343,383
Catalent, Inc.³		3,354,624		342,306
QIAGEN NV³		5,740,608		285,251
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.³		1,766,835		278,895
Horizon Therapeutics PLC³		2,773,816		252,889
Guardant Health, Inc.³		3,564,552		236,223
Cigna Corp.		949,845		225,854
Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.³		151,928		214,027
Gilead Sciences, Inc.		3,167,199		191,299
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.³		2,433,142		190,077
Exact Sciences Corp.³		2,255,619		176,074
Moderna, Inc.³		1,121,999		172,339
Penumbra, Inc.³		734,347		162,834
Twist Bioscience Corp.³		2,797,000		156,464
Syneos Health, Inc., Class A³		1,641,443		130,002
BeiGene, Ltd. (ADR)³		473,337		99,647
BeiGene, Ltd., Class H^1,3		1,871,500		30,315
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.		1,000,000		127,190
Oak Street Health, Inc.³		6,644,814		116,351
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc.³		1,707,624		114,957
Align Technology, Inc.³		215,000		109,964
R1 RCM, Inc.³		4,001,025		108,788
Inari Medical, Inc.³		1,205,423		106,053
Verily Life Sciences LLC^1,3,5,6		673,374		100,784
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Ltd.¹		3,762,800		91,766
Anthem, Inc.		188,220		85,047
Chemed Corp.		172,223		82,373
AstraZeneca PLC¹		634,294		76,933
AbbVie, Inc.		516,686		76,351
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.³		3,850,690		45,900
Fate Therapeutics, Inc.³		1,194,000		41,253
Vir Biotechnology, Inc.³		1,032,788		26,016
Acerta Pharma BV^1,3,5,6		273,779,325		24,887
CRISPR Therapeutics AG³		334,677		20,539
Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc.³		548,278		16,558
AbCellera Biologics, Inc.^3,4		1,885,112		16,419
Applied Molecular Transport, Inc.^3,4		1,454,107		9,553
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.³		539,605		7,786
Cortexyme, Inc.^3,4		1,398,710		6,084
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.³		582,615		5,331
Sana Biotechnology, Inc.³		588,626		3,803
				30,513,033

The Growth Fund of America

Common stocks (continued)	Shares		Value (000)
Industrials 7.19%
Carrier Global Corp.²		51,002,966	$	2,289,013
General Electric Co.		17,365,860		1,658,613
TransDigm Group, Inc.³		2,362,638		1,574,911
CSX Corp.		44,832,939		1,520,285
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.		3,687,190		1,157,888
Caterpillar, Inc.		6,060,668		1,136,860
Airbus SE, non-registered shares^1,3		7,168,649		904,277
Ryanair Holdings PLC (ADR)³		4,731,019		471,730
Ryanair Holdings PLC^1,3		1,692,338		28,876
Robert Half International, Inc.		4,140,700		498,085
HEICO Corp.		2,972,824		438,521
HEICO Corp., Class A		304,964		37,486
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.		3,846,506		473,120
United Rentals, Inc.³		1,413,990		454,767
Raytheon Technologies Corp.		3,984,485		409,207
Safran SA¹		2,984,930		375,894
Delta Air Lines, Inc.³		8,848,133		353,217
Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.³		15,848,011		294,139
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC^1,3		179,019,367		244,719
RELX PLC (ADR)		7,376,831		225,215
Chart Industries, Inc.³		1,528,402		220,701
Rockwell Automation		826,896		220,434
Uber Technologies, Inc.³		5,906,402		212,808
Harmonic Drive Systems, Inc.^1,8		5,143,552		209,241
L3Harris Technologies, Inc.		718,581		181,305
Union Pacific Corp.		704,955		173,384
TuSimple Holdings, Inc., Class A^3,4		9,748,608		169,821
Boeing Company³		813,070		166,956
Honeywell International, Inc.		864,498		164,038
ABB, Ltd.¹		4,705,230		158,554
ASSA ABLOY AB, Class B¹		6,000,000		158,447
Otis Worldwide Corp.		1,977,580		154,904
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.³		3,463,365		153,773
Axon Enterprise, Inc.³		1,050,000		147,262
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.		1,558,203		137,745
Equifax, Inc.		587,270		128,225
AMETEK, Inc.		931,574		120,909
Waste Connections, Inc.		911,965		112,619
Canadian Pacific Railway, Ltd.³		1,444,800		101,541
Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc.		756,670		89,673
Cummins, Inc.		398,748		81,392
Copart, Inc.³		497,669		61,154
Generac Holdings, Inc.³		187,328		59,096
Saia, Inc.³		191,602		55,034
Regal Rexnord Corp.		315,000		50,510
Northrop Grumman Corp.		112,568		49,771
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.³		2,008,332		42,014
ManpowerGroup, Inc.		357,376		37,982
Kornit Digital, Ltd.³		322,183		30,553
Archer Aviation, Inc., Class A³		4,891,617		15,409
				18,212,078

Financials 6.95%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.		13,497,185		1,913,901
First Republic Bank		6,585,486		1,141,001
Wells Fargo & Company		17,891,058		954,846
S&P Global, Inc.		2,465,867		926,426
Bank of America Corp.		17,670,099		781,018
KKR & Co., Inc.		12,724,499		764,997
SVB Financial Group³		1,235,740		748,858
CME Group, Inc., Class A		2,777,984		657,077
Morgan Stanley		6,728,122		610,510
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.		4,212,142		539,660
Charles Schwab Corp.		6,184,402		522,335
Signature Bank		1,313,085		452,870
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.		2,881,798		447,860
Apollo Asset Management, Inc.		6,721,590		438,651
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Class B³		1,316,205		423,094

6	The Growth Fund of America

Common stocks (continued)	Shares		Value (000)
Financials (continued)
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.		1,923,245	$	383,207
MSCI, Inc.		731,924		367,199
HDFC Bank, Ltd. (ADR)		3,195,259		198,649
HDFC Bank, Ltd.¹		8,630,879		164,051
BlackRock, Inc.		475,179		353,481
Progressive Corp.		3,253,958		344,692
American International Group, Inc.		5,448,010		333,636
Tradeweb Markets, Inc., Class A		3,941,281		332,959
Carlyle Group, Inc.		6,758,771		316,784
East West Bancorp, Inc.		3,570,862		312,665
Arch Capital Group, Ltd.³		6,263,360		295,067
Capital One Financial Corp.		1,909,662		292,694
Chubb, Ltd.		1,288,411		262,372
Western Alliance Bancorporation		2,356,814		220,928
Essent Group, Ltd.		4,954,006		218,868
AIA Group, Ltd.¹		19,583,688		203,625
Coinbase Global, Inc., Class A³		979,037		186,771
Blackstone, Inc., nonvoting shares		1,314,464		167,555
Blue Owl Capital, Inc., Class A⁴		12,750,000		159,375
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.		429,439		146,563
Moody’s Corp.		438,341		141,159
Ares Management Corp., Class A		1,611,803		130,701
BOK Financial Corp.		1,258,241		129,221
Ryan Specialty Group Holdings, Inc., Class A³		2,506,440		100,408
Nu Holdings, Ltd., Class A^3,4		12,764,705		97,650
Focus Financial Partners, Inc., Class A³		1,625,000		81,315
Discover Financial Services		601,514		74,251
Everest Re Group, Ltd.		239,557		71,441
Goosehead Insurance, Inc., Class A⁴		510,905		44,438
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.³		48,301,014		40,085
Trupanion, Inc.³		391,034		35,048
Fannie Mae³		37,644,295		30,906
Fifth Third Bancorp		461,858		22,095
Bright Health Group, Inc.^3,4		4,724,173		15,684
				17,598,647

Energy 3.34%
Cenovus Energy, Inc.²		110,097,627		1,731,160
EOG Resources, Inc.		11,079,049		1,273,204
Canadian Natural Resources, Ltd. (CAD denominated)		19,395,923		1,083,570
Pioneer Natural Resources Company		4,446,450		1,065,370
Halliburton Company		25,265,824		847,163
ConocoPhillips		6,042,344		573,177
Baker Hughes Co., Class A		13,273,342		389,971
Chevron Corp.		2,570,600		370,166
Diamondback Energy, Inc.		1,943,904		268,453
Cheniere Energy, Inc.³		1,600,000		212,640
Coterra Energy, Inc.		8,111,178		189,234
Chesapeake Energy Corp.⁴		2,292,194		177,072
Weatherford International^2,3		4,557,509		129,433
Suncor Energy, Inc.⁴		3,108,986		95,073
ONEOK, Inc.		682,754		44,584
Equitrans Midstream Corp.		1,090,194		6,988
				8,457,258

Consumer staples 2.09%
Costco Wholesale Corp.		2,099,137		1,089,977
Philip Morris International, Inc.		10,034,326		1,014,169
Constellation Brands, Inc., Class A		2,712,195		584,803
Altria Group, Inc.		8,683,808		445,393
British American Tobacco PLC¹		9,575,334		419,957
Archer Daniels Midland Company		4,366,126		342,523
Heineken NV¹		3,183,565		322,314
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., Class A		788,403		233,627
Kerry Group PLC, Class A¹		1,673,456		198,894
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC¹		2,179,011		184,515
Monster Beverage Corp.³		2,148,757		181,355
Molson Coors Beverage Company, Class B, restricted voting shares		2,305,060		120,278

The Growth Fund of America

Common stocks (continued)	Shares		Value (000)
Consumer staples (continued)
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.³		2,345,702	$	65,234
Fever-Tree Drinks PLC¹		2,407,846		60,259
JUUL Labs, Inc., Class A^1,3,5,6		433,213		22,700
Kroger Co.		478,816		22,409
				5,308,407

Materials 1.93%
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.		25,561,629		1,200,118
Vale SA, ordinary nominative shares (ADR)		45,116,959		834,213
Vale SA, ordinary nominative shares		9,766,565		174,944
Linde PLC		2,745,288		805,028
Sherwin-Williams Company		2,645,338		696,068
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.¹		3,190,600		493,209
Barrick Gold Corp.		11,870,664		267,921
Allegheny Technologies, Inc.³		5,974,249		153,777
Summit Materials, Inc., Class A³		3,775,193		117,862
Ball Corp.		929,794		83,440
PPG Industries, Inc.		210,397		28,077
Packaging Corporation of America		173,571		25,548
				4,880,205

Utilities 0.48%
PG&E Corp.³		87,273,377		992,298
NextEra Energy, Inc.		1,616,760		126,544
AES Corp.		3,431,832		72,858
Ørsted AS¹		141,572		18,144
				1,209,844

Real estate 0.25%
Equinix, Inc. REIT		273,161		193,871
American Tower Corp. REIT		823,341		186,791
UDR, Inc. REIT		2,867,817		157,357
SBA Communications Corp. REIT		319,646		96,977
				634,996

Total common stocks (cost: $117,662,432,000)				240,945,148

Preferred securities 0.36%
Financials 0.14%
Fannie Mae, Series S, 8.25% noncumulative preferred shares^3,4		62,266,695		165,007
Fannie Mae, Series T, 8.25% noncumulative preferred shares³		6,954,484		15,647
Fannie Mae, Series O, 7.00% noncumulative preferred shares³		1,739,366		7,166
Fannie Mae, Series R, 7.625% noncumulative preferred shares³		837,675		1,801
Fannie Mae, Series P, 4.50% noncumulative preferred shares³		190,000		369
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series Z, 8.375% noncumulative preferred shares^3,4		71,493,658		170,870
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series X, 6.02% noncumulative preferred shares³		239,000		528
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Series V, 5.57% preferred shares³		212,500		393
				361,781

Consumer discretionary 0.12%
GM Cruise Holdings LLC, Series F, preferred shares^1,3,5,6		5,205,500		176,571
Waymo LLC, Series A-2, 8.00% noncumulative preferred shares^1,3,5,6		1,164,589		106,818
Waymo LLC, Series B-2, preferred shares^1,3,5,6		163,537		15,000
				298,389

Information technology 0.09%
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., nonvoting preferred shares¹		1,366,500		75,263
Chime Financial, Inc., Series G, preferred shares^1,3,5,6		1,433,730		70,640
Tipalti Solutions, Ltd., Series F, preferred shares^1,3,5,6		3,800,381		42,260
PsiQuantum, Corp., Series D, preferred shares^1,3,5,6		613,889		16,100
Stripe, Inc., Series H, 6.00% noncumulative preferred shares^1,3,5,6		376,444		15,178
				219,441

Industrials 0.01%
ABL Space Systems Co., Series B2, preferred shares^1,3,5,6		576,000		33,293

Total preferred securities (cost: $1,331,914,000)				912,904

8	The Growth Fund of America

Rights & warrants 0.01%		Shares		Value (000)
Energy 0.01%
Cenovus Energy, Inc., warrants, expire 2026^2,3			1,057,325	$	11,178

Total rights & warrants (cost: $3,563,000)					11,178

Convertible bonds & notes 0.01%	Principal amount (000)
Consumer discretionary 0.01%
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., convertible notes, 4.25% 2023²		$	15,707		20,204
					20,204

Industrials 0.00%
Einride AB, convertible notes, 7.00% 2023^1,5,6			8,500		8,500
					8,500

Total convertible bonds & notes (cost: $24,027,000)					28,704

Short-term securities 5.08%			Shares
Money market investments 4.80%
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 0.15%^2,9			121,444,289		12,144,429


Money market investments purchased with collateral from securities on loan 0.28%
Goldman Sachs Financial Square Government Fund, Institutional Shares 0.03%^9,10			359,700,251		359,700
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 0.15%^2,9,10			2,392,709		239,271
Invesco Short-Term Investments Trust – Government & Agency Portfolio, Institutional Class 0.03%^9,10			119,635,482		119,636
					718,607

Total short-term securities (cost: $12,862,789,000)					12,863,036
Total investment securities 100.60% (cost: $131,884,725,000)					254,760,970
Other assets less liabilities (0.60)%					(1,515,371	)

Net assets 100.00%				$	253,245,599

Investments in affiliates²

	Value of affiliates at 9/1/2021 (000)		Additions (000)		Reductions (000)		Net realized gain (loss) (000)			Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation (000)			Value of affiliates at 2/28/2022 (000)		Dividend or interest income (000)
Common stocks 4.72%
Information technology 0.72%
MongoDB, Inc., Class A³	$	1,944,651	$	2,476	$	92,271	$	46,953		$	(78,882	)	$	1,822,927	$	—
Consumer discretionary 1.86%
Caesars Entertainment, Inc.³		1,672,612		246,899		96		52			(278,151	)		1,641,316		—
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.³		1,926,185		—		277,634		(27,698	)		(36,708	)		1,584,145		—
NVR, Inc.³		939,843		107,759		50,025		(5,655	)		(43,010	)		948,912		—
Mattel, Inc.³		417,243		29,581		28		15			78,810			525,621		—
Burlington Stores, Inc.^3,11		1,109,393		—		311,915		64,230			(289,919	)		—		—
														4,699,994
Communication services 0.00%
Netflix, Inc.^3,11		13,792,670		149,899		3,204,881		1,013,239			(4,459,711	)		—		—
Health care 0.51%
NovoCure, Ltd.³		1,266,535		—		49		24			(494,049	)		772,461		—
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co., Ltd.³		759,587		42,471		224,747		92,261			(161,667	)		507,905		—
Insulet Corp.^3,11		1,041,405		44,913		282,528		(15,995	)		(147,061	)		—		—

The Growth Fund of America

Investments in affiliates²(continued)

	Value of affiliates at 9/1/2021 (000)		Additions (000)			Reductions (000)			Net realized gain (loss) (000)			Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation (000)			Value of affiliates at 2/28/2022 (000)		Dividend or interest income (000)
Allakos, Inc.^3,8	$	316,956	$	—		$	54,875		$	(125,322	)	$	(136,759	)	$	—	$	—
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.^3,11		173,924		—			90,917			(105,562	)		27,886			—		—
Guardant Health, Inc.^3,11		266,200		530,620			285,196			(142,052	)		(133,349	)		—		—
Cortexyme, Inc.^3,4,11		233,632		14,610			10,428			(59,510	)		(172,220	)		—		—
Twist Bioscience Corp.^3,11		285,727		15,031			13			3			(144,284	)		—		—
Oak Street Health, Inc.^3,11		526,713		90,916			133,878			(238,693	)		(128,707	)		—		—
																1,280,366
Industrials 0.90%
Carrier Global Corp.		2,689,777		224,642			2,117			128			(623,417	)		2,289,013		13,304
Harmonic Drive Systems, Inc.^1,8		284,744		—			12			4			(75,495	)		—		461
Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc.^3,11		432,904		—			142,826			(38,459	)		42,520			—		—
																2,289,013
Energy 0.73%
Cenovus Energy, Inc.		1,077,536		—			279,193			151,276			781,541			1,731,160		5,340
Weatherford International³		68,075		4,950			8			2			56,414			129,433		—
																1,860,593
Consumer staples 0.00%
Herbalife Nutrition, Ltd.^3,8		466,788		—			389,931			16,976			(93,833	)		—		—
Total common stocks																11,952,893
Rights & warrants 0.00%
Energy 0.00%
Cenovus Energy, Inc., warrants, expire 2026³		4,836		—			—	¹²		—	¹²		6,342			11,178		—
Convertible bonds & notes 0.01%
Consumer discretionary 0.01%
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., convertible notes, 4.25% 2023		21,225		—			—	¹²		—	¹²		(1,021	)		20,204		397
Short-term securities 4.89%
Money market investments 4.80%
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 0.15%⁹		8,094,078		16,134,383			12,083,236			(435	)		(361	)		12,144,429		4,225

Money market investments purchased with collateral from securities on loan 0.09%
Capital Group Central Cash Fund 0.15%^9,10		101,118		138,153	¹³											239,271		—	¹⁴
Total short-term securities																12,383,700
Total 9.62%									$	625,782		$	(6,505,091	)	$	24,367,975	$	23,727

10	The Growth Fund of America

¹	Valued under fair value procedures adopted by authority of the board of trustees. The total value of all such securities was $15,164,784,000, which represented 5.99% of the net assets of the fund. This amount includes $13,798,437,000 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	Affiliate of the fund or part of the same “group of investment companies“ as the fund, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
³	Security did not produce income during the last 12 months.
⁴	All or a portion of this security was on loan. The total value of all such securities was $780,524,000, which represented .31% of the net assets of the fund. Refer to Note 5 for more information on securities lending.
⁵	Value determined using significant unobservable inputs.
⁶	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.
⁷	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 $527,007,000, which represented .21% of the net assets of the fund.
⁸	Affiliated issuer during the reporting period but no longer held at 2/28/2022.
⁹	Rate represents the seven-day yield at 2/28/2022.
¹⁰	Security purchased with cash collateral from securities on loan. Refer to Note 5 for more information on securities lending.
¹¹	Affiliated issuer during the reporting period but no longer an affiliate at 2/28/2022. Refer to the investment portfolio for the security value at 2/28/2022.
¹²	Amount less than one thousand.
¹³	Represents net activity. Refer to Note 5 for more information on securities lending.
¹⁴	Dividend income is included with securities lending income in the fund’s statement of operations and is not shown in this table.

Private placement securities	Acquisition date	Cost (000)		Value (000)		Percent of net assets
GM Cruise Holdings LLC, Series F, preferred shares	5/7/2020	$	95,000	$	176,571		.07	%
Waymo LLC, Series A-2, 8.00% noncumulative preferred shares	5/1/2020		100,000		106,818		.04
Waymo LLC, Series B-2, preferred shares	6/11/2021		15,000		15,000		.00
Verily Life Sciences LLC	12/21/2018		83,000		100,784		.04
Epic Games, Inc.	3/29/2021		74,560		92,312		.04
Chime Financial, Inc., Series G, preferred shares	8/24/2021		99,027		70,640		.03
Stripe, Inc., Class B	5/6/2021		45,080		45,296		.02
Stripe, Inc., Series H, 6.00% noncumulative preferred shares	3/15/2021		15,105		15,178		.00
Tipalti Solutions, Ltd., Series F, preferred shares	12/1/2021		65,064		42,261		.02
ABL Space Systems Co., Series B2, preferred shares	10/22/2021		39,166		33,293		.01
Acerta Pharma BV	5/7/2015		10,221		24,887		.01
JUUL Labs, Inc., Class A	4/8/2019		120,000		22,700		.01
PsiQuantum, Corp., Series D, preferred shares	5/28/2021		16,100		16,100		.01
Einride AB, convertible notes, 7.00% 2023	1/7/2022		8,500		8,500		.00
Total private placement securities		$	785,823	$	770,340		.30	%

Key to abbreviations

ADR = American Depositary Receipts

CAD = Canadian dollars

See notes to financial statements.

The Growth Fund of America

Financial statements

Statement of assets and liabilities	unaudited
at February 28, 2022	(dollars in thousands)

Assets:
Investment securities, at value (includes $780,524 of investment securities on loan):
Unaffiliated issuers (cost: $111,689,203)	$	230,392,995
Affiliated issuers (cost: $20,195,522)		24,367,975	$	254,760,970
Cash				4,007
Cash denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars (cost: $1)				1
Cash collateral received for securities on loan				79,845
Receivables for:
Sales of investments		483,566
Sales of fund’s shares		226,357
Dividends and interest		123,990
Securities lending income		20
Other		1		833,934
				255,678,757

Liabilities:
Collateral for securities on loan				798,452
Payables for:
Purchases of investments		1,322,023
Repurchases of fund’s shares		199,036
Investment advisory services		50,660
Services provided by related parties		48,755
Trustees’ deferred compensation		6,669
Other		7,563		1,634,706
Net assets at February 28, 2022			$	253,245,599

Net assets consist of:
Capital paid in on shares of beneficial interest			$	118,921,653
Total distributable earnings				134,323,946
Net assets at February 28, 2022			$	253,245,599

See notes to financial statements.

12	The Growth Fund of America

Financial statements (continued)

Statement of assets and liabilities
at February 28, 2022 (continued)	unaudited

(dollars and shares in thousands, except per-share amounts)

Shares of beneficial interest issued and outstanding (no stated par value) —

unlimited shares authorized (3,950,685 total shares outstanding)

		Net assets	Shares outstanding			Net asset value per share
Class A	$	125,045,001	1,940,595		$	64.44
Class C		4,074,923	71,227			57.21
Class T		14	—	*		64.39
Class F-1		6,531,863	102,189			63.92
Class F-2		33,047,522	514,375			64.25
Class F-3		10,367,540	160,818			64.47
Class 529-A		12,665,866	199,406			63.52
Class 529-C		443,099	7,725			57.36
Class 529-E		376,754	6,024			62.54
Class 529-T		21	—	*		64.38
Class 529-F-1		12	—	*		63.33
Class 529-F-2		878,398	13,649			64.36
Class 529-F-3		29	—	*		64.29
Class R-1		329,199	5,641			58.36
Class R-2		2,202,446	37,224			59.17
Class R-2E		229,026	3,669			62.43
Class R-3		5,100,116	81,375			62.67
Class R-4		6,535,765	102,581			63.71
Class R-5E		1,160,938	18,220			63.72
Class R-5		1,832,241	28,439			64.43
Class R-6		42,424,826	657,528			64.52

*	Amount less than one thousand.

See notes to financial statements.

The Growth Fund of America

Financial statements (continued)

Statement of operations	unaudited
for the six months ended February 28, 2022	(dollars in thousands)

Investment income:
Income:
Dividends (net of non-U.S. taxes of $12,438; also includes $23,330 from affiliates)	$	887,441
Securities lending income (net of fees)		1,977
Interest (includes $397 from affiliates)		547		$	889,965
*Fees and expenses:**
Investment advisory services		358,539
Distribution services		261,918
Transfer agent services		85,988
Administrative services		42,166
529 plan services		4,610
Reports to shareholders		2,268
Registration statement and prospectus		1,021
Trustees’ compensation		242
Auditing and legal		102
Custodian		2,033
Other		139
Total fees and expenses before waiver		759,026
Less waiver of fees and expenses:
Investment advisory services waiver		426
Total fees and expenses after waiver					758,600
Net investment income					131,365

Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation:
Net realized gain (loss) on:
Investments:
Unaffiliated issuers		13,701,949
Affiliated issuers		625,782
In-kind redemptions		12,551
Currency transactions		(4,917	)		14,335,365
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation on:
Investments (net of non-U.S. taxes of $3,839):
Unaffiliated issuers		(38,770,160	)
Affiliated issuers		(6,505,091	)
Currency translations		47			(45,275,204	)
Net realized gain and unrealized depreciation					(30,939,839	)

Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations				$	(30,808,474	)

*	Additional information related to class-specific fees and expenses is included in the notes to financial statements. See notes to financial statements.

14	The Growth Fund of America

Financial statements (continued)

Statements of changes in net assets
	(dollars in thousands)

	Six months ended February 28, 2022*			Year ended August 31, 2021
Operations:
Net investment income	$	131,365		$	321,192
Net realized gain		14,335,365			26,149,154
Net unrealized (depreciation) appreciation		(45,275,204	)		40,957,744
Net (decrease) increase in net assets resulting from operations		(30,808,474	)		67,428,090

Distributions paid to shareholders		(22,497,401	)		(10,832,505	)

Net capital share transactions		16,629,250			(2,115,283	)

Total (decrease) increase in net assets		(36,676,625	)		54,480,302

Net assets:
Beginning of period		289,922,224			235,441,922
End of period	$	253,245,599		$	289,922,224

*	Unaudited.

See notes to financial statements.

The Growth Fund of America

Notes to financial statements

unaudited

1. Organization

The Growth Fund of America (the “fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end, diversified management investment company. The fund seeks to provide growth of capital.

The fund has 21 share classes consisting of six retail share classes (Classes A, C, T, F-1, F-2 and F-3), seven 529 college savings plan share classes (Classes 529-A, 529-C, 529-E, 529-T, 529-F-1, 529-F-2 and 529-F-3) and eight retirement plan share classes (Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, R-5 and R-6). The 529 college savings plan share classes can be used to save for college education. The retirement plan share classes are generally offered only through eligible employer-sponsored retirement plans. The fund’s share classes are described further in the following table:

Share class	Initial sales charge	Contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption	Conversion feature
Classes A and 529-A	Up to 5.75% for Class A; up to 3.50% for Class 529-A	None (except 1.00% for certain redemptions within 18 months of purchase without an initial sales charge)	None
Classes C and 529-C	None	1.00% for redemptions within one year of purchase	Class C converts to Class A after eight years and Class 529-C converts to Class 529-A after five years
Class 529-E	None	None	None
Classes T and 529-T*	Up to 2.50%	None	None
Classes F-1, F-2, F-3, 529-F-1, 529-F-2 and 529-F-3	None	None	None
Classes R-1, R-2, R-2E, R-3, R-4, R-5E, R-5 and R-6	None	None	None

*	Class T and 529-T shares are not available for purchase.

Holders of all share classes have equal pro rata rights to the assets, dividends and liquidation proceeds of the fund. Each share class has identical voting rights, except for the exclusive right to vote on matters affecting only its class. Share classes have different fees and expenses (“class-specific fees and expenses”), primarily due to different arrangements for distribution, transfer agent and administrative services. Differences in class-specific fees and expenses will result in differences in net investment income and, therefore, the payment of different per-share dividends by each share class.

2. Significant accounting policies

The fund is an investment company that applies the accounting and reporting guidance issued in Topic 946 by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board. The fund’s financial statements have been prepared to comply with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). These principles require the fund’s investment adviser to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Subsequent events, if any, have been evaluated through the date of issuance in the preparation of the financial statements. The fund follows the significant accounting policies described in this section, as well as the valuation policies described in the next section on valuation.

Security transactions and related investment income — Security transactions are recorded by the fund as of the date the trades are executed with brokers. Realized gains and losses from security transactions are determined based on the specific identified cost of the securities. In the event a security is purchased with a delayed payment date, the fund will segregate liquid assets sufficient to meet its payment obligations. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date and interest income is recognized on an accrual basis. Market discounts, premiums and original issue discounts on fixed-income securities are amortized daily over the expected life of the security.

Class allocations — Income, fees and expenses (other than class-specific fees and expenses), realized gains and losses and unrealized appreciation and depreciation are allocated daily among the various share classes based on their relative net assets. Class-specific fees and expenses, such as distribution, transfer agent and administrative services, are charged directly to the respective share class.

Distributions paid to shareholders — Income dividends and capital gain distributions are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

16	The Growth Fund of America

Currency translation — 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. Purchases and sales of investment securities and income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates on the dates of such transactions. The effects of changes in exchange rates on investment securities are included with the net realized gain or loss and net unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments in the fund’s statement of operations. The realized gain or loss and unrealized appreciation or depreciation resulting from all other transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars are disclosed separately.

In-kind redemptions — The fund normally redeems shares in cash; however, under certain conditions and circumstances, payment of the redemption price wholly or partly with portfolio securities or other fund assets may be permitted. A redemption of shares in-kind is based upon the closing value of the shares being redeemed as of the trade date. Realized gains/losses resulting from redemptions of shares in-kind are reflected separately in the fund’s statement of operations.

3. Valuation

Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”), the fund’s investment adviser, values the fund’s investments at fair value as defined by U.S. GAAP. The net asset value per share is calculated once daily as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, normally 4 p.m. New York time, each day the New York Stock Exchange is open.

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 & loans; convertible securities		Standard inputs and underlying equity of the issuer
Bonds & notes of governments & government agencies		Standard inputs and interest rate volatilities
Mortgage-backed; asset-backed obligations		Standard inputs and cash flows, prepayment information, default rates, delinquency and loss assumptions, collateral characteristics, credit enhancements and specific deal information

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.

The Growth Fund of America

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 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 facilitated by the investment adviser’s global risk management 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 February 28, 2022 (dollars in thousands):

	Investment securities
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Common stocks:
Information technology	$	55,195,194	$	4,936,287	$	45,296	$	60,176,777
Consumer discretionary		55,206,595		4,205,872		—		59,412,467
Communication services		33,959,475		420,649		161,312		34,541,436
Health care		29,844,965		542,397		125,671		30,513,033
Industrials		16,132,070		2,080,008		—		18,212,078
Financials		17,230,971		367,676		—		17,598,647
Energy		8,457,258		—		—		8,457,258
Consumer staples		4,099,768		1,185,939		22,700		5,308,407
Materials		4,386,996		493,209		—		4,880,205
Utilities		1,191,700		18,144		—		1,209,844
Real estate		634,996		—		—		634,996
Preferred securities		361,781		75,263		475,860		912,904
Rights & warrants		11,178		—		—		11,178
Convertible bonds & notes		—		20,204		8,500		28,704
Short-term securities		12,863,036		—		—		12,863,036
Total	$	239,575,983	$	14,345,648	$	839,339	$	254,760,970

18	The Growth Fund of America

4. Risk factors

Investing in the fund may involve certain risks including, but not limited to, those described below.

Market conditions — The prices of, and the income generated by, the common stocks and other securities held by the fund may decline —sometimes rapidly or unpredictably — due to various factors, including events or conditions affecting the general economy or particular industries; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; governmental, governmental agency or central bank responses to economic conditions; and currency exchange rate, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations.

Economies and financial markets throughout the world are highly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, wars, terrorism, cybersecurity events, natural disasters, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious disease) and other circumstances in one country or region, including actions taken by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities in response to any of the foregoing, could have impacts on global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries affected, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by developments in other countries and regions.

Issuer risks — The prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the fund may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities, including reduced demand for an issuer’s goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or its competitive environment and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives.

Investing in growth-oriented stocks — Growth-oriented common stocks and other equity-type securities (such as preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks and convertible bonds) may involve larger price swings and greater potential for loss than other types of investments.

Investing outside the U.S. — Securities of issuers domiciled outside the U.S., or with significant operations or revenues outside the U.S., may lose value because of adverse political, social, economic or market developments (including social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war) in the countries or regions in which the issuers operate or generate revenue. These securities may also lose value due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and/or currencies of other countries. Issuers of these securities may be more susceptible to actions of foreign governments, such as nationalization, currency blockage or the imposition of price controls or punitive taxes, each of which could adversely impact the value of these securities. Securities markets in certain countries may be more volatile and/or less liquid than those in the U.S. Investments outside the U.S. may also be subject to different accounting and auditing practices and standards and different regulatory, legal and reporting requirements, and may be more difficult to value, than those in the U.S. In addition, the value of investments outside the U.S. may be reduced by foreign taxes, including foreign withholding taxes on interest and dividends. Further, there may be increased risks of delayed settlement of securities purchased or sold by the fund. The risks of investing outside the U.S. may be heightened in connection with investments in emerging markets.

Management — The investment adviser to the fund actively manages the fund’s investments. Consequently, the fund is subject to the risk that the methods and analyses, including models, tools and data, employed by the investment adviser in this process may be flawed or incorrect and may not produce the desired results. This could cause the fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

5. Certain investment techniques

Securities lending — The fund has entered into securities lending transactions in which the fund earns income by lending investment securities to brokers, dealers or other institutions. Each transaction involves three parties: the fund, acting as the lender of the securities, a borrower, and a lending agent that acts as an intermediary.

Securities lending transactions are entered into by the fund under a securities lending agent agreement with the lending agent. The lending agent facilitates the exchange of securities between the fund and approved borrowers, ensures that securities loans are properly coordinated and documented, marks-to-market the value of collateral daily, secures additional collateral from a borrower if it falls below preset terms, and may reinvest cash collateral on behalf of the fund according to agreed parameters. The lending agent provides indemnification to the fund against losses resulting from a borrower default. Although risk is mitigated by the collateral and indemnification, the fund could experience a delay in recovering its securities and a potential loss of income or value if a borrower fails to return securities, collateral investments decline in value or the lending agent fails to perform.

The Growth Fund of America

The borrower is required to post highly liquid assets, such as cash or U.S. government securities, as collateral for the loan in an amount at least equal to the value of the securities loaned. Investments made with cash collateral are recognized as assets in the fund’s investment portfolio. The same amount is recorded as a liability in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. While securities are on loan, the fund will continue to receive the equivalent of the interest, dividends or other distributions paid by the issuer, as well as a portion of the interest on the investment of the collateral. Additionally, although the fund does not have the right to vote on securities while they are on loan, the fund has a right to consent on corporate actions and a right to recall loaned securities to vote. A borrower is obligated to return loaned securities at the conclusion of a loan or, during the pendency of a loan, on demand from the fund.

As of February 28, 2022, the total value of securities on loan was $780,524,000, and the total value of collateral received was $799,518,000. Collateral received includes cash of $798,452,000 and U.S. government securities of $1,066,000. Investment securities purchased from cash collateral are disclosed in the fund’s investment portfolio as short-term securities. Securities received as collateral are not recognized as fund assets. The contractual maturity of cash collateral received under the securities lending agreement is classified as overnight and continuous.

Collateral — The fund receives highly liquid assets, such as cash or U.S. government securities, as collateral in exchange for lending investment securities. The purpose of the collateral is to cover potential losses that could occur in the event the borrower cannot meet its contractual obligation. The lending agent may reinvest cash collateral from securities lending transactions according to agreed parameters. Cash collateral reinvested by the lending agent, if any, is disclosed in the fund’s investment portfolio.

6. Taxation and distributions

Federal income taxation — The fund complies with the requirements under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and intends to distribute substantially all of its net taxable income and net capital gains each year. The fund is not subject to income taxes to the extent such distributions are made. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required.

As of and during the period ended February 28, 2022, the fund did not have a liability for any unrecognized tax benefits. The fund recognizes interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense in the statement of operations. During the period, the fund did not incur any significant interest or penalties.

The fund’s tax returns are generally not subject to examination by federal, state and, if applicable, non-U.S. tax authorities after the expiration of each jurisdiction’s statute of limitations, which is typically three years after the date of filing but can be extended in certain jurisdictions.

Non-U.S. taxation — Dividend and interest income are recorded net of non-U.S. taxes paid. The fund may file withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. As a result of rulings from European courts, the fund filed for additional reclaims related to prior years. These reclaims are recorded when the amount is known and there are no significant uncertainties on collectability. Gains realized by the fund on the sale of securities in certain countries, if any, may be subject to non-U.S. taxes. If applicable, the fund records an estimated deferred tax liability based on unrealized gains to provide for potential non-U.S. taxes payable upon the sale of these securities.

Distributions — Distributions determined on a tax basis may differ from net investment income and net realized gains for financial reporting purposes. These differences are due primarily to different treatment for items such as currency gains and losses; short-term capital gains and losses; capital losses related to sales of certain securities within 30 days of purchase; unrealized appreciation of certain investments in securities outside the U.S. and cost of investments sold. The fiscal year in which amounts are distributed may differ from the year in which the net investment income and net realized gains are recorded by the fund for financial reporting purposes.

The components of distributable earnings on a tax basis are reported as of the fund’s most recent year-end. As of August 31, 2021, the components of distributable earnings on a tax basis were as follows (dollars in thousands):

Undistributed ordinary income		$	393,722
Undistributed long-term capital gains			19,275,322

20	The Growth Fund of America

As of February 28, 2022, the tax basis unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and cost of investments were as follows (dollars in thousands):

Gross unrealized appreciation on investments	$	130,279,925
Gross unrealized depreciation on investments		(7,770,717	)
Net unrealized appreciation on investments		122,509,208
Cost of investments		132,251,762

Distributions paid were characterized for tax purposes as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Six months ended February 28, 2022							Year ended August 31, 2021
Share class	Ordinary income			Long-term capital gains		Total distributions paid		Ordinary income			Long-term capital gains			Total distributions paid
Class A	$	117,355		$	10,926,184	$	11,043,539	$	304,861		$	4,904,093		$	5,208,954
Class C		—			402,115		402,115		—			192,825			192,825
Class T		—	*		1		1		—	*		1			1
Class F-1		—			584,333		584,333		16,567			345,610			362,177
Class F-2		104,867			2,871,495		2,976,362		137,236			1,255,271			1,392,507
Class F-3		44,237			893,053		937,290		46,777			359,773			406,550
Class 529-A		7,133			1,116,228		1,123,361		28,863			508,035			536,898
Class 529-C		—			44,512		44,512		—			24,057			24,057
Class 529-E		—			34,628		34,628		95			16,165			16,260
Class 529-T		—	*		2		2		—	*		1			1
Class 529-F-1		—	*		1		1		—	*		—	*		—	*
Class 529-F-2^†		2,550			73,501		76,051		2,999			28,706			31,705
Class 529-F-3^†		—	*		3		3		—	*		1			1
Class R-1		—			32,247		32,247		—			16,878			16,878
Class R-2		—			213,901		213,901		—			104,061			104,061
Class R-2E		—			20,959		20,959		—			10,945			10,945
Class R-3		—			470,733		470,733		—			242,632			242,632
Class R-4		1,862			585,697		587,559		16,117			301,902			318,019
Class R-5E		3,590			105,116		108,706		3,890			39,407			43,297
Class R-5		6,838			164,562		171,400		13,117			109,944			123,061
Class R-6		172,698			3,497,000		3,669,698		207,814			1,593,862			1,801,676
Total	$	461,130		$	22,036,271	$	22,497,401	$	778,336		$	10,054,169		$	10,832,505

*	Amount less than one thousand.
^†	Class 529-F-2 and 529-F-3 shares began investment operations on October 30, 2020.

7. Fees and transactions with related parties

CRMC, the fund’s investment adviser, is the parent company of American Funds Distributors^®, Inc. (“AFD”), the principal underwriter of the fund’s shares, and American Funds Service Company^® (“AFS”), the fund’s transfer agent. CRMC, AFD and AFS are considered related parties to the fund.

Investment advisory services — The fund has an investment advisory and service agreement with CRMC that provides for monthly fees accrued daily. At the beginning of the year, these fees were based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.500% on the first $1 billion of daily net assets and decreasing to 0.233% on such assets in excess of $210 billion. On September 14, 2021, the fund’s board of trustees approved an amended investment advisory and service agreement effective December 1, 2021, decreasing the annual rates to 0.231% and 0.229% on daily net assets in excess of $233 billion and $269 billion, respectively. CRMC waived investment advisory services fees of $426,000 in advance of the amended investment advisory agreement. CRMC does not intend to recoup this waiver. As a result, the fees shown on the fund’s statement of operations of $358,539,000 were reduced to $358,113,000, both of which were equivalent to an annualized rate of 0.255% of average daily net assets.

The Growth Fund of America

Class-specific fees and expenses — Expenses that are specific to individual share classes are accrued directly to the respective share class. The principal class-specific fees and expenses are further described below:

Distribution services — The fund has plans of distribution for all share classes, except Class F-2, F-3, 529-F-2, 529-F-3, R-5E, R-5 and R-6 shares. Under the plans, the board of trustees approves certain categories of expenses that are used to finance activities primarily intended to sell fund shares and service existing accounts. The plans provide for payments, based on an annualized percentage of average daily net assets, ranging from 0.25% to 1.00% as noted in this section. In some cases, the board of trustees has limited the amounts that may be paid to less than the maximum allowed by the plans. All share classes with a plan may use up to 0.25% of average daily net assets to pay service fees, or to compensate AFD for paying service fees, to firms that have entered into agreements with AFD to provide certain shareholder services. The remaining amounts available to be paid under each plan are paid to dealers to compensate them for their sales activities.

Share class	Currently approved limits			Plan limits
Class A		0.25	%		0.25	%
Class 529-A		0.25			0.50
Classes C, 529-C and R-1		1.00			1.00
Class R-2		0.75			1.00
Class R-2E		0.60			0.85
Classes 529-E and R-3		0.50			0.75
Classes T, F-1, 529-T, 529-F-1 and R-4		0.25			0.50

For Class A and 529-A shares, distribution-related expenses include the reimbursement of dealer and wholesaler commissions paid by AFD for certain shares sold without a sales charge. These share classes reimburse AFD for amounts billed within the prior 15 months but only to the extent that the overall annual expense limits are not exceeded. As of February 28, 2022, there were no unreimbursed expenses subject to reimbursement for Class A or 529-A shares.

Transfer agent services — The fund has a shareholder services agreement with AFS under which the fund compensates AFS for providing transfer agent services to each of the fund’s share classes. These services include recordkeeping, shareholder communications and transaction processing. In addition, the fund reimburses AFS for amounts paid to third parties for performing transfer agent services on behalf of fund shareholders.

Administrative services — The fund has an administrative services agreement with CRMC under which the fund compensates CRMC for providing administrative services to all share classes. Administrative services are provided by CRMC and its affiliates to help assist third parties providing non-distribution services to fund shareholders. These services include providing in-depth information on the fund and market developments that impact fund investments. Administrative services also include, but are not limited to, coordinating, monitoring and overseeing third parties that provide services to fund shareholders. The agreement provides the fund the ability to charge an administrative services fee at the annual rate of 0.05% of the average daily net assets attributable to each share class of the fund. Currently the fund pays CRMC an administrative services fee at the annual rate of 0.03% of the average daily net assets attributable to each share class of the fund for CRMC’s provision of administrative services.

529 plan services — Each 529 share class is subject to service fees to compensate the Virginia College Savings Plan (“Virginia529”) for its oversight and administration of the CollegeAmerica 529 college savings plan. The fees are based on the combined net assets invested in Class 529 and ABLE shares of the American Funds. Class ABLE shares are offered on other American Funds by Virginia529 through ABLEAmerica^®, a tax-advantaged savings program for individuals with disabilities. Virginia529 is not considered a related party to the fund.

Prior to January 1, 2022, the quarterly fees were based on a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.09% on the first $20 billion of the combined net assets invested in the American Funds and decreasing to 0.03% on such assets in excess of $100 billion. Effective January 1, 2022, the quarterly fees were amended to a series of decreasing annual rates beginning with 0.09% on the first $20 billion of the combined net assets invested in the American Funds and decreasing to 0.03% on such assets in excess of $75 billion. The fees for any given calendar quarter are accrued and calculated on the basis of the average net assets of Class 529 and ABLE shares of the American Funds for the last month of the prior calendar quarter. For the six months ended February 28, 2022, the 529 plan services fees were $4,610,000, which were equivalent to 0.058% of the average daily net assets of each 529 share class.

22	The Growth Fund of America

For the six months ended February 28, 2022, class-specific expenses under the agreements were as follows (dollars in thousands):

Share class	Distribution services	Transfer agent services		Administrative services		529 plan services
Class A	$173,680	$41,372		$20,943		Not applicable
Class C	23,131	1,360		695		Not applicable
Class T	—	—	*	—	*	Not applicable
Class F-1	9,268	4,335		1,112		Not applicable
Class F-2	Not applicable	19,330		5,480		Not applicable
Class F-3	Not applicable	67		1,708		Not applicable
Class 529-A	15,972	3,807		2,112		$4,066
Class 529-C	2,590	142		78		150
Class 529-E	1,068	68		64		124
Class 529-T	—	—	*	—	*	—	*
Class 529-F-1	—	—	*	—	*	—	*
Class 529-F-2	Not applicable	241		141		270
Class 529-F-3	Not applicable	—	*	—	*	—	*
Class R-1	1,885	180		57		Not applicable
Class R-2	9,491	4,535		380		Not applicable
Class R-2E	814	286		41		Not applicable
Class R-3	14,696	4,549		883		Not applicable
Class R-4	9,323	3,881		1,120		Not applicable
Class R-5E	Not applicable	1,024		197		Not applicable
Class R-5	Not applicable	543		319		Not applicable
Class R-6	Not applicable	268		6,836		Not applicable
Total class-specific expenses	$261,918	$85,988		$42,166		$4,610

*	Amount less than one thousand.

Trustees’ deferred compensation — Trustees who are unaffiliated with CRMC may elect to defer the cash payment of part or all of their compensation. These deferred amounts, which remain as liabilities of the fund, are treated as if invested in shares of the fund or other American Funds. These amounts represent general, unsecured liabilities of the fund and vary according to the total returns of the selected funds. Trustees’ compensation of $242,000 in the fund’s statement of operations reflects $523,000 in current fees (either paid in cash or deferred) and a net decrease of $281,000 in the value of the deferred amounts.

Affiliated officers and trustees — Officers and certain trustees of the fund are or may be considered to be affiliated with CRMC, AFD and AFS. No affiliated officers or trustees received any compensation directly from the fund.

Investment in CCF — The fund holds shares of CCF, an institutional prime money market fund managed by CRMC. CCF invests in high-quality, short-term money market instruments. CCF is used as the primary investment vehicle for the fund’s short-term instruments. CCF shares are only available for purchase by CRMC, its affiliates, and other funds managed by CRMC or its affiliates, and are not available to the public. CRMC does not receive an investment advisory services fee from CCF.

Security transactions with related funds — The fund purchased securities from, and sold securities to, other funds managed by CRMC (or funds managed by certain affiliates of CRMC) under procedures adopted by the fund’s board of trustees. The funds involved in such transactions are considered related by virtue of having a common investment adviser (or affiliated investment advisers), common trustees and/or common officers. Each transaction was executed at the current market price of the security and no brokerage commissions or fees were paid in accordance with Rule 17a-7 of the 1940 Act. During the six months ended February 28, 2022, the fund engaged in such purchase and sale transactions with related funds in the amounts of $1,090,630,000 and $1,097,558,000, respectively, which generated $170,351,000 of net realized gains from such sales.

Interfund lending — Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, the fund, along with other CRMC-managed funds (or funds managed by certain affiliates of CRMC), may participate in an interfund lending program. The program provides an alternate credit facility that permits the funds to lend or borrow cash for temporary purposes directly to or from one another, subject to the conditions of the exemptive order. The fund did not lend or borrow cash through the interfund lending program at any time during the six months ended February 28, 2022.

The Growth Fund of America

8. Indemnifications

The fund’s organizational documents provide board members and officers with indemnification against certain liabilities or expenses in connection with the performance of their duties to the fund. In the normal course of business, the fund may also enter into contracts that provide general indemnifications. The fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown since it is dependent on future claims that may be made against the fund. The risk of material loss from such claims is considered remote. Insurance policies are also available to the fund’s board members and officers.

9. Capital share transactions

Capital share transactions in the fund were as follows (dollars and shares in thousands):

	Sales¹						Reinvestments of distributions					Repurchases¹						Net increase (decrease)
Share class	Amount			Shares			Amount		Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount			Shares

Six months ended February 28, 2022

Class A	$	4,453,802			60,014		$	10,873,530		151,674		$	(7,951,931	)		(107,573	)	$	7,375,401			104,115
Class C		321,010			4,823			400,404		6,281			(576,120	)		(8,701	)		145,294			2,403
Class T		—			—			—		—			—			—			—			—
Class F-1		157,388			2,127			577,142		8,115			(558,723	)		(7,642	)		175,807			2,600
Class F-2		3,229,722			43,732			2,887,906		40,419			(3,564,918	)		(48,268	)		2,552,710			35,883
Class F-3		1,199,914			16,085			917,116		12,795			(1,112,950	)		(15,119	)		1,004,080			13,761
Class 529-A		646,645			8,805			1,123,148		15,893			(912,516	)		(12,453	)		857,277			12,245
Class 529-C		45,019			672			44,503		696			(106,137	)		(1,578	)		(16,615	)		(210	)
Class 529-E		19,405			270			34,622		497			(43,023	)		(604	)		11,004			163
Class 529-T		—			—			2		—	²		—			—			2			—	²
Class 529-F-1		—			—			1		—	²		—			—			1			—	²
Class 529-F-2		120,142			1,618			76,050		1,063			(68,610	)		(920	)		127,582			1,761
Class 529-F-3		—	²		—	²		3		—	²		—			—			3			—	²
Class R-1		19,559			298			32,161		494			(50,283	)		(750	)		1,437			42
Class R-2		214,121			3,155			213,766		3,242			(403,663	)		(5,917	)		24,224			480
Class R-2E		26,584			372			20,959		301			(60,377	)		(817	)		(12,834	)		(144	)
Class R-3		353,707			4,916			469,217		6,724			(848,233	)		(11,741	)		(25,309	)		(101	)
Class R-4		431,272			5,867			587,217		8,283			(965,877	)		(13,114	)		52,612			1,036
Class R-5E		154,705			2,129			108,703		1,534			(194,407	)		(2,653	)		69,001			1,010
Class R-5		97,039			1,310			170,439		2,379			(357,800	)		(4,833	)		(90,322	)		(1,144	)
Class R-6		4,032,117			56,115			3,656,418		50,968			(3,310,640	)		(43,996	)		4,377,895			63,087
Total net increase (decrease)	$	15,522,151			212,308		$	22,193,307		311,358		$	(21,086,208	)		(286,679	)	$	16,629,250			236,987

See end of table for footnotes.

24	The Growth Fund of America

	Sales¹					Reinvestments of distributions					Repurchases¹						Net increase (decrease)
Share class	Amount		Shares			Amount		Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount			Shares

Year ended August 31, 2021

Class A	$	10,931,972		157,620		$	5,138,087		76,517		$	(14,527,129	)		(211,223	)	$	1,542,930			22,914
Class C		729,156		11,719			191,952		3,163			(1,153,841	)		(18,510	)		(232,733	)		(3,628	)
Class T		—		—			—		—			—			—			—			—
Class F-1		350,882		5,124			352,860		5,295			(2,912,604	)		(41,558	)		(2,208,862	)		(31,139	)
Class F-2		6,830,576		99,492			1,349,189		20,155			(6,620,287	)		(95,926	)		1,559,478			23,721
Class F-3		2,725,827		39,370			396,528		5,907			(1,834,872	)		(26,538	)		1,287,483			18,739
Class 529-A		1,253,180		18,385			536,742		8,099			(1,841,086	)		(26,793	)		(51,164	)		(309	)
Class 529-C		98,004		1,570			24,051		395			(218,725	)		(3,491	)		(96,670	)		(1,526	)
Class 529-E		37,758		561			16,253		248			(67,174	)		(992	)		(13,163	)		(183	)
Class 529-T		—		—			1		—	²		—			—			1			—	²
Class 529-F-1		30,383		501			1		—	²		(631,766	)		(10,818	)		(601,382	)		(10,317	)
Class 529-F-2³		789,112		12,840			31,702		473			(101,080	)		(1,425	)		719,734			11,888
Class 529-F-3³		25		—	²		1		—	²		—			—			26			—	²
Class R-1		38,083		601			16,839		272			(121,311	)		(1,925	)		(66,389	)		(1,052	)
Class R-2		447,511		6,974			103,990		1,661			(730,181	)		(11,456	)		(178,680	)		(2,821	)
Class R-2E		57,547		863			10,945		167			(87,538	)		(1,299	)		(19,046	)		(269	)
Class R-3		801,605		11,943			241,925		3,684			(1,876,463	)		(27,989	)		(832,933	)		(12,362	)
Class R-4		812,301		11,977			317,854		4,784			(2,276,190	)		(33,609	)		(1,146,035	)		(16,848	)
Class R-5E		713,621		10,238			43,297		651			(633,621	)		(9,482	)		123,297			1,407
Class R-5		354,275		5,178			122,054		1,820			(1,407,454	)		(20,367	)		(931,125	)		(13,369	)
Class R- 6		7,105,757		102,071			1,794,629		26,714			(9,870,436	)		(143,501	)		(970,050	)		(14,716	)
Total net increase (decrease)	$	34,107,575		497,027		$	10,688,900		160,005		$	(46,911,758	)		(686,902	)	$	(2,115,283	)		(29,870	)

¹	Includes exchanges between share classes of the fund.
²	Amount less than one thousand.
³	Class 529-F-2 and 529-F-3 shares began investment operations on October 30, 2020.

10. Investment transactions

The fund made purchases and sales of investment securities, excluding short-term securities and U.S. government obligations, if any, of $42,018,577,000 and $50,867,594,000, respectively, during the six months ended February 28, 2022.

The Growth Fund of America

Financial highlights

			(Loss) income from investment operations¹									Dividends and distributions
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)			Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized)			Total from investment operations			Dividends (from net investment income)			Distributions (from capital gains)			Total dividends and distributions			Net asset value, end of period		Total return^2,3			Net assets, end of period (in millions)			Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waivers/ reimburse- ments⁴			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after waivers/ reimburse- ments^3,4			Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets³
Class A:
2/28/2022^5,6	$	78.42	$	.01		$	(7.92	)	$	(7.91	)	$	(.06	)	$	(6.01	)	$	(6.07	)	$	64.44		(10.86	)%⁷	$	125,045			.60	%⁸		.60	%⁸		.04	%⁸
8/31/2021		63.18		.05			18.10			18.15			(.17	)		(2.74	)		(2.91	)		78.42		29.49			144,012			.61			.61			.07
8/31/2020		49.39		.22			17.23			17.45			(.38	)		(3.28	)		(3.66	)		63.18		37.07			114,585			.64			.64			.42
8/31/2019		56.31		.30			(2.09	)		(1.79	)		(.31	)		(4.82	)		(5.13	)		49.39		(1.31	)		87,316			.63			.63			.61
8/31/2018		48.81		.28			10.70			10.98			(.25	)		(3.23	)		(3.48	)		56.31		23.49			93,649			.62			.62			.53
8/31/2017		43.47		.29			7.83			8.12			(.25	)		(2.53	)		(2.78	)		48.81		19.60			81,221			.64			.64			.64
Class C:
2/28/2022^5,6		70.50		(.24	)		(7.04	)		(7.28	)		—			(6.01	)		(6.01	)		57.21		(11.20	)⁷		4,075			1.35	⁸		1.35	⁸		(.71	)⁸
8/31/2021		57.32		(.42	)		16.34			15.92			—			(2.74	)		(2.74	)		70.50		28.54			4,852			1.35			1.35			(.68	)
8/31/2020		45.09		(.14	)		15.65			15.51			—	⁹		(3.28	)		(3.28	)		57.32		36.07			4,153			1.38			1.38			(.30	)
8/31/2019		51.96		(.08	)		(1.97	)		(2.05	)		—			(4.82	)		(4.82	)		45.09		(2.09	)		4,134			1.41			1.41			(.17	)
8/31/2018		45.39		(.13	)		9.93			9.80			—			(3.23	)		(3.23	)		51.96		22.54			4,953			1.42			1.42			(.28	)
8/31/2017		40.69		(.07	)		7.30			7.23			—			(2.53	)		(2.53	)		45.39		18.63			4,745			1.44			1.44			(.17	)
Class T:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.44		.10			(7.91	)		(7.81	)		(.23	)		(6.01	)		(6.24	)		64.39		(10.74	)^7,10		—	¹¹		.36	^8,10		.36	^8,10		.28	^8,10
8/31/2021		63.19		.20			18.10			18.30			(.31	)		(2.74	)		(3.05	)		78.44		29.76	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.38	¹⁰		.38	¹⁰		.29	¹⁰
8/31/2020		49.39		.34			17.24			17.58			(.50	)		(3.28	)		(3.78	)		63.19		37.40	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.40	¹⁰		.40	¹⁰		.66	¹⁰
8/31/2019		56.34		.41			(2.12	)		(1.71	)		(.42	)		(4.82	)		(5.24	)		49.39		(1.11	)¹⁰		—	¹¹		.41	¹⁰		.41	¹⁰		.83	¹⁰
8/31/2018		48.84		.38			10.72			11.10			(.37	)		(3.23	)		(3.60	)		56.34		23.76	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.42	¹⁰		.42	¹⁰		.73	¹⁰
8/31/2017^5,12		45.38		.18			3.28			3.46			—			—			—			48.84		7.62	^7,10		—	¹¹		.18	^7,10		.18	^7,10		.38	^7,10
Class F-1:
2/28/2022^5,6		77.79		(.01	)		(7.85	)		(7.86	)		—			(6.01	)		(6.01	)		63.92		(10.88	)⁷		6,532			.66	⁸		.66	⁸		(.02	)⁸
8/31/2021		62.70		.01			17.95			17.96			(.13	)		(2.74	)		(2.87	)		77.79		29.40			7,747			.66			.66			.02
8/31/2020		49.02		.20			17.11			17.31			(.35	)		(3.28	)		(3.63	)		62.70		37.05			8,196			.67			.67			.40
8/31/2019		55.92		.27			(2.09	)		(1.82	)		(.26	)		(4.82	)		(5.08	)		49.02		(1.40	)		7,539			.69			.69			.54
8/31/2018		48.47		.24			10.64			10.88			(.20	)		(3.23	)		(3.43	)		55.92		23.43			8,381			.69			.69			.45
8/31/2017		43.20		.26			7.77			8.03			(.23	)		(2.53	)		(2.76	)		48.47		19.50			8,574			.70			.70			.57
Class F-2:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.29		.09			(7.90	)		(7.81	)		(.22	)		(6.01	)		(6.23	)		64.25		(10.78	)⁷		33,048			.40	⁸		.40	⁸		.24	⁸
8/31/2021		63.07		.19			18.07			18.26			(.30	)		(2.74	)		(3.04	)		78.29		29.76			37,459			.40			.40			.28
8/31/2020		49.30		.34			17.20			17.54			(.49	)		(3.28	)		(3.77	)		63.07		37.38			28,682			.41			.41			.65
8/31/2019		56.25		.40			(2.11	)		(1.71	)		(.42	)		(4.82	)		(5.24	)		49.30		(1.10	)		22,265			.42			.42			.81
8/31/2018		48.76		.39			10.69			11.08			(.36	)		(3.23	)		(3.59	)		56.25		23.76			22,226			.42			.42			.74
8/31/2017		43.45		.38			7.81			8.19			(.35	)		(2.53	)		(2.88	)		48.76		19.83			16,049			.43			.43			.84
Class F-3:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.57		.13			(7.92	)		(7.79	)		(.30	)		(6.01	)		(6.31	)		64.47		(10.72	)⁷		10,368			.29	⁸		.29	⁸		.34	⁸
8/31/2021		63.28		.26			18.13			18.39			(.36	)		(2.74	)		(3.10	)		78.57		29.88			11,555			.30			.30			.38
8/31/2020		49.45		.39			17.26			17.65			(.54	)		(3.28	)		(3.82	)		63.28		37.53			8,120			.31			.31			.75
8/31/2019		56.41		.46			(2.13	)		(1.67	)		(.47	)		(4.82	)		(5.29	)		49.45		(1.01	)		5,796			.32			.32			.92
8/31/2018		48.90		.44			10.71			11.15			(.41	)		(3.23	)		(3.64	)		56.41		23.86			4,704			.33			.33			.84
8/31/2017^5,13		44.36		.30			4.24			4.54			—			—			—			48.90		10.24	⁷		2,687			.34	⁸		.34	⁸		1.08	⁸
Class 529-A:
2/28/2022^5,6		77.37		—	⁹		(7.80	)		(7.80	)		(.04	)		(6.01	)		(6.05	)		63.52		(10.87	)⁷		12,666			.63	⁸		.63	⁸		.01	⁸
8/31/2021		62.38		.02			17.87			17.89			(.16	)		(2.74	)		(2.90	)		77.37		29.45			14,481			.64			.64			.03
8/31/2020		48.80		.20			17.01			17.21			(.35	)		(3.28	)		(3.63	)		62.38		37.01			11,695			.68			.68			.38
8/31/2019		55.70		.26			(2.07	)		(1.81	)		(.27	)		(4.82	)		(5.09	)		48.80		(1.38	)		8,569			.70			.70			.54
8/31/2018		48.33		.24			10.59			10.83			(.23	)		(3.23	)		(3.46	)		55.70		23.41			9,114			.70			.70			.46
8/31/2017		43.08		.25			7.75			8.00			(.22	)		(2.53	)		(2.75	)		48.33		19.50			7,233			.71			.71			.57

See end of table for footnotes.

26	The Growth Fund of America

Financial highlights (continued)

			(Loss) income from investment operations¹									Dividends and distributions
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)			Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized)			Total from investment operations			Dividends (from net investment income)			Distributions (from capital gains)			Total dividends and distributions			Net asset value, end of period		Total return^2,3			Net assets, end of period (in millions)			Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waivers/ reimburse- ments⁴			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after waivers/ reimburse- ments^3,4			Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets³
Class 529-C:
2/28/2022^5,6	$	70.68	$	(.25	)	$	(7.06	)	$	(7.31	)	$	—		$	(6.01	)	$	(6.01	)	$	57.36		(11.21	)%⁷	$	443			1.40	%⁸		1.40	%⁸		(.76	)%⁸
8/31/2021		57.48		(.44	)		16.38			15.94			—			(2.74	)		(2.74	)		70.68		28.49			561			1.38			1.38			(.71	)
8/31/2020		45.23		(.15	)		15.68			15.53			—			(3.28	)		(3.28	)		57.48		35.98			544			1.42			1.42			(.31	)
8/31/2019		52.11		(.10	)		(1.96	)		(2.06	)		—			(4.82	)		(4.82	)		45.23		(2.11	)		989			1.45			1.45			(.21	)
8/31/2018		45.54		(.16	)		9.96			9.80			—			(3.23	)		(3.23	)		52.11		22.46			1,240			1.46			1.46			(.34	)
8/31/2017		40.83		(.09	)		7.33			7.24			—			(2.53	)		(2.53	)		45.54		18.59			1,625			1.48			1.48			(.21	)
Class 529-E:
2/28/2022^5,6		76.33		(.09	)		(7.69	)		(7.78	)		—			(6.01	)		(6.01	)		62.54		(10.99	)⁷		377			.88	⁸		.88	⁸		(.24	)⁸
8/31/2021		61.59		(.14	)		17.64			17.50			(.02	)		(2.74	)		(2.76	)		76.33		29.14			447			.88			.88			(.21	)
8/31/2020		48.22		.08			16.80			16.88			(.23	)		(3.28	)		(3.51	)		61.59		36.70			372			.90			.90			.16
8/31/2019		55.07		.15			(2.04	)		(1.89	)		(.14	)		(4.82	)		(4.96	)		48.22		(1.60	)		305			.93			.93			.30
8/31/2018		47.81		.11			10.48			10.59			(.10	)		(3.23	)		(3.33	)		55.07		23.11			351			.94			.94			.21
8/31/2017		42.65		.14			7.67			7.81			(.12	)		(2.53	)		(2.65	)		47.81		19.20			307			.95			.95			.32
Class 529-T:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.41		.08			(7.91	)		(7.83	)		(.19	)		(6.01	)		(6.20	)		64.38		(10.78	)^7,10		—	¹¹		.41	^8,10		.41	^8,10		.22	^8,10
8/31/2021		63.17		.16			18.10			18.26			(.28	)		(2.74	)		(3.02	)		78.41		29.71	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.44	¹⁰		.44	¹⁰		.24	¹⁰
8/31/2020		49.38		.32			17.23			17.55			(.48	)		(3.28	)		(3.76	)		63.17		37.33	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.44	¹⁰		.44	¹⁰		.62	¹⁰
8/31/2019		56.32		.39			(2.12	)		(1.73	)		(.39	)		(4.82	)		(5.21	)		49.38		(1.15	)¹⁰		—	¹¹		.45	¹⁰		.45	¹⁰		.79	¹⁰
8/31/2018		48.83		.35			10.72			11.07			(.35	)		(3.23	)		(3.58	)		56.32		23.70	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.47	¹⁰		.47	¹⁰		.68	¹⁰
8/31/2017^5,12		45.38		.17			3.28			3.45			—			—			—			48.83		7.60	^7,10		—	¹¹		.20	^7,10		.20	^7,10		.37	^7,10
Class 529-F-1:
2/28/2022^5,6		77.23		.06			(7.78	)		(7.72	)		(.17	)		(6.01	)		(6.18	)		63.33		(10.81	)^7,10		—	¹¹		.47	^8,10		.47	^8,10		.16	^8,10
8/31/2021		62.24		.13			17.88			18.01			(.28	)		(2.74	)		(3.02	)		77.23		29.74	¹⁰		—	¹¹		.42	¹⁰		.42	¹⁰		.22	¹⁰
8/31/2020		48.69		.31			16.99			17.30			(.47	)		(3.28	)		(3.75	)		62.24		37.35			642			.45			.45			.61
8/31/2019		55.65		.38			(2.12	)		(1.74	)		(.40	)		(4.82	)		(5.22	)		48.69		(1.18	)		445			.47			.47			.77
8/31/2018		48.28		.35			10.58			10.93			(.33	)		(3.23	)		(3.56	)		55.65		23.69			384			.47			.47			.68
8/31/2017		43.04		.35			7.74			8.09			(.32	)		(2.53	)		(2.85	)		48.28		19.76			291			.49			.49			.79
Class 529-F-2:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.40		.09			(7.91	)		(7.82	)		(.21	)		(6.01	)		(6.22	)		64.36		(10.77	)⁷		878			.40	⁸		.40	⁸		.23	⁸
8/31/2021^5,14		59.21		.15			22.06			22.21			(.28	)		(2.74	)		(3.02	)		78.40		38.38	⁷		932			.43	⁸		.43	⁸		.26	⁸
Class 529-F-3:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.35		.10			(7.90	)		(7.80	)		(.25	)		(6.01	)		(6.26	)		64.29		(10.75	)⁷		—	¹¹		.35	⁸		.35	⁸		.28	⁸
8/31/2021^5,14		59.21		.19			22.06			22.25			(.37	)		(2.74	)		(3.11	)		78.35		38.45	⁷		—	¹¹		.38	⁸		.35	⁸		.32	⁸
Class R-1:
2/28/2022^5,6		71.80		(.25	)		(7.18	)		(7.43	)		—			(6.01	)		(6.01	)		58.36		(11.20	)⁷		329			1.38	⁸		1.38	⁸		(.75	)⁸
8/31/2021		58.35		(.45	)		16.64			16.19			—			(2.74	)		(2.74	)		71.80		28.49			402			1.38			1.38			(.70	)
8/31/2020		45.86		(.16	)		15.93			15.77			—			(3.28	)		(3.28	)		58.35		36.01			388			1.40			1.40			(.33	)
8/31/2019		52.74		(.09	)		(1.97	)		(2.06	)		—			(4.82	)		(4.82	)		45.86		(2.08	)		359			1.42			1.42			(.19	)
8/31/2018		46.04		(.14	)		10.07			9.93			—			(3.23	)		(3.23	)		52.74		22.50			448			1.42			1.42			(.28	)
8/31/2017		41.23		(.07	)		7.41			7.34			—			(2.53	)		(2.53	)		46.04		18.65			419			1.43			1.43			(.16	)

See end of table for footnotes.

The Growth Fund of America

Financial highlights (continued)

			(Loss) income from investment operations¹									Dividends and distributions
Period ended	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)			Net (losses) gains on securities (both realized and unrealized)			Total from investment operations			Dividends (from net investment income)			Distributions (from capital gains)			Total dividends and distributions			Net asset value, end of period		Total return^2,3			Net assets, end of period (in millions)		Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waivers/ reimburse- ments⁴			Ratio of expenses to average net assets after waivers/ reimburse- ments^3,4			Ratio of net income (loss) to average net assets³
Class R-2:
2/28/2022^5,6	$	72.72	$	(.26	)	$	(7.28	)	$	(7.54	)	$	—		$	(6.01	)	$	(6.01	)	$	59.17		(11.22	)%⁷	$	2,202		1.40	%⁸		1.40	%⁸		(.76	)%⁸
8/31/2021		59.07		(.46	)		16.85			16.39			—			(2.74	)		(2.74	)		72.72		28.49			2,672		1.39			1.39			(.71	)
8/31/2020		46.39		(.16	)		16.12			15.96			—			(3.28	)		(3.28	)		59.07		36.01			2,337		1.40			1.40			(.34	)
8/31/2019		53.29		(.09	)		(1.99	)		(2.08	)		—			(4.82	)		(4.82	)		46.39		(2.10	)		1,970		1.42			1.42			(.18	)
8/31/2018		46.47		(.13	)		10.18			10.05			—			(3.23	)		(3.23	)		53.29		22.55			2,304		1.41			1.41			(.27	)
8/31/2017		41.60		(.07	)		7.47			7.40			—			(2.53	)		(2.53	)		46.47		18.63			2,153		1.42			1.42			(.15	)
Class R-2E:
2/28/2022^5,6		76.28		(.17	)		(7.67	)		(7.84	)		—			(6.01	)		(6.01	)		62.43		(11.07	)⁷		229		1.10	⁸		1.10	⁸		(.47	)⁸
8/31/2021		61.67		(.28	)		17.63			17.35			—			(2.74	)		(2.74	)		76.28		28.85			291		1.09			1.09			(.42	)
8/31/2020		48.30		(.02	)		16.83			16.81			(.16	)		(3.28	)		(3.44	)		61.67		36.44			252		1.11			1.11			(.04	)
8/31/2019		55.21		.06			(2.05	)		(1.99	)		(.10	)		(4.82	)		(4.92	)		48.30		(1.81	)		203		1.12			1.12			.12
8/31/2018		48.00		.02			10.52			10.54			(.10	)		(3.23	)		(3.33	)		55.21		22.90			185		1.12			1.12			.04
8/31/2017		42.92		.08			7.70			7.78			(.17	)		(2.53	)		(2.70	)		48.00		19.02			108		1.12			1.12			.18
Class R-3:
2/28/2022^5,6		76.50		(.11	)		(7.71	)		(7.82	)		—			(6.01	)		(6.01	)		62.67		(11.01	)⁷		5,100		.94	⁸		.94	⁸		(.31	)⁸
8/31/2021		61.75		(.18	)		17.67			17.49			—			(2.74	)		(2.74	)		76.50		29.05			6,233		.94			.94			(.26	)
8/31/2020		48.32		.06			16.84			16.90			(.19	)		(3.28	)		(3.47	)		61.75		36.63			5,794		.95			.95			.12
8/31/2019		55.14		.13			(2.03	)		(1.90	)		(.10	)		(4.82	)		(4.92	)		48.32		(1.64	)		5,356		.97			.97			.26
8/31/2018		47.86		.09			10.49			10.58			(.07	)		(3.23	)		(3.30	)		55.14		23.06			6,728		.97			.97			.17
8/31/2017		42.68		.13			7.68			7.81			(.10	)		(2.53	)		(2.63	)		47.86		19.18			6,518		.98			.98			.30
Class R-4:
2/28/2022^5,6		77.58		—	⁹		(7.84	)		(7.84	)		(.02	)		(6.01	)		(6.03	)		63.71		(10.88	)⁷		6,536		.64	⁸		.64	⁸		(.01	)⁸
8/31/2021		62.53		.02			17.92			17.94			(.15	)		(2.74	)		(2.89	)		77.58		29.44			7,878		.64			.64			.03
8/31/2020		48.89		.21			17.06			17.27			(.35	)		(3.28	)		(3.63	)		62.53		37.06			7,403		.65			.65			.42
8/31/2019		55.79		.28			(2.09	)		(1.81	)		(.27	)		(4.82	)		(5.09	)		48.89		(1.38	)		6,860		.67			.67			.56
8/31/2018		48.38		.24			10.63			10.87			(.23	)		(3.23	)		(3.46	)		55.79		23.46			8,391		.67			.67			.47
8/31/2017		43.13		.27			7.76			8.03			(.25	)		(2.53	)		(2.78	)		48.38		19.54			8,123		.68			.68			.59
Class R-5E:
2/28/2022^5,6		77.70		.07			(7.83	)		(7.76	)		(.21	)		(6.01	)		(6.22	)		63.72		(10.80	)⁷		1,161		.45	⁸		.45	⁸		.19	⁸
8/31/2021		62.61		.16			17.94			18.10			(.27	)		(2.74	)		(3.01	)		77.70		29.69			1,337		.44			.44			.23
8/31/2020		48.97		.31			17.09			17.40			(.48	)		(3.28	)		(3.76	)		62.61		37.36			990		.45			.45			.61
8/31/2019		55.97		.39			(2.14	)		(1.75	)		(.43	)		(4.82	)		(5.25	)		48.97		(1.17	)		732		.46			.46			.80
8/31/2018		48.55		.42			10.59			11.01			(.36	)		(3.23	)		(3.59	)		55.97		23.72			296		.45			.45			.79
8/31/2017		43.34		.38			7.77			8.15			(.41	)		(2.53	)		(2.94	)		48.55		19.78			31		.47			.47			.83
Class R-5:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.50		.11			(7.92	)		(7.81	)		(.25	)		(6.01	)		(6.26	)		64.43		(10.75	)⁷		1,832		.34	⁸		.34	⁸		.30	⁸
8/31/2021		63.22		.23			18.12			18.35			(.33	)		(2.74	)		(3.07	)		78.50		29.84			2,322		.34			.34			.34
8/31/2020		49.40		.37			17.24			17.61			(.51	)		(3.28	)		(3.79	)		63.22		37.48			2,716		.35			.35			.72
8/31/2019		56.35		.43			(2.13	)		(1.70	)		(.43	)		(4.82	)		(5.25	)		49.40		(1.08	)		2,648		.37			.37			.86
8/31/2018		48.84		.40			10.72			11.12			(.38	)		(3.23	)		(3.61	)		56.35		23.81			3,430		.37			.37			.77
8/31/2017		43.50		.41			7.82			8.23			(.36	)		(2.53	)		(2.89	)		48.84		19.90			3,665		.38			.38			.90
Class R-6:
2/28/2022^5,6		78.63		.13			(7.93	)		(7.80	)		(.30	)		(6.01	)		(6.31	)		64.52		(10.72	)⁷		42,425		.29	⁸		.29	⁸		.34	⁸
8/31/2021		63.32		.27			18.14			18.41			(.36	)		(2.74	)		(3.10	)		78.63		29.90			46,741		.29			.29			.38
8/31/2020		49.48		.40			17.26			17.66			(.54	)		(3.28	)		(3.82	)		63.32		37.53			38,573		.30			.30			.76
8/31/2019		56.44		.46			(2.13	)		(1.67	)		(.47	)		(4.82	)		(5.29	)		49.48		(1.01	)		32,028		.32			.32			.92
8/31/2018		48.91		.44			10.72			11.16			(.40	)		(3.23	)		(3.63	)		56.44		23.88			31,562		.32			.32			.83
8/31/2017		43.57		.43			7.83			8.26			(.39	)		(2.53	)		(2.92	)		48.91		19.95			22,661		.33			.33			.95

See end of table for footnotes.

28	The Growth Fund of America

Financial highlights (continued)

	Six months ended
	February 28,			Year ended August 31,
	2022^5,6,7			2021			2020			2019			2018			2017
Portfolio turnover rate for all share classes¹⁵		15	%		24	%		28	%		36	%		28	%		25	%

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.
²	Total returns exclude any applicable sales charges, including contingent deferred sales charges.
³	This column reflects the impact, if any, of certain waivers/reimbursements from CRMC. During one of the periods shown, CRMC reimbursed a portion of transfer agent services fees for Class 529-F-3 shares.
⁴	Ratios do not include expenses of any Central Funds. The fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of the expenses of any Central Funds.
⁵	Based on operations for a period that is less than a full year.
⁶	Unaudited.
⁷	Not annualized.
⁸	Annualized.
⁹	Amount less than $.01.
¹⁰	All or a significant portion of assets in this class consisted of seed capital invested by CRMC and/or its affiliates. Fees for distribution services are not charged or accrued on these seed capital assets. If such fees were paid by the fund on seed capital assets, fund expenses would have been higher and net income and total return would have been lower.
¹¹	Amount less than $1 million.
¹²	Class T and 529-T shares began investment operations on April 7, 2017.
¹³	Class F-3 shares began investment operations on January 27, 2017.
¹⁴	Class 529-F-2 and 529-F-3 shares began investment operations on October 30, 2020.
¹⁵	Rates do not include the fund’s portfolio activity with respect to any Central Funds.

See notes to financial statements.

The Growth Fund of America

Expense example

unaudited

As a fund shareholder, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, such as initial sales charges on purchase payments and contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions (loads), and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees, and other expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the fund so you can compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire six-month period (September 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022).

Actual expenses:

The first line of each share class in the table on the following page provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading titled “Expenses paid during period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical example for comparison purposes:

The second line of each share class in the table on the following page provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the actual expense ratio for the share class and an assumed rate of return of 5.00% per year before expenses, which is not the actual return of the share class. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5.00% hypothetical example with the 5.00% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

Notes:

Retirement plan participants may be subject to certain fees charged by the plan sponsor, and Class F-1, F-2, F-3, 529-F-1, 529-F-2 and 529-F-3 shareholders may be subject to fees charged by financial intermediaries, typically ranging from 0.75% to 1.50% of assets annually depending on services offered. You can estimate the impact of these fees by adding the amount of the fees to the total estimated expenses you paid on your account during the period as calculated above. In addition, your ending account value would be lower by the amount of these fees.

Note that the expenses shown in the table on the following page are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line of each share class in the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

30	The Growth Fund of America

Expense example (continued)

	Beginning account value 9/1/2021		Ending account value 2/28/2022		Expenses paid during period*		Annualized expense ratio
Class A – actual return	$	1,000.00	$	891.40	$	2.81		.60	%
Class A – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.82		3.01		.60
Class C – actual return		1,000.00		888.01		6.32		1.35
Class C – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,018.10		6.76		1.35
Class T – actual return		1,000.00		892.57		1.69		.36
Class T – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.01		1.81		.36
Class F-1 – actual return		1,000.00		891.17		3.09		.66
Class F-1 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.52		3.31		.66
Class F-2 – actual return		1,000.00		892.24		1.83		.39
Class F-2 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.86		1.96		.39
Class F-3 – actual return		1,000.00		892.85		1.36		.29
Class F-3 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.36		1.45		.29
Class 529-A – actual return		1,000.00		891.31		2.95		.63
Class 529-A – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.67		3.16		.63
Class 529-C – actual return		1,000.00		887.88		6.55		1.40
Class 529-C – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.85		7.00		1.40
Class 529-E – actual return		1,000.00		890.13		4.12		.88
Class 529-E – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,020.43		4.41		.88
Class 529-T – actual return		1,000.00		892.24		1.92		.41
Class 529-T – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.76		2.06		.41
Class 529-F-1 – actual return		1,000.00		891.94		2.20		.47
Class 529-F-1 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.46		2.36		.47
Class 529-F-2 – actual return		1,000.00		892.29		1.88		.40
Class 529-F-2 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.81		2.01		.40
Class 529-F-3 – actual return		1,000.00		892.47		1.64		.35
Class 529-F-3 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.06		1.76		.35
Class R-1 – actual return		1,000.00		888.01		6.46		1.38
Class R-1 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.95		6.90		1.38
Class R-2 – actual return		1,000.00		887.85		6.55		1.40
Class R-2 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,017.85		7.00		1.40
Class R-2E – actual return		1,000.00		889.25		5.15		1.10
Class R-2E – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,019.34		5.51		1.10
Class R-3 – actual return		1,000.00		889.85		4.40		.94
Class R-3 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,020.13		4.71		.94
Class R-4 – actual return		1,000.00		891.18		3.00		.64
Class R-4 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,021.62		3.21		.64
Class R-5E – actual return		1,000.00		892.02		2.11		.45
Class R-5E – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,022.56		2.26		.45
Class R-5 – actual return		1,000.00		892.48		1.60		.34
Class R-5 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.11		1.71		.34
Class R-6 – actual return		1,000.00		892.76		1.36		.29
Class R-6 – assumed 5% return		1,000.00		1,023.36		1.45		.29

*	The “expenses paid during period” are equal to the “annualized expense ratio,” multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the period, and divided by 365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

The Growth Fund of America

Liquidity Risk Management Program

The fund has adopted a liquidity risk management program (the “program”). The fund’s board has designated Capital Research and Management Company (“CRMC”) as the administrator of the program. Personnel of CRMC or its affiliates conduct the day-to-day operation of the program pursuant to policies and procedures administered by the Capital Group Liquidity Risk Management Committee.

Under the program, CRMC manages the fund’s liquidity risk, which is the risk that the fund could not meet shareholder redemption requests without significant dilution of remaining shareholders’ interests in the fund. This risk is managed by monitoring the degree of liquidity of the fund’s investments, limiting the amount of the fund’s illiquid investments, and utilizing various risk management tools and facilities available to the fund for meeting shareholder redemptions, among other means. CRMC’s process of determining the degree of liquidity of the fund’s investments is supported by one or more third-party liquidity assessment vendors.

The fund’s board reviewed a report prepared by CRMC regarding the operation and effectiveness of the program for the period October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. No significant liquidity events impacting the fund were noted in the report. In addition, CRMC provided its assessment that the program had been effective in managing the fund’s liquidity risk.

32	The Growth Fund of America

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The Growth Fund of America

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34	The Growth Fund of America

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The Growth Fund of America

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36	The Growth Fund of America

Office of the fund

6455 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618-4518

Investment adviser

Capital Research and Management Company
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406

Transfer agent for shareholder accounts

American Funds Service Company
(Write to the address nearest you.)

P.O. Box 6007
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007

P.O. Box 2280
Norfolk, VA 23501-2280

Custodian of assets

State Street Bank and Trust Company
One Lincoln Street
Boston, MA 02111

Counsel

Dechert LLP

One Bush Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104-4446

Independent registered public accounting firm

Deloitte & Touche LLP

695 Town Center Drive

Suite 1000

Costa Mesa, CA 92626-7188

Principal underwriter

American Funds Distributors, Inc.

333 South Hope Street

Los Angeles, CA 90071-1406

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.

“American Funds Proxy Voting Procedures and Principles” — which describes how we vote proxies relating to portfolio securities — is available on our website or upon request by calling AFS. The fund files its proxy voting record with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the 12 months ended June 30 by August 31. The proxy voting record is available free of charge on the SEC website at sec.gov and on our website.

The Growth Fund of America files a complete list of its portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form NPORT-P. The list of portfolio holdings is available free of charge on the SEC website and on our website.

This report is for the information of shareholders of The Growth Fund of America, but it also may be used as sales literature when preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus or summary prospectus, which gives details about charges, expenses, investment objectives and operating policies of the fund. If used as sales material after June 30, 2022, this report must be accompanied by an American Funds statistical update for the most recently completed calendar quarter.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index (“Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Capital Group. Copyright © 2022 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.

American Funds Distributors, Inc., member FINRA.

The Capital Advantage^®

Since 1931, Capital Group, home of American Funds, has helped investors pursue long-term investment success. Our consistent approach — in combination with The Capital System^SM— has resulted in superior outcomes.

	Aligned with investor success
	We base our decisions on a long-term perspective, which we believe aligns our goals with the interests of our clients. Our portfolio managers average 27 years of investment industry experience, including 21 years at our company, reflecting a career commitment to our long-term approach.¹

	The Capital System
	The Capital System combines individual accountability with teamwork. Funds using The Capital System are divided into portions that are managed independently by investment professionals with diverse backgrounds, ages and investment approaches. An extensive global research effort is the backbone of our system.

	American Funds’ superior outcomes
	Equity funds have beaten their Lipper peer indexes in 90% of 10-year periods and 99% of 20-year periods.²Fixed income funds have helped investors achieve diversification through attention to correlation between bonds and equities.³Fund management fees have been among the lowest in the industry.⁴

	¹	Investment industry experience as of December 31, 2021.
	²	Based on Class F-2 share results for rolling calendar-year periods starting the first full calendar year after each fund’s inception through December 31, 2021. Periods covered are the shorter of the fund’s lifetime or since the comparable Lipper index inception date (except Capital Income Builder and SMALLCAP World Fund, for which the Lipper average was used). Expenses differ for each share class, so results will vary.
	³	Based on Class F-2 share results as of December 31, 2021. Thirteen of the 17 fixed income American Funds that have been in existence for the three-year period showed a three-year correlation below 0.3. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was used as an equity market proxy. Correlation based on monthly total returns. Correlation is a statistical measure of how two securities move in relation to each other. A correlation ranges from –1 to 1. A positive correlation close to 1 implies that as one security moves, either up or down, the other security will move in “lockstep,” in the same direction. A negative correlation close to –1 indicates that the securities have moved in the opposite direction.
	⁴	On average, our management fees were in the lowest quintile 63% of the time, based on the 20-year period ended December 31, 2021, versus comparable Lipper categories, excluding funds of funds.

Class F-2 shares were first offered on August 1, 2008. Class F-2 share results prior to the date of first sale are hypothetical based on the results of the original share class of the fund without a sales charge, adjusted for typical estimated expenses. Results for certain funds with an inception date after August 1, 2008, also include hypothetical returns because those funds’ Class F-2 shares sold after the funds’ date of first offering. Visit capitalgroup.com for more information on specific expense adjustments and the actual dates of first sale.

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.

ITEM 2 – Code of Ethics

Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.

ITEM 3 – Audit Committee Financial Expert

Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.

ITEM 4 – Principal Accountant Fees and Services

Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.

ITEM 5 – Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a listed issuer as defined in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

ITEM 6 – Schedule of Investments

Not applicable, insofar as the schedule is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.

ITEM 7 – Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.

ITEM 8 – Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.

ITEM 9 – Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers

Not applicable to this Registrant, insofar as the Registrant is not a closed-end management investment company.

ITEM 10 – Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s board of trustees since the Registrant last submitted a proxy statement to its shareholders. The procedures are as follows. The Registrant has a nominating and governance committee comprised solely of persons who are not considered ‘‘interested persons’’ of the Registrant within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The committee periodically reviews such issues as the board’s composition, responsibilities, committees, compensation and other relevant issues, and recommends any appropriate changes to the full board of trustees. While the committee normally is able to identify from its own resources an ample number of qualified candidates, it will consider shareholder suggestions of persons to be considered as nominees to fill future vacancies on the board. Such suggestions must be sent in writing to the nominating and governance committee of the Registrant, c/o the Registrant’s Secretary, and must be accompanied by complete biographical and occupational data on the prospective nominee, along with a written consent of the prospective nominee for consideration of his or her name by the nominating and governance committee.

ITEM 11 – Controls and Procedures

(a)

The Registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 30a-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940), that such controls and procedures are adequate and reasonably designed to achieve the purposes described in paragraph (c) of such rule.

(b)

There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the Registrant’s semi-annual period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 12 – Exhibits

(a)(1)	Not applicable for filing of semi-annual reports to shareholders.

(a)(2)	The certifications required by Rule 30a-2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached as exhibits hereto.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

	THE GROWTH FUND OF AMERICA

	By __/s/ Walter R. Burkley____________________
	Walter R. Burkley, Principal Executive Officer

	Date: April 29, 2022

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By __/s/ Walter R. Burkley_________________

Walter R. Burkley,

Principal Executive Officer

Date: April 29, 2022

By ___/s/ Hong T. Le __________

Hong T. Le, Treasurer and

Principal Financial Officer

Date: April 29, 2022