Telco/Internet specialist

Kirk Boodry

Redex Research

Equity Bottom-Up

Virtuous circle themes of Vision Fund IPOs, ongoing buybacks/MBOs and Alibaba expansion have been replaced by vicious circle narratives of China regulation, the reality of weak liquidity events and another pause in returns to shareholders. The net result is Softbank trades at a similar price and discount to what it did in September last year even as NASDAQ has climbed 25%. The sell off in Softbank shares since Q4 results in May was initially driven by disappointment on a buyback but the discount has stabilized and recent weakness reflects erosion in the underlying value/share.

Virtuous circle themes of Vision Fund IPOs, ongoing buybacks/MBOs and Alibaba expansion have been replaced by vicious circle narratives of China regulation, the reality of weak liquidity events and another pause in returns to shareholders. The net result is Softbank trades at a similar price and discount to what it did in September last year even as NASDAQ has climbed 25%. The sell off in Softbank shares since Q4 results in May was initially driven by disappointment on a buyback but the discount has stabilized and recent weakness reflects erosion in the underlying value/share.     

Softbank Group - The Great Unwinding Has Shifted from the Discount to Underlying Value

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst, Obex Capital Research

Aaron Gabin

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research

Obex Capital Research

“Obex” is Latin for Barriers to Entry. Obex Capital Management’s investment philosophy is driven by an intense focus on which business model’s Barriers to Entry are able to withstand the ever increasing competitive disruption in the TMT and Consumer Sectors.

DoorDash’s had a fairly impressive 2Q21 after a solid 1Q21…the company even raised full year guidance by more than then the second quarter beat. However, they are guiding to deceleration in the backhalf of the year as reopenings pick up and normal seasonality sets in…. the question is when does that happen given how much the delta variant is preventing normalization.  We don’t usually short on valuation alone, you need a fundamental competitive flaw. We think DoorDash appears to be well run and is executing, buts its valuation is nonsensical at 12x forward sales vs. a peer group average of 4x. Grubhub and Postmates get acquired at 6x forward sales a year ago. With limited disclosures on international progress or non-food delivery or its Dashpass subscriber base, we don’t understand how investors can underwrite the valuation. We’d pair a Dash short with a Match long for COVID reopening.<div class="content-highlight">Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.  </div>

DoorDash’s had a fairly impressive 2Q21 after a solid 1Q21…the company even raised full year guidance by more than then the second quarter beat. However, they are guiding to deceleration in the backhalf of the year as reopenings pick up and normal seasonality sets in…. the question is when does that happen given how much the delta variant is preventing normalization.  We don’t usually short on valuation alone, you need a fundamental competitive flaw. We think DoorDash appears to be well run and is executing, buts its valuation is nonsensical at 12x forward sales vs. a peer group average of 4x. Grubhub and Postmates get acquired at 6x forward sales a year ago. With limited disclosures on international progress or non-food delivery or its Dashpass subscriber base, we don’t understand how investors can underwrite the valuation. We’d pair a Dash short with a Match long for COVID reopening.Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.  

DoorDash 2Q21 Earnings: Awaiting Deceleration

ASEAN Insight Provider, CrossASEAN Research

Angus Mackintosh

ASEAN Insight Provider

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Private Capital Markets

With operations across eight countries and more than 400 cities, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> is one of the region’s most valuable start-ups and was the leader in 2020 by GMV in online food delivery and ride-hailing, and by TPV (total processing value) in the e-wallet segment of financial services.
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<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> hosted its inaugural Q12021 results call recently, which saw the senior management presenting the first quarter company performance for the first time. The company provided a detailed and presentation on the progress this year, and was reassuringly open. 
The company also filed its F-4 Prospectus in connection with its proposed merger with the Altimeter Growth SPAC, which provides more detail on the company's underlying business prospects, as well as risks. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> is making good progress toward listing, which is expected in 4Q2021, even as early as the end of October. 
The company exceeded internal expectations for 1Q2021 both for adjusted net sales and adjusted EBITDA. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> saw its 1Q2021 adjusted net sales rise +39%YoY to a record US$507m, with reduced losses on the back of a strong performance in its deliveries business.
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> also reported that its spend per user or GMV per monthly transacting user (MTU), increased by +31% YoY, which suggests some synergies between the different verticals across the company's "Super App".
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> has seen its mobility business suffer from the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant mobility restrictions, which are affecting a number of the company's markets but EBITDA margins remain firm.
The company saw its financial services division experience its highest ever quarterly total payments volume in 1Q2021, with +18% YoY growth.
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> 's newest division under enterprise and new initiatives saw its GMV increase 3.5x, with a large portion of this division's revenues coming from advertising. 
One area where <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> can be sure to win supporters are on its ESG credentials given that it's natural fit in its support for the livelihoods of both its driver-partners and its widespread community of small merchants.
<section class="figure">
We took a deep dive with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> management to better understand its regional prospects and long-term strategy and came away more positive as a result. 
We see the company's increasing collaboration with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/elang-mahkota-teknologi-tbk" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7752:1" rel="noopener">Emtek (EMTK IJ)</a> as a positive development, which will help fill in some of the gaps to its business in Indonesia.
There are still risks to the company's growth projections and we look to identify where those competitive risks lie. 
Having seen <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grabtaxi-holdings-pte-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26950:1" rel="noopener">Grab</a> go through the mill with the SEC and after detailed and open discussions with the company plus the company's comprehensive 1Q2021 results release, we have turned more positive on the company's prospects. This leads us to be more comfortable with the valuations, as long as the company can achieve its targets. The company's collaboration with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/elang-mahkota-teknologi-tbk" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7752:1" rel="noopener">Emtek (EMTK IJ)</a> in Indonesia may also yield further positive developments there. 
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With operations across eight countries and more than 400 cities, Grab is one of the region’s most valuable start-ups and was the leader in 2020 by GMV in online food delivery and ride-hailing, and by TPV (total processing value) in the e-wallet segment of financial services.



Grab hosted its inaugural Q12021 results call recently, which saw the senior management presenting the first quarter company performance for the first time. The company provided a detailed and presentation on the progress this year, and was reassuringly open. 
The company also filed its F-4 Prospectus in connection with its proposed merger with the Altimeter Growth SPAC, which provides more detail on the company's underlying business prospects, as well as risks. Grab is making good progress toward listing, which is expected in 4Q2021, even as early as the end of October. 
The company exceeded internal expectations for 1Q2021 both for adjusted net sales and adjusted EBITDA. Grab saw its 1Q2021 adjusted net sales rise +39%YoY to a record US$507m, with reduced losses on the back of a strong performance in its deliveries business.
Grab also reported that its spend per user or GMV per monthly transacting user (MTU), increased by +31% YoY, which suggests some synergies between the different verticals across the company's "Super App".
Grab has seen its mobility business suffer from the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant mobility restrictions, which are affecting a number of the company's markets but EBITDA margins remain firm.
The company saw its financial services division experience its highest ever quarterly total payments volume in 1Q2021, with +18% YoY growth.
Grab 's newest division under enterprise and new initiatives saw its GMV increase 3.5x, with a large portion of this division's revenues coming from advertising. 
One area where Grab can be sure to win supporters are on its ESG credentials given that it's natural fit in its support for the livelihoods of both its driver-partners and its widespread community of small merchants.

We took a deep dive with Grab management to better understand its regional prospects and long-term strategy and came away more positive as a result. 
We see the company's increasing collaboration with Emtek (EMTK IJ) as a positive development, which will help fill in some of the gaps to its business in Indonesia.
There are still risks to the company's growth projections and we look to identify where those competitive risks lie. 
Having seen Grab go through the mill with the SEC and after detailed and open discussions with the company plus the company's comprehensive 1Q2021 results release, we have turned more positive on the company's prospects. This leads us to be more comfortable with the valuations, as long as the company can achieve its targets. The company's collaboration with Emtek (EMTK IJ) in Indonesia may also yield further positive developments there. 


Grab - Deep Dive Reveals the Mist Is Lifting

The last three quarters have largely been defined by the potential for Vision Fund portfolio companies to go public but a new theme is emerging as Softbank starts to take money off the table. There was much less discussion of liquidity events but more on asset sales including partial sales of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/uber-technologies-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:430:1" rel="noopener">Uber (UBER US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ke-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29213:1" rel="noopener">KE Holdings Inc (BEKE US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/doordash-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28881:1" rel="noopener">DoorDash Inc (DASH US)</a> , Guardant Health and Northstar public equities in the quarter. With a further sale of Uber shares this month, that theme probably picks up steam as the quarter goes on, particularly if <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/coupang" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28425:1" rel="noopener">Coupang (CPNG US)</a>  can hold its value into September when lockups expire.Proceeds from these sales will be used to fund Vision Fund 2 commitments, which will get a further boost from Masa/management investing their own money alongside. That would seem to flag corporate governance concerns but as Masa already has an economic stake in Northstar and earlier plans for a management investment in VF1 passed board muster, this probably does not impact sentiment very much.There is some modest dissonance in the results as Softbank said that it was not announcing a buyback because it was not selling assets like it did last year. Apparently that definition excludes investments like the ones above although Masa did tease that they thought about share buybacks every day because of the depth of the holding company discount. That could just be noise as there is no upside in ruling out buybacks entirely but there is precedent as management has been incentivized to act in the past when discounts reached extreme levels. That used to be around 50% (we are at c. 46% now) but last year’s 67%+ discount may have reset the bar on where shares are too cheap.

The last three quarters have largely been defined by the potential for Vision Fund portfolio companies to go public but a new theme is emerging as Softbank starts to take money off the table. There was much less discussion of liquidity events but more on asset sales including partial sales of Uber (UBER US) , KE Holdings Inc (BEKE US) , DoorDash Inc (DASH US) , Guardant Health and Northstar public equities in the quarter. With a further sale of Uber shares this month, that theme probably picks up steam as the quarter goes on, particularly if Coupang (CPNG US)  can hold its value into September when lockups expire.Proceeds from these sales will be used to fund Vision Fund 2 commitments, which will get a further boost from Masa/management investing their own money alongside. That would seem to flag corporate governance concerns but as Masa already has an economic stake in Northstar and earlier plans for a management investment in VF1 passed board muster, this probably does not impact sentiment very much.There is some modest dissonance in the results as Softbank said that it was not announcing a buyback because it was not selling assets like it did last year. Apparently that definition excludes investments like the ones above although Masa did tease that they thought about share buybacks every day because of the depth of the holding company discount. That could just be noise as there is no upside in ruling out buybacks entirely but there is precedent as management has been incentivized to act in the past when discounts reached extreme levels. That used to be around 50% (we are at c. 46% now) but last year’s 67%+ discount may have reset the bar on where shares are too cheap.

Softbank Group - Q1 21 Results Reaction: A Slow Shift in Focus

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Granite Bay Capital

An innovation focussed investment company

Granite Bay Capital is an innovation focussed investment company with a deep focus on the companies at the leading edge of innovation across major themes such as AI, ubiquitous computing, sustainability, automation and longevity.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<h2>Headline Developments</h2>Another bad week for Didi (DIDI) , with the stock plummeting a further 21% after Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators were weighing up “serious, perhaps unprecedented penalties” which may include a hefty fine (&gt;$2.8b), enforcing a state-owned investment or delisting the company from the NYSE.

Headline DevelopmentsAnother bad week for Didi (DIDI) , with the stock plummeting a further 21% after Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators were weighing up “serious, perhaps unprecedented penalties” which may include a hefty fine (&gt;$2.8b), enforcing a state-owned investment or delisting the company from the NYSE.

United States

Uber Technologies Inc provides ride hailing services. The Company develops applications for road transportation, navigation, ride sharing, and payment processing solutions. Uber Technologies serves customers worldwide.

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Uber Technologies (UBER US)

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Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #42

Headline Developments: Another bad week for Didi (DIDI) , with the stock plummeting a further 21% after Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators...

Granite Bay Capital

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