Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: [Earnings Preview] Weak Refining Margins and Gas Prices Dampen Chevron’s Q2 Earnings Outlook and more

• Chevron’s Q2 revenue is set to dip 0.6% YoY, with EPS projected to drop 4.5% YoY on the back of lower refinery margins and natural gas prices.
• Higher Brent crude prices and strong production may help Chevron partially offset Q2’s challenges.
• Unplanned downtime at two Australian LNG plants during Q2 raises concerns about a drop in production.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, $37 price target and projections for Guess?
• after visiting stores in Long Island and the Metropolitan New York City area.
• With the return of hot and humid weather, we believe Guess?

• Meta is expected to report a 58% YoY increase in EPS to $4.71, with revenue climbing 20% YoY to $38.29B, driven by robust ad performance.
• Meta plans a 20% cut in Reality Labs’ budget through 2026, aiming to save $3B while shifting focus to upcoming hardware production.
• In Q1, increased daily active users and a 6% rise in average ad prices have boosted Meta’s ad revenue, despite heightened competition and regulatory pressures. Likely to continue.

• Yeo Hiap Seng(YHS SP) , known for its Yeo’s brand of Asian/health drinks, trades near its 52-week low at SGD 0.55, despite having financial assets and cash worth SGD 0.44/share.
• With limited guidance on reinvestment/growth opportunities and management’s stance against returning cash to shareholders, the stock trades around dividend yield, now at 3.6%.
• Over the past decade, the stock has lost 75% of its value, and management must take decisive actions to enhance long-term shareholder value.

• Axon sells a public safety technology ecosystem that includes three main product groups, TASERs, body-worn cameras and other sensors, and evidence software, amongst a host of other software services, including virtual reality training.
• Axon’s solutions really seek to solve three of the biggest problems facing public safety, too many officers and too many suspects are dying from gunshots.
• Axon solves for this is as the monopoly provider of TASERs globally. A TASER can be used as an alternative to firearms to temporarily incapacitate a suspect so that they may be restrained with a much, much lower chance of doing physical harm.

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• In 2Q24, Samsung Biologics (207940 KS) reported 34% YoY revenue growth to KRW1,157B, driven by full utilization of Plants 1–3, ramp-up of Plant 4, milestone payment, and favorable Fx.
• The company expects annual revenue to exceed KRW4T mark this year, thereby setting a record for the Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector.
• During 1H24, Samsung Biologics has secured order worth of KRW2.6T. Currently, the company is serving 16 out of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies, up from 14 last year.

• ESG Brew with ComfortDelGro’s Group Chief Sustainability and Risk Officer: ‘Our transition to cleaner energy vehicles will be a game-changer’ Land transport operator ComfortDelGro is switching its fleet of over 40,000 vehicles in 12 countries to cleaner energy ones as part of its sustainability drive.
• Jong explains: “We operate in 12 countries with a total fleet of over 40,000 vehicles spanning taxis, buses, trains and more.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, projections and $24 price target for JAKKS Pacific with the company announcing 2Q24 (June) results after the close on Wednesday.
• While we do not expect, nor have we projected, a strong 2Q, we do believe management will be upbeat on a number of key fronts, including: 1) Cleaning up inventory levels in anticipation of Holiday strength and new launches; 2) gearing up for more normalized Halloween costume demand; 3) initial launches for The Simpsons lines to key domestic and international retailers; 4) progress on the international expansion front; 5) the initial shipments for the Authentic Brands partnership and 6) potential demand for Moana 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Holiday movies.
• Further, we expect the balance sheet has remained debt free, cash rich and management will provide an update on potential return to shareholders.

• BOE’s B16 OLED commitment boosts Korean suppliers, Wonik to see surge in orders
• Offshore wind delays in Taiwan lead to focus on Japan and Korea for opportunities
• Onsemi chosen to power VW EV, Elon Musk supports Trump’s EV policies, tariff war on chips impacts consumers and companies

• Enrolled first subject in feline oral disease study, paving way for animal health opportunity.
• The randomized, double- blind Veldona animal study will enroll 30 cats with feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) at a single Taiwan clinical site.
• Two dosage groups, a low dose (6,000 IU) and high dose (12,000 IU), will be evaluated. The first enrolled subject will be dosed later this week.