Alpha-Centric ESG Research

Kyle Rudden

After a year-long investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-monopolist-google-violating-antitrust-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it filed a civil <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1328941/download" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antitrust lawsuit</a> against Google; owned by, and nearly synonymous with, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alphabet-inc-cl-c" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11369:1" rel="noopener">Alphabet (GOOG US)</a>.Not exactly a surprise since Google and its FAANG brethren have been in the crosshairs for a while. Still, the formality hits hard. Like getting dumped; you know it's coming, but the words still sting.DOJ's case is already quoted ad nauseam in the media, so I will regurgitate just a few small bits for context, then delve into my particular "angle" on this – i.e., how the U.S. Elections factor in.In Facebook parlance, "It's Complicated," but here is the gist:<ul>
<li>Antitrust cases of this magnitude and complexity can be drawn out over many, many years.</li>
<li>Long-term, big-picture? Bad. Even just the overhang. Bad for Google, foreboding for others.</li>
<li>If you zoom in to a smaller near-term window, however… it's still bad. But maybe, a bit less.</li>
<li>The 2020 U.S. Elections could change the antitrust mood and direction, even if Trump wins.</li>
<li>Google will still have issues (there is bi-partisan thirst for its blood, just on different terms).</li>
<li>Still, post-elections, this likely goes from "bad and chaotic" to "bad, but somewhat orderly."</li>
</ul>This is a quick take on what is still today's news, but the overall thought process is similar to <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/delisting-deceitful-chinese-companies-act-not-a-slam-dunk-and-has-more-bark-than-bite-if-it-passes" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:40025" rel="noopener">"Delisting Deceitful Chinese Companies Act" Not a Slam Dunk and Has More Bark Than Bite if It Passes</a>.

After a year-long investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Google; owned by, and nearly synonymous with, Alphabet (GOOG US).Not exactly a surprise since Google and its FAANG brethren have been in the crosshairs for a while. Still, the formality hits hard. Like getting dumped; you know it's coming, but the words still sting.DOJ's case is already quoted ad nauseam in the media, so I will regurgitate just a few small bits for context, then delve into my particular "angle" on this – i.e., how the U.S. Elections factor in.In Facebook parlance, "It's Complicated," but here is the gist:
Antitrust cases of this magnitude and complexity can be drawn out over many, many years.
Long-term, big-picture? Bad. Even just the overhang. Bad for Google, foreboding for others.
If you zoom in to a smaller near-term window, however… it's still bad. But maybe, a bit less.
The 2020 U.S. Elections could change the antitrust mood and direction, even if Trump wins.
Google will still have issues (there is bi-partisan thirst for its blood, just on different terms).
Still, post-elections, this likely goes from "bad and chaotic" to "bad, but somewhat orderly."
This is a quick take on what is still today's news, but the overall thought process is similar to "Delisting Deceitful Chinese Companies Act" Not a Slam Dunk and Has More Bark Than Bite if It Passes.

Google Antitrust Lawsuit: The 2020 Election Angle

Silver Point

Thomas J. Monaco

Independent Insight Provider

Silver Point is a boutique research firm that focuses on the broader financial services sector, with a particular focus on troubled institutions globally. 

Asia Ex Japan

Equity Bottom-Up

*Whoops They Did It Again..: In Afterpay’s Touch’s (APT.AU) [Afterpay] latest update, it was announced that Afterpay will allow Westpac Banking (WBC.AU) to offer its Banking-as-a-Service to Afterpay’s approximate 3.3 mn, which include deposit accounts and cash-flow management tools, as early as FY 2Q21. If successful, this partnership could transform the sleepy Australian banking market as we know it;  *Tencent Tutelage: Afterpay is helping Tencent enter markets earlier and with Tencent’s (700.HK) tutelage likely will help Afterpay more deeply penetrate North America.  We fully anticipate that Tencent will help Afterpay enter the Asian markets - uncharted territory with a large young population – with the big prize obviously being mainland China. Tencent’s digital expertise should also help Afterpay to improve its technology platform (e.g. its digital wallet checkout experience and its shopping platform, plus customer led generation). It also wouldn’t surprise us if Tencent took up greater than its pro rata share of the capital raise; and*Magic Fairy Dust: While no transaction particulars were disclosed, we calculate an average share purchase price of AUD 22.47 per share for the 5% stake or a hefty 6.8x P/BV for a company which is loss-making and where Tencent hasn’t control. Tencent has already earned 354% on this stake. Afterpay has already reached many of its key milestones, and we look forward to its quarterly update in a few weeks.

*Whoops They Did It Again..: In Afterpay’s Touch’s (APT.AU) [Afterpay] latest update, it was announced that Afterpay will allow Westpac Banking (WBC.AU) to offer its Banking-as-a-Service to Afterpay’s approximate 3.3 mn, which include deposit accounts and cash-flow management tools, as early as FY 2Q21. If successful, this partnership could transform the sleepy Australian banking market as we know it;  *Tencent Tutelage: Afterpay is helping Tencent enter markets earlier and with Tencent’s (700.HK) tutelage likely will help Afterpay more deeply penetrate North America.  We fully anticipate that Tencent will help Afterpay enter the Asian markets - uncharted territory with a large young population – with the big prize obviously being mainland China. Tencent’s digital expertise should also help Afterpay to improve its technology platform (e.g. its digital wallet checkout experience and its shopping platform, plus customer led generation). It also wouldn’t surprise us if Tencent took up greater than its pro rata share of the capital raise; and*Magic Fairy Dust: While no transaction particulars were disclosed, we calculate an average share purchase price of AUD 22.47 per share for the 5% stake or a hefty 6.8x P/BV for a company which is loss-making and where Tencent hasn’t control. Tencent has already earned 354% on this stake. Afterpay has already reached many of its key milestones, and we look forward to its quarterly update in a few weeks. 

*Lucky and Smart: In Afterpay’s Touch’s (APT.AU) [Afterpay] latest update, it was announced that AUSTRAC has decided that it will not be taking any further regulatory action and that that it had uplifted its AML/CTF compliance framework and financial crime function, and satisfactorily completed all required remediation activity. Further, Afterpay `launched its instore offering in the US market just in time for the Christmas shopping season following its Simon Property Group (SPG.US) collaboration in the US;*Tencent Tutelage: Afterpay is helping Tencent enter markets earlier and with Tencent’s (700.HK) tutelage likely will help Afterpay more deeply penetrate North America.  We fully anticipate that Tencent will help Afterpay enter the Asian markets - uncharted territory with a large young population – with the big prize obviously being mainland China. Tencent’s digital expertise should also help Afterpay to improve its technology platform (e.g. its digital wallet checkout experience and its shopping platform, plus customer led generation). It also wouldn’t surprise us if Tencent took up greater than its pro rata share of the capital raise; and*Magic Fairy Dust: While no transaction particulars were disclosed, we calculate an average share purchase price of AUD 22.47 per share for the 5% stake or a hefty 6.8x P/BV for a company which is loss-making and where Tencent hasn’t control. Tencent has already earned 328% on this stake.

*Lucky and Smart: In Afterpay’s Touch’s (APT.AU) [Afterpay] latest update, it was announced that AUSTRAC has decided that it will not be taking any further regulatory action and that that it had uplifted its AML/CTF compliance framework and financial crime function, and satisfactorily completed all required remediation activity. Further, Afterpay `launched its instore offering in the US market just in time for the Christmas shopping season following its Simon Property Group (SPG.US) collaboration in the US;*Tencent Tutelage: Afterpay is helping Tencent enter markets earlier and with Tencent’s (700.HK) tutelage likely will help Afterpay more deeply penetrate North America.  We fully anticipate that Tencent will help Afterpay enter the Asian markets - uncharted territory with a large young population – with the big prize obviously being mainland China. Tencent’s digital expertise should also help Afterpay to improve its technology platform (e.g. its digital wallet checkout experience and its shopping platform, plus customer led generation). It also wouldn’t surprise us if Tencent took up greater than its pro rata share of the capital raise; and*Magic Fairy Dust: While no transaction particulars were disclosed, we calculate an average share purchase price of AUD 22.47 per share for the 5% stake or a hefty 6.8x P/BV for a company which is loss-making and where Tencent hasn’t control. Tencent has already earned 328% on this stake. 

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.

Apple introduced a new line-up of iPhones enabled with 5G yesterday at its fall event on Tuesday (13th October 2020) after a month-long delay due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The company introduced four new 5G smartphones (iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max) powered by Apple-designed A14 bionic chips built on 5nm processors.According to Apple, the new iPhones deliver an advanced 5G experience on a global scale and boasts improved speeds for faster downloads and uploads, higher quality video streaming, more responsive gaming, real-time interactivity in apps and FaceTime in high definition.“The arrival of 5G marks the beginning of a new era for iPhone and we’re thrilled to bring these impressive new capabilities to our customers with iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini”Breaking tradition, yesterday’s Fall Event did not have a long line-up of new product launches, and HomePod Mini was the only other key hardware Apple revealed apart from new iPhones.

Apple introduced a new line-up of iPhones enabled with 5G yesterday at its fall event on Tuesday (13th October 2020) after a month-long delay due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The company introduced four new 5G smartphones (iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max) powered by Apple-designed A14 bionic chips built on 5nm processors.According to Apple, the new iPhones deliver an advanced 5G experience on a global scale and boasts improved speeds for faster downloads and uploads, higher quality video streaming, more responsive gaming, real-time interactivity in apps and FaceTime in high definition.“The arrival of 5G marks the beginning of a new era for iPhone and we’re thrilled to bring these impressive new capabilities to our customers with iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini”Breaking tradition, yesterday’s Fall Event did not have a long line-up of new product launches, and HomePod Mini was the only other key hardware Apple revealed apart from new iPhones.

Apple Unveils Long Awaited 5G IPhones that Could Trigger Massive IPhone Upgrades

Investment Advisors, JL Warren Capital

Junheng Li

Investment Advisors

JL Warren Capital

JL Warren Capital LLC is a leading independent equity research firm focused on Chinese companies and listed multinationals in China. We employ a bottom-up research approach that takes great care to avoid the acquisition of material non-public information. Through investigative due diligence including channel surveys and interviews, our research helps clients to pinpoint the dislocations in the market.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<div>With only 40+ days left before the Presidential Election in the U.S, China is wisely taking a laissez faire approach to the bilateral issues and conflicts, waiting Trump out until after November. However, Beijing understands the White House’s targeting at China enjoys bipartisan support at this moment, one of the few exceptions of today’s politics in the U.S.</div>

With only 40+ days left before the Presidential Election in the U.S, China is wisely taking a laissez faire approach to the bilateral issues and conflicts, waiting Trump out until after November. However, Beijing understands the White House’s targeting at China enjoys bipartisan support at this moment, one of the few exceptions of today’s politics in the U.S.

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)

Google Antitrust Lawsuit: The 2020 Election Angle

What, precisely, the U.S. DOJ antitrust case will mean for Google, only time will tell. One thing is certain, however. Politics – particularly the ...

Kyle Rudden

Tencent Holdings – Sliced Bread

Tencent Holdings: AfterPay Is Like The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread For Tencent. Not Only Has Tencent Earned 354% On Its Stake But AfterPay...

Thomas J. Monaco

Tencent – Rubbing Two Nickels Together

Tencent Continues To Reap The Benefits Of Its Australian Alliance, With Afterpay Now Getting A Clean Bill Of Health and Increasing Their US Presence

Thomas J. Monaco

Apple Unveils Long Awaited 5G IPhones that Could Trigger Massive IPhone Upgrades

Apple introduced a new line-up of iPhones enabled with 5G yesterday at its fall event on Tuesday (13th October 2020) after a month-long delay due...

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

China Macro and Geopolitical Briefing

With only 40+ days left before the Presidential Election in the U.S, China is wisely taking a laissez faire approach to the bilateral issues and...

JL Warren Capital

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