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.

Equity Bottom-Up

Palantir Technologies  / Equity Bottom-Up

<p>I'm trying to come up with some meme-able business idea so like Adam Aron (no relation) I can raise $589MM. If the SmartKarma community has any idea, I'm all ears. I'll even go with something not in terminal secular decline!</p><p>On to the weekly...Palantir's general level of ridiculousness hits another level, Twitter discovers business models invented 4-5 years ago, and work from home keeps working.</p><div class="content-highlight"><p>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.  </p></div>

I'm trying to come up with some meme-able business idea so like Adam Aron (no relation) I can raise $589MM. If the SmartKarma community has any idea, I'm all ears. I'll even go with something not in terminal secular decline!On to the weekly...Palantir's general level of ridiculousness hits another level, Twitter discovers business models invented 4-5 years ago, and work from home keeps working.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.  

TMT Weekly:  3 Things that Stood Out The Week of 6/​4/​​​​​2021 (Non-AMC Edition)

Latest News from the World’s Leading Innovators

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)

<p>It’s a bad week for crypto, with bitcoin off ~30%.  Firstly, Elon Musk has done a U-turn, now not accepting bitcoin as payment for Tesla due to environmental concerns.  He may also wind down the company’s position in the asset.</p>

It’s a bad week for crypto, with bitcoin off ~30%.  Firstly, Elon Musk has done a U-turn, now not accepting bitcoin as payment for Tesla due to environmental concerns.  He may also wind down the company’s position in the asset.

<p>Amazon’s businesses are booming. Retail is on a $400B runrate growing 45%. AWS $54B, growing 32%, Advertising $25B, growing 73%. We think the company is worth $3T or $6000 a share.</p><div class="content-highlight"><p>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.</p></div>

Amazon’s businesses are booming. Retail is on a $400B runrate growing 45%. AWS $54B, growing 32%, Advertising $25B, growing 73%. We think the company is worth $3T or $6000 a share.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.

Amazon 1Q21: The Fastest Growing Business in the World

Telco/Internet specialist

Kirk Boodry

Redex Research

<p>Z Holdings shares have sold off on disappointment over mid-term profitability targets that remain unchanged despite the addition of Line and possible synergies (and equity dilution). But management believes investments will pay off with stronger top-line growth. Some of its aspirational targets (like eCommerce leadership) seem to be a stretch but we do think that the merger gives it the resources to compete with heavyweights like Google (online ads), Facebook (social media), Amazon (eCommerce) and Rakuten (fintech). We are initiating coverage at Buy with a <a target="_blank">¥680 </a>FY21 (Mar-22) target price.</p>

Z Holdings shares have sold off on disappointment over mid-term profitability targets that remain unchanged despite the addition of Line and possible synergies (and equity dilution). But management believes investments will pay off with stronger top-line growth. Some of its aspirational targets (like eCommerce leadership) seem to be a stretch but we do think that the merger gives it the resources to compete with heavyweights like Google (online ads), Facebook (social media), Amazon (eCommerce) and Rakuten (fintech). We are initiating coverage at Buy with a ¥680 FY21 (Mar-22) target price.

Z Holdings - Great Expectations On (The) LINE (Initiation of Coverage)

<p>Snap is a deservedly crowded long. It had heightened expectations coming into the quarter, especially for the 2Q21 guide, which buyside expected to be a huge number given the easy comp. And Snap didn’t disappoint. The key takeaway for us about why one can (kind of) ignore valuation, which at 20x forward sales seems extremely high, is that Snap has entered the Facebook zone from 2015-2017, when the company had finally hit its stride at executing self-serve targeted direct response advertising at scale, reducing friction for advertisers to enter the platform. Facebook became part of THE online ad duopoly and started adding millions of businesses every year because of the highest ROI in online advertising, growing revenues 50%+ annually, even as it scaled from $12B to $40B in revenues because of the unlimited optionality around new ad units…and yet to be monetized massive products like Instagram. We aren’t saying Spotlight or Maps is the equivalent of Instagram, but we do think Snap has long passed the threshold of required advertising platform for large advertisers and can compound for years, even despite its meteoric rise in the past year.</p><div class="content-highlight"><p>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.</p></div>

Snap is a deservedly crowded long. It had heightened expectations coming into the quarter, especially for the 2Q21 guide, which buyside expected to be a huge number given the easy comp. And Snap didn’t disappoint. The key takeaway for us about why one can (kind of) ignore valuation, which at 20x forward sales seems extremely high, is that Snap has entered the Facebook zone from 2015-2017, when the company had finally hit its stride at executing self-serve targeted direct response advertising at scale, reducing friction for advertisers to enter the platform. Facebook became part of THE online ad duopoly and started adding millions of businesses every year because of the highest ROI in online advertising, growing revenues 50%+ annually, even as it scaled from $12B to $40B in revenues because of the unlimited optionality around new ad units…and yet to be monetized massive products like Instagram. We aren’t saying Spotlight or Maps is the equivalent of Instagram, but we do think Snap has long passed the threshold of required advertising platform for large advertisers and can compound for years, even despite its meteoric rise in the past year.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.

SNAP 1Q21: Spotlight on Spotlight…Why Snap Is Still a Multi Bagger

United States

Twitter, Inc. provides online social networking and microblogging service. The Company offers users the ability to follow other users activity, read, and post tweets. Twitter serves customers worldwide.

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Twitter Inc (TWTR US)

TMT Weekly: 3 Things that Stood Out The Week of 6/4/2021 (Non-AMC Edition)

Palantir's general level of ridiculousness hits another level, Twitter discovers business models invented 4-5 years ago, and work from home keeps...

Aaron Gabin

Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #32

Subscribe nowHeadline Developments It’s a bad week for crypto, with bitcoin off ~30%. Firstly, Elon Musk has done a U-turn, now not accepting...

Granite Bay Capital

Amazon 1Q21: The Fastest Growing Business in the World

Amazon’s businesses are booming. Retail is on a $400B runrate growing 45%. AWS $54B, growing 32%, Advertising $25B, growing 73%. We think the...

Aaron Gabin

Z Holdings - Great Expectations On (The) LINE (Initiation of Coverage)

Z Holdings has sold off on disappointment over profitability targets that remain unchanged despite the addition of Line but near-term investments...

Kirk Boodry

SNAP 1Q21: Spotlight on Spotlight…Why Snap Is Still a Multi Bagger

Snap had a very strong 1Q21 and even stronger 2Q21 guidance. Despite a monster 1 year run, we think Snap is set up for a Facebook like multi-year...

Aaron Gabin

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TMT Weekly: 3 Things that Stood Out The Week of 6/​4/​​​​​2021 (Non-AMC Edition)

Palantir's general level of ridiculousness hits another level, Twitter discovers business models invented 4-5 years ago, and work from home keeps...

Aaron Gabin

Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #32

Subscribe nowHeadline Developments It’s a bad week for crypto, with bitcoin off ~30%. Firstly, Elon Musk has done a U-turn, now not accepting...

Granite Bay Capital

Amazon 1Q21: The Fastest Growing Business in the World

Amazon’s businesses are booming. Retail is on a $400B runrate growing 45%. AWS $54B, growing 32%, Advertising $25B, growing 73%. We think the...

Aaron Gabin

Z Holdings - Great Expectations On (The) LINE (Initiation of Coverage)

Z Holdings has sold off on disappointment over profitability targets that remain unchanged despite the addition of Line but near-term investments...

Kirk Boodry

SNAP 1Q21: Spotlight on Spotlight…Why Snap Is Still a Multi Bagger

Snap had a very strong 1Q21 and even stronger 2Q21 guidance. Despite a monster 1 year run, we think Snap is set up for a Facebook like multi-year...

Aaron Gabin

TMT Weekly: 3 Things that Stood Out The Week of 6/4/2021 (Non-AMC Edition)