Independent Research, US Dominant Players, Investment Talk

Investment Talk

Independent Research, US Dominant Players

Investment Talk is for readers who wish to learn about companies that are potentially outside of their own circle of research, as well as those who are longing to become part of a community of like-minded investors and learn more about investment research. I would describe myself as a long-term investor who typically takes a 3Y to 5Y outlook, before reassessing once that period matures. I follow the adage that one should research, reach a conclusion, and then verify and continue to hold so long as the thesis remains intact. My own investing style is one that seeks to find dominant players within their respective market who have shown signs of monopoly or oligopolistic behaviour, unlikely to be disrupted, in tandem with discovering market disruptors who have a high likelihood of disrupting their respective market. Equally (and weighted accordingly) I seek to discover more nuanced, misunderstood, situations with a shorter time frame.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>I was today-years-old when I learned that Europe has its own version of the Magnificent 7; the basket of giga-cap US tech companies comprised of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.</li><li>The GRANOLAS Dubbed the “Granolas” by Goldman Sachs in 2020, this basket was chosen because it echoed themes present amongst the Mag 7 (back then it was just “FAAMG”) .</li><li><p>Namely, they were market leaders in the STOXX 600 Europe Index, they had grown to become an increasingly larger share of the market, and their earnings had far outpaced the broader index.</p><div></div></li></ul>

I was today-years-old when I learned that Europe has its own version of the Magnificent 7; the basket of giga-cap US tech companies comprised of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.The GRANOLAS Dubbed the “Granolas” by Goldman Sachs in 2020, this basket was chosen because it echoed themes present amongst the Mag 7 (back then it was just “FAAMG”) .Namely, they were market leaders in the STOXX 600 Europe Index, they had grown to become an increasingly larger share of the market, and their earnings had far outpaced the broader index.

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>On 31 January, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/walmart-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11134:1" rel="noopener">Walmart (WMT US)</a> announced a 3:1 stock split. For cognoscenti, that meant a Dow Jones Industrial Avg might be in the offing.</li>
<li>The last change to the index was in Aug-2020, spurred by the 4:1 split for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/apple-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:666:1" rel="noopener">Apple (AAPL US)</a>. This time, the likely deletion candidate was <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/walgreens-boots-alliance-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1118:1" rel="noopener">Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA US)</a>. </li>
<li>Indeed, last week, the Index Keepers announced <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amazon-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:409:1" rel="noopener">Amazon.com Inc (AMZN US)</a> would replace Walgreens Boots Alliance on 26 Feb (i.e. WBA would be booted on the close of 23 Feb).</li>
</ul>


On 31 January, Walmart (WMT US) announced a 3:1 stock split. For cognoscenti, that meant a Dow Jones Industrial Avg might be in the offing.
The last change to the index was in Aug-2020, spurred by the 4:1 split for Apple (AAPL US). This time, the likely deletion candidate was Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA US). 
Indeed, last week, the Index Keepers announced Amazon.com Inc (AMZN US) would replace Walgreens Boots Alliance on 26 Feb (i.e. WBA would be booted on the close of 23 Feb).


Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA US) - How Do Dow Jones Deletes Do Historically?

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bharti-hexacom" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:40858:1" rel="noopener">Bharti Hexacom</a> is looking to raise up to US$1bn in its upcoming India IPO. </li>
<li>Bharti Hexacom (BH) is a communications solutions provider offering consumer mobile services, fixed-line telephone and broadband services to customers in the Rajasthan and the North East telecommunication circles in India.</li>
<li>In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.</li>
</ul>



Bharti Hexacom is looking to raise up to US$1bn in its upcoming India IPO. 
Bharti Hexacom (BH) is a communications solutions provider offering consumer mobile services, fixed-line telephone and broadband services to customers in the Rajasthan and the North East telecommunication circles in India.
In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.


Bharti Hexacom Pre-IPO - The Positives - Earnings Have Been Recovering Well

External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CMB International

CMB International

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

Incorporated in Hong Kong, supported by the mainland and targeting in global market, CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) is an integrated financial institution providing comprehensive and professional services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank ("CMB"), by leveraging on the Group’s synergy and coordination in domestic and overseas markets, as well as CMB’s strong resources and outstanding social reputation, CMBI and its subsidiaries have been actively implementing diversified business strategies and set up an overall layout of main business segments including Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Global Markets and Structured Finance, etc. Adhering to the philosophy of “being clients oriented and increasing our own values by the way of creating value for clients”, CMBI endeavors to provide quality and integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual customers both domestic and overseas including Hong Kong IPO sponsorship and underwriting, share placement and rights issue for listed companies, financial advisors, bonds issuance services, asset management, direct investment, wealth management, equity sales and trading, etc.

<ul>
<li>Apple reported FY1Q24 (CY4Q23) revenue of US$119.6bn (+2% YoY) and EPS of US$2.18 (+16% YoY), which are in line and 4% above consensus, mainly due to a favourable product mix and better leverage, despite weak China sales (- 12.9% YoY) and one less week of sales compared with last year.</li>
<li>For FY2Q24E, mgmt. expected overall revenue and iPhone sales to be both US$5bn less YoY due to a high base in CY1Q23 caused by iPhone supply constraints, while the service segment revenue should increase YoY at a similar double-digit growth rate compared with the Dec quarter.</li>
<li>Given Huawei’s comeback in China and a lack of foldable phones in 2024, we believe iPhone shipments will face challenges in the near term, and Apple may focus on improving its shipment mix towards higherend Pro models. </li>
</ul>
<p><em>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.</em></p>


Apple reported FY1Q24 (CY4Q23) revenue of US$119.6bn (+2% YoY) and EPS of US$2.18 (+16% YoY), which are in line and 4% above consensus, mainly due to a favourable product mix and better leverage, despite weak China sales (- 12.9% YoY) and one less week of sales compared with last year.
For FY2Q24E, mgmt. expected overall revenue and iPhone sales to be both US$5bn less YoY due to a high base in CY1Q23 caused by iPhone supply constraints, while the service segment revenue should increase YoY at a similar double-digit growth rate compared with the Dec quarter.
Given Huawei’s comeback in China and a lack of foldable phones in 2024, we believe iPhone shipments will face challenges in the near term, and Apple may focus on improving its shipment mix towards higherend Pro models. 

Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Technology - Apple FY1Q24 Beat on Better Margins and Resilient Service Revenue

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amer-sports-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21751:1" rel="noopener">Amer Sports (AS US)</a> raised around US$1.3bn in its US IPO, after pricing its IPO below its initial range, as per media reports.</li>
<li>Amer Sports is a sports and outdoor brands company making clothing and other sporting equipment for use in snow sports, running, climbing, baseball, american football, tennis and other sports.</li>
<li>We have looked at the company’s performance and valuation in our past note. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.</li>
</ul>



Amer Sports (AS US) raised around US$1.3bn in its US IPO, after pricing its IPO below its initial range, as per media reports.
Amer Sports is a sports and outdoor brands company making clothing and other sporting equipment for use in snow sports, running, climbing, baseball, american football, tennis and other sports.
We have looked at the company’s performance and valuation in our past note. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.


Amer Sports IPO Trading - Downsized and Cornered, Close to Optimistic Fair Value

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)

Europe's Magnificent Eleven

The GRANOLAS Dubbed the “Granolas” by Goldman Sachs in 2020, this basket was chosen because it echoed themes present amongst the Mag 7 (back then...

Investment Talk

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA US) - How Do Dow Jones Deletes Do Historically?

Walgreens was given the boot from the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday at the close. Historically, DELETEs outperform their ADDs and DJIA in...

Travis Lundy

Bharti Hexacom Pre-IPO - The Positives - Earnings Have Been Recovering Well

Bharti Hexacom is looking to raise up to US$1bn in its upcoming India IPO. In this note, we talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

Sumeet Singh

Technology - Apple FY1Q24 Beat on Better Margins and Resilient Service Revenue

Apple reported FY1Q24 (CY4Q23) revenue of US$119.6bn (+2% YoY) and EPS of US$2.18 (+16% YoY), which are in line and 4% above consensus

CMB International

Amer Sports IPO Trading - Downsized and Cornered, Close to Optimistic Fair Value

Amer Sports (AS US) raised around US$1.3bn in its US IPO, after pricing its IPO below its initial range, as per media reports.

Sumeet Singh

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