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>You might have heard the news that Nasdaq Inc announced1 a “special rebalance” for the Nasdaq 100; an index which tracks the largest technology stocks across a range of America’s sectors.</li><li>This reshuffle seeks to <strong>“address overconcentration in the index by redistributing the weights”</strong>; specifically the weightings of the Big 7 <em>(Google, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta)</em> who, together, account for ~54% of the index.</li><li>The rebalance will be based on the shares outstanding as of July 3rd, and changes are expected to be announced on July 14th; taking effect by July 24th2.</li></ul>

You might have heard the news that Nasdaq Inc announced1 a “special rebalance” for the Nasdaq 100; an index which tracks the largest technology stocks across a range of America’s sectors.This reshuffle seeks to “address overconcentration in the index by redistributing the weights”; specifically the weightings of the Big 7 (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta) who, together, account for ~54% of the index.The rebalance will be based on the shares outstanding as of July 3rd, and changes are expected to be announced on July 14th; taking effect by July 24th2.

The Nasdaq's Special Rebalance Is Not So Special

Managing Director, Zero One, Zero One

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Managing Director, Zero One

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Yageo has been relatively range-bound since early 2023E, missing completely the 'AI Rally' that caused many other Taiwan names to rise. Hence one can buy it without chasing hype.</li>
<li>We spoke with management. The company has historically enjoyed durable margins and we believe could enjoy a cycle turn-around as its products are linked to high-tech power needs.</li>
<li>While not directly linked to AI demand, its products have strong long-term demand dynamics and are necessary for AI servers, high-end computing, autos, defense, and communications. Structural Long, NT$690 target.</li>
</ul>


Yageo has been relatively range-bound since early 2023E, missing completely the 'AI Rally' that caused many other Taiwan names to rise. Hence one can buy it without chasing hype.
We spoke with management. The company has historically enjoyed durable margins and we believe could enjoy a cycle turn-around as its products are linked to high-tech power needs.
While not directly linked to AI demand, its products have strong long-term demand dynamics and are necessary for AI servers, high-end computing, autos, defense, and communications. Structural Long, NT$690 target.


Yageo: Left Behind By the 'AI Rally', But Robust Business Still Tied to Strong Power/EV Drivers

Mostly Borrowed Ideas Deep Dives, MBI Deep Dives

MBI Deep Dives

Mostly Borrowed Ideas Deep Dives

MBI is the abbreviation for “Mostly Borrowed Ideas”. Why “Mostly Borrowed Ideas?” As a generalist, I do not have a background in any particular sector. I enjoy navigating across industries, businesses, and countries to learn, understand, and connect the dots. In any case, most ideas and innovations are incremental in nature. Very few of us are smart enough to come up with truly original or groundbreaking ideas. I am Abdullah Al-Rezwan. I was born and brought up in Bangladesh. I went to University of Dhaka for my undergrad and majored in Finance. After working three and half years in Equity Research (Sell-side) covering Financial Sector in Bangladesh, I left Bangladesh to pursue my MBA in the US. I graduated within top 10% of the class from Cornell University's two-year MBA program and worked on the buy-side following my graduation. During my time at Cornell, I won two stock pitch competitions and also became finalists in four other competitions. I thoroughly enjoyed my stint as a generalist in the US large cap team at Madison Investments and covered a wide range of companies from UnitedHealth to Amazon and Boeing before US immigration reality paused my career in investment management. As my work authorization expired, I moved to Canada in January, 2021. Then in early 2022, I was able to return to the US.

Meta Platforms (Facebook) / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>First some caveats: while we have all probably read Charlie Munger’s quote “I never allow myself to hold an opinion on anything that I don't know the other side's argument better than they do”, the reality is this is exceptionally uncommon and challenging.</li><li>In fact, when investors mention risks about a company they like, they often deliberately choose strawman arguments from the other side and advertently or inadvertently ignore steelman arguments.</li><li>I will try to avoid strawman bear cases (and boy there are many), and only outline the bear cases that indeed concern me as a shareholder.</li></ul>

First some caveats: while we have all probably read Charlie Munger’s quote “I never allow myself to hold an opinion on anything that I don't know the other side's argument better than they do”, the reality is this is exceptionally uncommon and challenging.In fact, when investors mention risks about a company they like, they often deliberately choose strawman arguments from the other side and advertently or inadvertently ignore steelman arguments.I will try to avoid strawman bear cases (and boy there are many), and only outline the bear cases that indeed concern me as a shareholder.

Independent Investment Research & Investor, Maverick Equity Research

Maverick Equity Research

Independent Investment Research & Investor

Independent Investment Research & Investor: value, dividend and growth stocks. Risk management & hedging for an all weather portfolio.

<ul><li>1st chart shows us the 2023 % returns &amp; the holdings weightings while the 2nd table is a return attribution analysis which tells us exactly that 10.25% (1025 b.p basis points) are due to just 7 stocks, the M7 (Magnificent Seven) tech stocks: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Meta/Facebook &amp; Google/Alphabet. Let that sink in!</li><li>The laggard are the following top 7 stocks: their weight is small in the index, but note the individual returns which are materially negative in 2023</li><li>To continues smoothly here, the S&amp;P 500 with the stocks above their 52-week lows &amp; below their 52-week highs: tech, AI, semiconductors and consumer discretionary are leading and hot, while energy, cruises &amp; travel cooled off in the last year</li></ul>

1st chart shows us the 2023 % returns &amp; the holdings weightings while the 2nd table is a return attribution analysis which tells us exactly that 10.25% (1025 b.p basis points) are due to just 7 stocks, the M7 (Magnificent Seven) tech stocks: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Meta/Facebook &amp; Google/Alphabet. Let that sink in!The laggard are the following top 7 stocks: their weight is small in the index, but note the individual returns which are materially negative in 2023To continues smoothly here, the S&amp;P 500 with the stocks above their 52-week lows &amp; below their 52-week highs: tech, AI, semiconductors and consumer discretionary are leading and hot, while energy, cruises &amp; travel cooled off in the last year

The S&P 500 Report: Performance, Profitability, Valuation & Key Metrics - Ed #2

IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Equity Capital Markets

Alibaba Group Holding  / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba (ADR) (BABA US)</a> aims to complete a spin-off of the Cloud Intelligence Group via a stock dividend distribution, with it becoming publicly listed in the next 12 months.  </li>
<li>The Cloud business is pursuing a land-grab strategy to reignite growth. While it is the only profitable Chinese cloud platform, the profitability gap to Amazon AWS highlights the opportunity. </li>
<li>The aim to bring in external strategic investors before the spin-off will provide a valuation benchmark. Our analysis points to a Cloud business valuation range of US$45-58 billion. </li>
</ul>



Alibaba (ADR) (BABA US) aims to complete a spin-off of the Cloud Intelligence Group via a stock dividend distribution, with it becoming publicly listed in the next 12 months.  
The Cloud business is pursuing a land-grab strategy to reignite growth. While it is the only profitable Chinese cloud platform, the profitability gap to Amazon AWS highlights the opportunity. 
The aim to bring in external strategic investors before the spin-off will provide a valuation benchmark. Our analysis points to a Cloud business valuation range of US$45-58 billion. 


Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group Spin-Off: The First Look

United States

Microsoft Corporation operates as a software company. The Company offers applications, extra cloud storage, and advanced security solutions. Microsoft serves customers worldwide.

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Microsoft Corp (MSFT US)

The Nasdaq's Special Rebalance Is Not So Special

The rebalance will be based on the shares outstanding as of July 3rd, and changes are expected to be announced on July 14th; taking effect by July...

Investment Talk

Yageo: Left Behind By the 'AI Rally', But Robust Business Still Tied to Strong Power/EV Drivers

We spoke with management. Opportunity to acquire a stock with strong fundamentals... Without having to chase a hyped-up share price.

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Meta's Achilles Heel(s)

I will try to avoid strawman bear cases (and boy there are many), and only outline the bear cases that indeed concern me as a shareholder.

MBI Deep Dives

The S&P 500 Report: Performance, Profitability, Valuation & Key Metrics - Ed #2

The laggard are the following top 7 stocks: their weight is small in the index, but note the individual returns which are materially negative in 2023

Maverick Equity Research

Alibaba’s Cloud Intelligence Group Spin-Off: The First Look

The aim to bring in external strategic investors before the spin-off will provide a valuation benchmark. Our analysis points to a Cloud business...

Arun George

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