Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Asia Ex-Japan:  Extreme Stocks and more

• We screen for stocks at the extreme ends of their positioning or momentum ranges among active Asia Ex-Japan equity funds.
• High Positioning, Negative Momentum: AIA Group Limited, Shenzhen Inovance Technology 
• Low Positioning, Positive Momentum: New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Shinhan Financial Group

• We screen for stocks at the extreme ends of their positioning or momentum ranges among active Emerging Market equity funds.
• High Positioning, Negative Momentum: BYD Company Limited Class H, Novatek Microelectronics Corp.
• Low Positioning, Negative Momentum: Banco Bradesco SA Pfd, LG Chem Ltd.    

• Shimano’s Q2 results exceeded expectations with revenue and operating profit significantly beating estimates despite a YoY decline.
• Full-Year revenue and operating profit guidance were revised upward, reflecting improved performance and aligning with analyst consensus.
• Our estimate for FY25 was significantly raised; despite full valuations, further recovery and potential shareholder returns offer continued bullish outlook.

• Inflation is encouraging customers to seek out discount chains, led by PPI’s Don Quijote. 
• Backed by expansion of private brand lines and more food lines, as well as higher sales to tourists, PPI has been posting record results.
• There continues to be high expectations for further growth at home and abroad.

• PC Maker Shares Under Pressure — PC makers’ share prices fell by mid-to-high single digits during July. However, pure PC exposure outperformed as shown by HPQ’s gain during the month.
• Latest PC Industry Data is Promising — Latest IDC data shows that global PC shipments increased 3% YoY in 2Q24, and are up 5% YoY ex-China.
• Microsoft & Taiwan PC Maker Earnings Ahead — Microsoft reports July 30th U.S. time. We expect Taiwan PC makers to report earnings within the first two weeks of August.

• TotalEnergies missed Q2 revenue and EPS estimates by 7.3% and 7.2%, respectively, with a 7.4% YoY drop in net profit due to contracting refining margins.
• TotalEnergies’ hydrocarbon production hit 2.44 mboe/d in Q2, near the top of its guidance. Projects production in Q3 at 2.4-2.49 mboe/d.
• In Q2, TotalEnergies generated USD 7.8 billion in cash flow and completed USD 2 billion in buybacks. Authorized up to USD 2 billion in buybacks for Q3.

• SYM had an increase in system costs. SYM’s management highlighted delays in construction of systems in the quarter resulting in the Company to taking back EPC work.   
• SYM suggests bringing the EPC work in-house would be more efficient. We do not agree. This creates additional headwinds as to timing and could create a new risk for SYM.  
• During the earnings call, SYM’s management referred to delays in permits and product delivery resulting in people not having anything to do. This is a characterization of a construction/contracting company.

• Tesla is a polarizing company with both enthusiastic supporters and skeptical critics.
• The company has the potential to become the most valuable in the world if it solves autonomous transportation.
• The debate around Tesla is focused on its Full Self Driving software, which has recently transitioned to a neural net architecture and is best experienced firsthand at a Tesla delivery center.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Ador Welding (AWL IN) is a renowned player in the business of manufacturing and trading of welding and related products.  
• The company sells welding consumables, equipments and also does preoject-engineering. While the company has seen recent growth in topline, there are few forensic checks that one must be cautious about.
• This relates to accounting policy relating to Flares segment, lack of conservatism relating to ECL provisioning and depreciation, troubles in generating cash, etc.

• Net operating revenue: JPY9.4bn (+14.8% YoY; -5.0% QoQ), Operating profit: JPY4.2bn (+17.8% YoY; -2.8% QoQ).
• Total commissions: JPY5.2bn (+7.6% YoY; -16.7% QoQ), Brokerage commissions: JPY4.9bn (+7.2% YoY; -17.4% QoQ).
• SG&A expenses: JPY5.2bn (+12.4% YoY; -6.7% QoQ), Personnel expenses: JPY976mn (+12.2% YoY; +4.8% QoQ).