Category

Daily Briefs

Daily Brief ESG: Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request and more

By | Daily Briefs, ESG

In today’s briefing:

  • Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request


Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request

By Aki Matsumoto

  • Companies that increased Tobin’sQ have further increased Tobin’sQ due to continued growth in ROE and ROA. They have room to further improve return on capital by reducing cash on hand.
  • Companies with lower Tobin’s Q may include small-cap stocks that are increasingly undervalued because they have relatively high ROE and ROA but are not covered by overseas investors.
  • Over the past year, few companies raised their valuations based solely on expectations of P/B bottoming-out without improving profitability, and IR activities alone have had limited effect in boosting valuations.

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Daily Brief ECM: Weekly Deals Digest (26 May) – Henlius and more

By | Daily Briefs, ECM

In today’s briefing:

  • Weekly Deals Digest (26 May) – Henlius, HKTV, SciClone, KFC, Best World, PropertyGuru, Modec


Weekly Deals Digest (26 May) – Henlius, HKTV, SciClone, KFC, Best World, PropertyGuru, Modec

By Arun George


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Daily Brief Event-Driven: Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer and more

By | Daily Briefs, Event-Driven

In today’s briefing:

  • Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer
  • (Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: KFC Holdings Japan, Shanghai Henlius, Alumina, BHP/ Anglo American, SciClone
  • Last Week in Event SPACE: Mitsui Matsushima, L’Occitane, Prosus/Tencent, EOFlow


Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer

By Arun George

  • Best World International (BEST SP) has disclosed a revised exit offer which has been declared final. The S$2.56 offer is a modest 2.4% premium to the previous S$2.50 offer. 
  • The key conditions are approval for the selective capital reduction (at least 75% of eligible shareholders) and delisting resolution (a majority holding not less than 75% in value).
  • The revised offer remains underwhelming. However, the headcount test risk is lowering as retail seems resigned to accepting it. At the last close, the gross spread was 2.4%. 

(Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: KFC Holdings Japan, Shanghai Henlius, Alumina, BHP/ Anglo American, SciClone

By David Blennerhassett


Last Week in Event SPACE: Mitsui Matsushima, L’Occitane, Prosus/Tencent, EOFlow

By David Blennerhassett

  • Murakami-San now owns far more in Mitsui Matsushima (1518 JP) than he can easily get out of other than by corporate action. Murakami-san is not a dumb guy. He knows this.
  • The unique investigative shareholder register confirms what has been long rumoured about a certain shareholder activist in L’Occitane (973 HK). It is also informative for what isn’t present.
  • Prosus (PRX NA)‘s discount to NAV and implied stub widened after Fabricio Bloisi’s CEO appointment the previous week. But the sell-down of Tencent (700 HK) to buy-back Prosus will continue.

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Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers and more

By | Daily Briefs, Equity Bottom-Up

In today’s briefing:

  • Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers
  • Asian Dividend Gems: Grape King Bio
  • Sony Corporation: How It Is Implementing A Multi-Faceted Strategy In A Maturing Consumer Electronics Market! – Major Drivers
  • Honda Motor Co.: What Is The Positioning of Hybrid in Electrification Strategy? – Major Drivers
  • Legend Biotech Corporation: Implementation of Commercial Launch of CARVYKTI & Other Major Drivers
  • StoneCo Ltd.: Business Diversification Through Additional Monetization Opportunities Beyond Payments! – Major Drivers
  • SharkNinja Inc.: What Are The Growth Avenues for Global Expansion? – Major Drivers
  • Dropbox Inc.: Investments in AI-Enabled Experiences and New Market Opportunities! – Major Drivers
  • Cisco Systems: AI Investments
  • The Home Depot Inc.: The Influence of Housing Turnover and Interest Rate Environment! – Major Drivers


Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Alibaba Group’s March Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2024 results show that major segments such as the Taobao and Tmall Group, Alibaba International Digital Commerce, and core public cloud offerings are experiencing growth.
  • The Taobao and Tmall Group achieved double-digit year-over year growth, while Alibaba International Digital Commerce revenue increased by 45%.
  • Moreover, AI related revenue increased triple digit year-over-year, demonstrating the potential of AI technology in fueling the company’s growth.

Asian Dividend Gems: Grape King Bio

By Douglas Kim

  • Grape King Bio has one of the most remarkable consistency in profit margins among all Asian F&B companies. Its net margins ranged from 13% to 15% in the past decade.
  • The company’s dividend yield increased from 3.8% in 2021 to 4.1% in 2022, and 4.4% in 2023. Its annual dividend payout averaged 69.6% from 2019 to 2023. 
  • Established in 1969, Grape King Bio is one of the leading health food, drink, and supplement products manufacturers in Taiwan.

Sony Corporation: How It Is Implementing A Multi-Faceted Strategy In A Maturing Consumer Electronics Market! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Sony Group Corporation recently reported its FY 2023 results and offered insights into its FY 2024 forecast as well as its fifth mid-range plan.
  • The corporation experienced a record high in consolidated sales at JPY 13,020.8 billion while consolidated operating income was JPY 1,208.8 billion.
  • Net income stood at JPY 970.6 billion, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was JPY 1,880 billion.

Honda Motor Co.: What Is The Positioning of Hybrid in Electrification Strategy? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Honda Motor’s earnings of FY ’24 reveals that the mobility company has been posting a historic high operating profit of JPY 1,381.9 billion, with an operating profit margin of 6.8%.
  • Underpinning this growth has been the company’s core strategy of focusing on environmental sustainability and safety, which is resonating well with the consumers.
  • For FY ’25, Honda has set a higher target for operating profit at JPY 1.42 billion, aiming to achieve an operating profit margin of 7%, a year ahead of their original plan.

Legend Biotech Corporation: Implementation of Commercial Launch of CARVYKTI & Other Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Legend Biotech Corporation is a biotech company specializing in CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
  • In Quarter 1 2024, two major approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission for the company’s CARVYKTI therapy for second line relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma have solidified its position in the industry.
  • This historical quarterly update positions Legend Biotech’s CARVYKTI on the path to transforming the treatment landscape for thousands of patients suffering from multiple myeloma.

StoneCo Ltd.: Business Diversification Through Additional Monetization Opportunities Beyond Payments! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • StoneCo Ltd., a financial technology company in Brazil, provided its Q1 2021 results with an updated outlook on the business.
  • The company’s business performed strongly, delivering strategic priorities with significant growth in financial services across all client offerings.
  • StoneCo also launched instant payments in Ton, which fulfills a key request from micro-merchant clients.

SharkNinja Inc.: What Are The Growth Avenues for Global Expansion? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • SharkNinja’s first quarter 2024 earnings revealed a company with strong financial performance, a robust global supply chain, and a commitment to a growth strategy that has yielded positive results.
  • In the first quarter, the company saw adjusted net sales increase by 28% and adjusted EBITDA grow by 30%.
  • This can be attributed to significant investments in selling and marketing initiatives aimed at expanding the company’s presence in emerging international markets and driving global awareness of their new products.

Dropbox Inc.: Investments in AI-Enabled Experiences and New Market Opportunities! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Dropbox, Inc.’s Q1 2024 earnings showed both positive and negative aspects of the company’s financial performance.
  • In terms of positives, the company reported revenue for the quarter that met its expectations.
  • In addition, Dropbox reported an increase in paying users with 35,000 net new additions, despite a challenging fourth quarter.

Cisco Systems: AI Investments

By Baptista Research

  • Cisco Systems (Cisco) had a promising Q3, with organic revenue aligning with the higher end of guidance expectations.
  • The company has transformed its business model, with over half of its total revenue now coming from subscription services, providing the company with a robust base for potential long-term growth.
  • The acquisition of Splunk was also completed, adding over $4 billion in annualized recurring revenue and strengthening Cisco’s position as one of the world’s major software companies.

The Home Depot Inc.: The Influence of Housing Turnover and Interest Rate Environment! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • In the first quarter of 2024, The Home Depot’s total sales amounted to $36.4 billion, marking a decrease of 2.3% from the same period last year.
  • The company’s comp sales declined by 2.8% and US stores also reported negative comps of 3.2%.
  • The diluted earnings per share were noted to be $3.63 for the first quarter, a dip from $3.82 during the first quarter of the previous year.

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Daily Brief Australia: BHP Group Ltd and more

By | Australia, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • (Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: KFC Holdings Japan, Shanghai Henlius, Alumina, BHP/ Anglo American, SciClone


(Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: KFC Holdings Japan, Shanghai Henlius, Alumina, BHP/ Anglo American, SciClone

By David Blennerhassett


💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

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Daily Brief South Korea: Eoflow and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Last Week in Event SPACE: Mitsui Matsushima, L’Occitane, Prosus/Tencent, EOFlow


Last Week in Event SPACE: Mitsui Matsushima, L’Occitane, Prosus/Tencent, EOFlow

By David Blennerhassett

  • Murakami-San now owns far more in Mitsui Matsushima (1518 JP) than he can easily get out of other than by corporate action. Murakami-san is not a dumb guy. He knows this.
  • The unique investigative shareholder register confirms what has been long rumoured about a certain shareholder activist in L’Occitane (973 HK). It is also informative for what isn’t present.
  • Prosus (PRX NA)‘s discount to NAV and implied stub widened after Fabricio Bloisi’s CEO appointment the previous week. But the sell-down of Tencent (700 HK) to buy-back Prosus will continue.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Singapore: Best World International and more

By | Daily Briefs, Singapore

In today’s briefing:

  • Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer


Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer

By Arun George

  • Best World International (BEST SP) has disclosed a revised exit offer which has been declared final. The S$2.56 offer is a modest 2.4% premium to the previous S$2.50 offer. 
  • The key conditions are approval for the selective capital reduction (at least 75% of eligible shareholders) and delisting resolution (a majority holding not less than 75% in value).
  • The revised offer remains underwhelming. However, the headcount test risk is lowering as retail seems resigned to accepting it. At the last close, the gross spread was 2.4%. 

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief United States: Dropbox Inc, Home Depot Inc, SharkNinja , Cisco Systems, Royalty Pharma , US Foods Holding Corp, MPLX LP, Nanometrics Inc, Plug Power Inc, Qorvo Inc and more

By | Daily Briefs, United States

In today’s briefing:

  • Dropbox Inc.: Investments in AI-Enabled Experiences and New Market Opportunities! – Major Drivers
  • The Home Depot Inc.: The Influence of Housing Turnover and Interest Rate Environment! – Major Drivers
  • SharkNinja Inc.: What Are The Growth Avenues for Global Expansion? – Major Drivers
  • Cisco Systems: AI Investments
  • Royalty Pharma: Identifying and Investing in Future Fields of Biopharma Innovation! – Major Drivers
  • U.S. Foods: A Story Of Increasing Core Customer Business! – Major Drivers
  • MPLX LP: A Tale Of Financial Discipline and Organic Growth! – Major Drivers
  • Onto Innovation: Opportunities in Advanced Nodes and NAND & Other Major Drivers
  • Plug Power Inc.: A Tale Of Ongoing Expansion in the Green Hydrogen Production! – Major Drivers
  • Qorvo Inc.: Investment in New Product Development for Multiyear Growth! – Major Drivers


Dropbox Inc.: Investments in AI-Enabled Experiences and New Market Opportunities! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Dropbox, Inc.’s Q1 2024 earnings showed both positive and negative aspects of the company’s financial performance.
  • In terms of positives, the company reported revenue for the quarter that met its expectations.
  • In addition, Dropbox reported an increase in paying users with 35,000 net new additions, despite a challenging fourth quarter.

The Home Depot Inc.: The Influence of Housing Turnover and Interest Rate Environment! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • In the first quarter of 2024, The Home Depot’s total sales amounted to $36.4 billion, marking a decrease of 2.3% from the same period last year.
  • The company’s comp sales declined by 2.8% and US stores also reported negative comps of 3.2%.
  • The diluted earnings per share were noted to be $3.63 for the first quarter, a dip from $3.82 during the first quarter of the previous year.

SharkNinja Inc.: What Are The Growth Avenues for Global Expansion? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • SharkNinja’s first quarter 2024 earnings revealed a company with strong financial performance, a robust global supply chain, and a commitment to a growth strategy that has yielded positive results.
  • In the first quarter, the company saw adjusted net sales increase by 28% and adjusted EBITDA grow by 30%.
  • This can be attributed to significant investments in selling and marketing initiatives aimed at expanding the company’s presence in emerging international markets and driving global awareness of their new products.

Cisco Systems: AI Investments

By Baptista Research

  • Cisco Systems (Cisco) had a promising Q3, with organic revenue aligning with the higher end of guidance expectations.
  • The company has transformed its business model, with over half of its total revenue now coming from subscription services, providing the company with a robust base for potential long-term growth.
  • The acquisition of Splunk was also completed, adding over $4 billion in annualized recurring revenue and strengthening Cisco’s position as one of the world’s major software companies.

Royalty Pharma: Identifying and Investing in Future Fields of Biopharma Innovation! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Within the first quarter of 2024, Royalty Pharma displayed impressive performance, managing 14% growth in royalty receipts, thereby underlining the benefits of its diversified portfolio encompassing over 35 commercial products.
  • However, it is important to note a decline for milestones and other contractual payments, which were mainly affected by a high base of the year-ago quarter due to a single nonrecurring Biohaven-related payment.
  • Portfolio Receipts, as a result, decreased to $717 million, aligning with the company’s expectations.

U.S. Foods: A Story Of Increasing Core Customer Business! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • US Foods, one of the largest foodservice distributors in the United States, delivered its first quarter 2024 earnings, demonstrating adequate progress in executing its long-term strategy, despite adverse weather conditions and labor disruptions.
  • Despite these challenges, they still managed to achieve 4.2% total case growth, with independent case volume growing by 4.6%.
  • The company’s quarterly success gave them the confidence to maintain their full-year guidance.

MPLX LP: A Tale Of Financial Discipline and Organic Growth! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • MPLX reported year-over-year growth in adjusted EBITDA, which attained $1.6 billion and distributable cash flow peaked at $1.4 billion, the latter being an increase of 8% from the previous year.
  • This significant financial performance underpins the company’s commitment to return on and return of capital with an expectation for steady growth in the partnership through strict capital discipline.
  • This progress has seen MPLX yield a peer-leading return on invested capital over the past three years.

Onto Innovation: Opportunities in Advanced Nodes and NAND & Other Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Onto Innovation’s Q1 2024 results indicate a solid start to the year, reflecting a robust uptake for high bandwidth memory and logic packaging for AI devices.
  • The net quarter revenue upsurged at the top end of the guidance range, a significant 15% rise from the same period the previous year.
  • Notably, Onto Innovation’s specialty and advanced packaging customers achieved a record growth for the third consecutive quarter, attributing a 64% year on year increase during Q1 2024.

Plug Power Inc.: A Tale Of Ongoing Expansion in the Green Hydrogen Production! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Plug Power reported its first quarter 2024 earnings and the quarter was identified as one with key strategic decisions focused on enhancing cash management strategies and intensifying sales growth.
  • To reinforce its leadership in the green hydrogen economy, significant strides were made in scaling up operations.
  • The company’s production facilities in Georgia and Tennessee were reported to be operating at full capacity, while the commissioning of a new plant in Louisiana was eagerly expected.

Qorvo Inc.: Investment in New Product Development for Multiyear Growth! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Following the fiscal 2024 fourth quarter earnings, of Qorvo Inc, an investment thesis can be derived from the presented results that highlights both positive and negative aspects for potential investors.
  • Starting with the positive aspects, Qorvo seems well-positioned to capitalize on global secular macro trends, including mobility, connectivity, electrification, and datafication.
  • These trends are enabling new applications and user experiences, making them increasingly relevant in the modern business landscape.

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Daily Brief China: Alibaba Group Holding , Legend Biotech Corp and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers
  • Legend Biotech Corporation: Implementation of Commercial Launch of CARVYKTI & Other Major Drivers


Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Alibaba Group’s March Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2024 results show that major segments such as the Taobao and Tmall Group, Alibaba International Digital Commerce, and core public cloud offerings are experiencing growth.
  • The Taobao and Tmall Group achieved double-digit year-over year growth, while Alibaba International Digital Commerce revenue increased by 45%.
  • Moreover, AI related revenue increased triple digit year-over-year, demonstrating the potential of AI technology in fueling the company’s growth.

Legend Biotech Corporation: Implementation of Commercial Launch of CARVYKTI & Other Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Legend Biotech Corporation is a biotech company specializing in CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
  • In Quarter 1 2024, two major approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission for the company’s CARVYKTI therapy for second line relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma have solidified its position in the industry.
  • This historical quarterly update positions Legend Biotech’s CARVYKTI on the path to transforming the treatment landscape for thousands of patients suffering from multiple myeloma.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

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The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

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  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars



Daily Brief Japan: Modec Inc, Sony Corp, Honda Motor Co Ltd (Adr), TSE Tokyo Price Index TOPIX and more

By | Daily Briefs, Japan

In today’s briefing:

  • Weekly Deals Digest (26 May) – Henlius, HKTV, SciClone, KFC, Best World, PropertyGuru, Modec
  • Sony Corporation: How It Is Implementing A Multi-Faceted Strategy In A Maturing Consumer Electronics Market! – Major Drivers
  • Honda Motor Co.: What Is The Positioning of Hybrid in Electrification Strategy? – Major Drivers
  • Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request


Weekly Deals Digest (26 May) – Henlius, HKTV, SciClone, KFC, Best World, PropertyGuru, Modec

By Arun George


Sony Corporation: How It Is Implementing A Multi-Faceted Strategy In A Maturing Consumer Electronics Market! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Sony Group Corporation recently reported its FY 2023 results and offered insights into its FY 2024 forecast as well as its fifth mid-range plan.
  • The corporation experienced a record high in consolidated sales at JPY 13,020.8 billion while consolidated operating income was JPY 1,208.8 billion.
  • Net income stood at JPY 970.6 billion, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was JPY 1,880 billion.

Honda Motor Co.: What Is The Positioning of Hybrid in Electrification Strategy? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Honda Motor’s earnings of FY ’24 reveals that the mobility company has been posting a historic high operating profit of JPY 1,381.9 billion, with an operating profit margin of 6.8%.
  • Underpinning this growth has been the company’s core strategy of focusing on environmental sustainability and safety, which is resonating well with the consumers.
  • For FY ’25, Honda has set a higher target for operating profit at JPY 1.42 billion, aiming to achieve an operating profit margin of 7%, a year ahead of their original plan.

Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request

By Aki Matsumoto

  • Companies that increased Tobin’sQ have further increased Tobin’sQ due to continued growth in ROE and ROA. They have room to further improve return on capital by reducing cash on hand.
  • Companies with lower Tobin’s Q may include small-cap stocks that are increasingly undervalued because they have relatively high ROE and ROA but are not covered by overseas investors.
  • Over the past year, few companies raised their valuations based solely on expectations of P/B bottoming-out without improving profitability, and IR activities alone have had limited effect in boosting valuations.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars