Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>It was reported over the weekend that the troubled display supplier to iPhone maker Apple, Japan Display (JDI) has almost finalized a deal to raise more than JPY110bn (US$990m) from a China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese public-private fund INCJ Ltd.</li>
<li>The China-Taiwan consortium is expected to secure some 50% stake in Japan Display while the top shareholder INCJ’s current stake of 25.3% is expected to be halved.</li>
<li>The consortium is aiming to restructure JDI’s remaining debt payments of about JPY100bn from Apple for the construction of its plant while it also aims to procure parts for the latest iPhone. In addition, the consortium is also trying to modify a contract stipulating that Apple can seize plants if JDI’s cash and deposits fall below a certain amount.</li>
<li>The consortium along with JDI is planning to build an OLED panel plant in China with JDI providing the technological know-how while the consortium partners invest in capital expenditures and equity.</li>
<li>Japan Display has been struggling to navigate its display business due to the slowdown in iPhone sales, falling behind competition on OLED technology and facing stiff price competition from Chinese panel makers.</li>
<li>We expect the proposed OLED plant in China could help the company stabilize its panel business with Chinese smartphone makers Huawei and Xiaomi who prefer to source panels locally from domestic panel makers such as BOE Technology and Tianma.</li>
</ul>


It was reported over the weekend that the troubled display supplier to iPhone maker Apple, Japan Display (JDI) has almost finalized a deal to raise more than JPY110bn (US$990m) from a China-Taiwan consortium and Japanese public-private fund INCJ Ltd.
The China-Taiwan consortium is expected to secure some 50% stake in Japan Display while the top shareholder INCJ’s current stake of 25.3% is expected to be halved.
The consortium is aiming to restructure JDI’s remaining debt payments of about JPY100bn from Apple for the construction of its plant while it also aims to procure parts for the latest iPhone. In addition, the consortium is also trying to modify a contract stipulating that Apple can seize plants if JDI’s cash and deposits fall below a certain amount.
The consortium along with JDI is planning to build an OLED panel plant in China with JDI providing the technological know-how while the consortium partners invest in capital expenditures and equity.
Japan Display has been struggling to navigate its display business due to the slowdown in iPhone sales, falling behind competition on OLED technology and facing stiff price competition from Chinese panel makers.
We expect the proposed OLED plant in China could help the company stabilize its panel business with Chinese smartphone makers Huawei and Xiaomi who prefer to source panels locally from domestic panel makers such as BOE Technology and Tianma.


Japan Display: Deal to Raise JPY110bn from China-Taiwan Consortium and Japanese Investment Fund

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist, LightStream Research

Campbell Gunn

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist

ja research

ja research is an independent research platform focused exclusively on Japanese equities. Leveraging data and graphic analysis provided by Japan Analytics, we provide insights on small and medium-sized companies that have been ignored by the sell-side as well as challenging conventional wisdom on larger companies. We also offer analyst and corporate access, the latter with translation if required. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<div class="content-caption">
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/083/132/original/2019-03-25_18-58-11.png?1553507902" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="83132"></figure>Source: Japan Analytics
</div>There are currently 241 listed Japanese companies that can be categorised as Internet businesses. Our classification overlaps with the TOPIX-33 Information &amp; Communication sub-Sector but is broader in that it encompasses all companies listed on all sections and exchanges but is also narrower in that we have excluded Telecommunications (including <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/315" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1">S</a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/315" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1">oftbank Group (9984 JP)</a>) and Information Technology companies. We have adopted a 'quantamental' approach which covers the long-term and current trends for Japan's Internet Sector as a whole, as well as eight sub-Sectors or Peer Groups and the Sectors' leading companies by market capitalisation.  Our focus is exclusively on the locally-listed universe and is based on disclosed financial and market data. We do not provide any forecasts, other than the companies' own forecasts and we do not attempt to make any business model or strategic judgments. Our focus is purely on financial and market performance. We do not cover unlisted and defunct companies such as Livedoor and, therefore, there is implicit survivor bias in the data. The broad themes that are developed in DETAIL below are grouped into six topics as follows: - • SUMMARY •  • FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEW •  • SCORING - RESULTS &amp; REVISIONS / RELATIVE PRICE •  • RESULTS TRENDS •  • VALUATION • • RECOMMENDATIONS •<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/083/206/original/2019-03-25_17-46-58.png?1553565764" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="83206"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source: Japan Analytics</div>OVERVIEW - As will be covered in greater DETAIL below, Japan has failed to evolve a substantial Internet Sector and, in many business models, has been passed by global competitors including in the home market. Although Internet Sector revenues have grown steadily and now account for close to 1% of the total for all listed companies, operating margins have declined by half in the last seven years and are now only four percentage points higher than the market average. Accordingly, as measured by our Results &amp; Revision Score, the Sector is close to a twelve-year low. The market's response is an unchanged Sector weight in the market composite despite the addition of 111 new companies in the last six years, and a Relative Price Score that has moved in a narrow range over that period. The Sector averages disguise the weak business and market performance of a handful of Sector leaders as well as the overvaluation of the Sector's more successful business models, which is partly a result of a lack of alternatives. Despite the world's most significant Internet investor - <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/315" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1">Softbank Group (9984 JP)</a>'s Vision Fund - being based in Japan, this fund and other global investors in Internet business have been right to give Japan a 'pass'.


Source: Japan Analytics
There are currently 241 listed Japanese companies that can be categorised as Internet businesses. Our classification overlaps with the TOPIX-33 Information &amp; Communication sub-Sector but is broader in that it encompasses all companies listed on all sections and exchanges but is also narrower in that we have excluded Telecommunications (including Softbank Group (9984 JP)) and Information Technology companies. We have adopted a 'quantamental' approach which covers the long-term and current trends for Japan's Internet Sector as a whole, as well as eight sub-Sectors or Peer Groups and the Sectors' leading companies by market capitalisation.  Our focus is exclusively on the locally-listed universe and is based on disclosed financial and market data. We do not provide any forecasts, other than the companies' own forecasts and we do not attempt to make any business model or strategic judgments. Our focus is purely on financial and market performance. We do not cover unlisted and defunct companies such as Livedoor and, therefore, there is implicit survivor bias in the data. The broad themes that are developed in DETAIL below are grouped into six topics as follows: - • SUMMARY •  • FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEW •  • SCORING - RESULTS &amp; REVISIONS / RELATIVE PRICE •  • RESULTS TRENDS •  • VALUATION • • RECOMMENDATIONS •Source: Japan AnalyticsOVERVIEW - As will be covered in greater DETAIL below, Japan has failed to evolve a substantial Internet Sector and, in many business models, has been passed by global competitors including in the home market. Although Internet Sector revenues have grown steadily and now account for close to 1% of the total for all listed companies, operating margins have declined by half in the last seven years and are now only four percentage points higher than the market average. Accordingly, as measured by our Results &amp; Revision Score, the Sector is close to a twelve-year low. The market's response is an unchanged Sector weight in the market composite despite the addition of 111 new companies in the last six years, and a Relative Price Score that has moved in a narrow range over that period. The Sector averages disguise the weak business and market performance of a handful of Sector leaders as well as the overvaluation of the Sector's more successful business models, which is partly a result of a lack of alternatives. Despite the world's most significant Internet investor - Softbank Group (9984 JP)'s Vision Fund - being based in Japan, this fund and other global investors in Internet business have been right to give Japan a 'pass'. 

🇯🇵 Japan • Internet Sector Review - 'Japan Passing'

Chief Economist

Diana Choyleva

Enodo Economics

Enodo Economics is an independent macroeconomic forecasting company that untangles complexity, challenges the consensus, and makes sense of the future. Our focus is on China – one of the most misunderstood economies in the world, but one of the most important to figure out.  Enodo’s chief economist, Diana Choyleva, has been analysing China for almost 20 years, while Enodo’s team boasts a combined 140 years’ experience covering China’s economy, politics and markets. 

Macroeconomics

<h2>China News That Matters</h2><ul>
<li>Ride that A-Share wave. Until you can’t</li>
<li>Europe looks East</li>
<li>Change, China! You’ll thank us for it</li>
<li>We’ll buy your gear - but please try and behave</li>
<li>Scots take aim at Chinese pension insurance</li>
</ul><div class="content-remarks">In my weekly digest China News That Matters, I will give you selected summaries, sourced from a variety of local Chinese-language and international news outlets, and highlight why I think the news is significant. These posts are meant to neither be bullish nor bearish, but help you separate the signal from the noise.</div>

China News That Matters
Ride that A-Share wave. Until you can’t
Europe looks East
Change, China! You’ll thank us for it
We’ll buy your gear - but please try and behave
Scots take aim at Chinese pension insurance
In my weekly digest China News That Matters, I will give you selected summaries, sourced from a variety of local Chinese-language and international news outlets, and highlight why I think the news is significant. These posts are meant to neither be bullish nor bearish, but help you separate the signal from the noise.

Buy or Sell/Europe/Trade War/Huawei/Financial Services

Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

Equity Capital Markets

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/24423" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24423:1">Lyft Inc (LYFT US)</a> announced an increase in its IPO price range from $62-68 to $70-72 after previous reports had indicated that the IPO became oversubscribed very early.There has been significant coverage of the name on Smartkarma but a disappointing lack of obvious puns:<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lyft-ipo-key-takeaways-from-in-depth-interviews-with-drivers" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:28673">Lyft IPO: Key Takeaways from In-Depth Interviews with Drivers</a> by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/1079" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:1079">Johannes Salim, CFA</a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lyft-ipo-valuation-analysis-prudent-investment-or-quasi-gambling" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:28381">Lyft IPO: Valuation Analysis (Prudent Investment or Quasi-Gambling?)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lyft-ipo-preview" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:28359">Lyft IPO Preview</a> by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/342" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:342">Douglas Kim</a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lyft-ipo-preview-maybe-we-ll-just-walk" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:28361">Lyft IPO Preview: Maybe We'll Just Walk?</a> by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/1486" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:1486">Rickin Thakrar</a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lyft-pre-ipo-drivers-and-shared-rides-hold-the-key-but-the-numbers-are-missing" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:28369">LYFT Pre-IPO - Drivers and Shared Rides Hold the Key But the Numbers Are Missing</a> by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/4" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:4">Sumeet Singh</a>We would highlight Johannes' interview piece as being well worth a read to understand the driver perspective, as well as Sumeet's piece and the comments sections for discussions of business model strengths and weaknesses.Ultimately, this issue isn't going to be bought for its cheapness and we would guess that it will be successful (initially) due to pent up demand and relatively strong broad stock market performance over the last few months. Below, however, we examine NY transportation data to point out what we feel are misconceptions about the overall value proposition of the ride sharing industry.

Lyft Inc (LYFT US) announced an increase in its IPO price range from $62-68 to $70-72 after previous reports had indicated that the IPO became oversubscribed very early.There has been significant coverage of the name on Smartkarma but a disappointing lack of obvious puns:Lyft IPO: Key Takeaways from In-Depth Interviews with Drivers by Johannes Salim, CFALyft IPO: Valuation Analysis (Prudent Investment or Quasi-Gambling?) and Lyft IPO Preview by Douglas KimLyft IPO Preview: Maybe We'll Just Walk? by Rickin ThakrarLYFT Pre-IPO - Drivers and Shared Rides Hold the Key But the Numbers Are Missing by Sumeet SinghWe would highlight Johannes' interview piece as being well worth a read to understand the driver perspective, as well as Sumeet's piece and the comments sections for discussions of business model strengths and weaknesses.Ultimately, this issue isn't going to be bought for its cheapness and we would guess that it will be successful (initially) due to pent up demand and relatively strong broad stock market performance over the last few months. Below, however, we examine NY transportation data to point out what we feel are misconceptions about the overall value proposition of the ride sharing industry.

LYFT: Wouldn't It Be Ironic if This Was an IPO to Rent but Not Own?

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

The market’s bounce off of the December, 2018 low was a swift “V” reversal. While we often see a retest of such events, our outlook since that time has repeatedly suggested that a retest may not occur. We continue to believe the market remains healthy with overall and leadership remaining centered in the cyclical Sectors, mainly Technology.  In this publication we provide an overview of our U.S. equity strategy, and examine attractive opportunities in each of our 12 Sectors, beginning with Technology - our favorite.

The market’s bounce off of the December, 2018 low was a swift “V” reversal. While we often see a retest of such events, our outlook since that time has repeatedly suggested that a retest may not occur. We continue to believe the market remains healthy with overall and leadership remaining centered in the cyclical Sectors, mainly Technology.  In this publication we provide an overview of our U.S. equity strategy, and examine attractive opportunities in each of our 12 Sectors, beginning with Technology - our favorite.

U.S. Equity Strategy: Positive Outlook Intact; Cyclicals Leading; Opportunities in Tech Sector

United States

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and sells a variety of related accessories. The Company also offers payment, digital content, cloud and advertising services. Apple Inc.'s customers are primarily in consumer, small & mid-sized business, education, enterprise and government markets worldwide.

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Apple (AAPL US)

Japan Display: Deal to Raise JPY110bn from China-Taiwan Consortium and Japanese Investment Fund

It was reported over the weekend that the troubled display supplier to iPhone maker Apple, Japan Display (JDI) has almost finalized a deal to...

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

🇯🇵 Japan • Internet Sector Review - 'Japan Passing'

There are currently 241 listed Japanese companies that can be categorised as Internet businesses. Our classification overlaps with the TOPIX-33...

Campbell Gunn

Buy or Sell/Europe/Trade War/Huawei/Financial Services

China News That Matters Ride that A-Share wave. Until you can’t Europe looks East Change, China! You’ll thank us for it We’ll buy your gear -...

Diana Choyleva

LYFT: Wouldn't It Be Ironic if This Was an IPO to Rent but Not Own?

Lyft Inc (LYFT US) announced an increase in its IPO price range from $62-68 to $70-72 after previous reports had indicated that the IPO became...

Mio Kato

U.S. Equity Strategy: Positive Outlook Intact; Cyclicals Leading; Opportunities in Tech Sector

The market’s bounce off of the December, 2018 low was a swift “V” reversal. While we often see a retest of such events, our outlook since that time...

Vermilion Research

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