In today’s briefing:
- Shift Inc (3697 JP): Full-year FY08/24 flash update
- Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Taking More Samsung Customers; Hon Hai Unveils Major AI Projects
- Japanese Midcap Banks – Three Key Picks
- Tech News This Week. TSMC and Samsung
- Mattr Corp: How to Transform an Industrial Business Through Rational Capital Allocation
- Tesla: The Disney World for grown-ups
- Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical (4530 JP): H1FY25 Witness Strong Growth; FY25 Guidance Reiterated
- 3Q24 PC Shipments Are Flat YoY. Lenovo, Acer, Asus. Compal, Quanta, Wistron.
- BRBR US: Expansion Of Product Formats & Revitalized Marketing Campaigns Catapulting Growth!
- BFAM US: These Are The 4 Biggest Factors Impacting Its Performance In 2025 & Beyond!
Shift Inc (3697 JP): Full-year FY08/24 flash update
- In FY08/24, the company reported sales of JPY110.6bn (+25.7% YoY) and operating profit of JPY10.5bn (-8.9% YoY).
- Software Testing Related Services segment sales reached JPY71.3bn (+22.4% YoY), with operating profit of JPY16.2bn (+11.4% YoY).
- For FY08/25, the company forecasts sales of JPY130.0bn (+17.5% YoY) and operating profit of JPY13.5bn (+28.1% YoY).
Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Taking More Samsung Customers; Hon Hai Unveils Major AI Projects
- Samsung’s foundry business is losing more customers to TSMC, who is perceived as lower risk.
- TSMC, UMC Monthly Sales: TSMC up strong but plateauing, UMC lackluster, confirming 2 big trends.
- Memory Monitor: Nanya results miss; highlights weakness in non-AI demand.
Japanese Midcap Banks – Three Key Picks
- We analyse ten Japanese midcap banks to target beneficiaries of the realization of strategic shareholdings, as well as beneficiaries of the improving interest rate outlook
- We add Hachijuni Bank and Hokuhoku Financial to the buy list, based on the potential for realization of strategic holdings; these share-holdings are large relative to their respective market capitalizations
- We maintain Gunma Bank on the buy list, primarily for its very strong gearing into the rising interest cycle and its attractive PE multiples
Tech News This Week. TSMC and Samsung
- Is Intel giving up on AI Accelerator (Gaudi)? Cutting orders first, refocusing on x86.
- TSMC CoWoS capacity, sharp wafer price increase, agreement with Amkor.
- DRAM price outlook is not that bad, after a 2H24 slowdown. Samsung 2nm and 1.4nm, planning ahead despite poor yield rates.
Mattr Corp: How to Transform an Industrial Business Through Rational Capital Allocation
- In my latest portfolio update, I discussed the potential of investing in cyclical businesses and how shifts in a company’s business model or balance sheet can often go unnoticed by the market, creating compelling investment opportunities.
- Today, I present Mattr Corp, a company that not only revamped its business model and balance sheet without receiving due recognition but also strategically repositioned itself within new end markets. This transformation aligns perfectly with all three of my key criteria for identifying attractive investments in cyclical stocks.
- Mattr Corp., a Canadian industrial conglomerate, is undergoing a strategic transformation into an advanced engineering company by leveraging its extensive expertise and decades of experience in materials science for industrial applications.
Tesla: The Disney World for grown-ups
Elon has given up on his ambitious targets. Or he has never seriously pursued them.
Tesla’s investor event “We, Robot” was nothing more than a theme park for adults who were there to indulge into an illusion for a night.
Why would they conduct such a ridiculous event that suggests that they have nothing up their sleeves that can create tens of billions of dollars of AI revenue soon?
Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical (4530 JP): H1FY25 Witness Strong Growth; FY25 Guidance Reiterated
- Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co (4530 JP) has reported double-digit revenue growth in H1FY25, mainly driven by 17% YoY growth in OTC pharmaceutical product, Salonpas. Net profit grew 8%.
- Rx business revenues grew 5% as Zicthoru, Apohide etc clocked healthy numbers, while Mohrus product line continues to decline. Since Q1FY24, Zicthoru’s quarterly revenue run-rate has been surpassing ¥1B.
- Hisamitsu has reiterated its FY25 guidance of ¥152B revenue, operating profit of ¥14.5B, and net profit of ¥15.8B. With H1FY25 progress rate, the company is expected to beat the guidance.
3Q24 PC Shipments Are Flat YoY. Lenovo, Acer, Asus. Compal, Quanta, Wistron.
- IDC reported 3Q24 PC shipments declining -2% YoY, Canalys an increase of +1%. Let’s call this flat. If 4Q24 is “average seasonal”, 2024 will reach ~265m, or the pre-Covid range.
- No AI fever, no accelerated replacement cycle, for now. If it happens, it will take time, ie compelling AI apps that only run locally and need a new PC.
- In Asia, PC vendors: Lenovo, Acer, Asus. Taiwan ODM: Compal, Quanta, Wistron. Semi with high exposure: Novatek, Realtek.
BRBR US: Expansion Of Product Formats & Revitalized Marketing Campaigns Catapulting Growth!
- BellRing Brands recently reported its earnings for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024.
- The company, which is known for its Premier Protein and Dymatize brands, showcased a mixture of strengths and areas poised for improvement.
- BellRing Brands has demonstrated robust growth, showing a notable increase in net sales and adjusted EBITDA, indicative of effective operational management and solid demand for its products.
BFAM US: These Are The 4 Biggest Factors Impacting Its Performance In 2025 & Beyond!
- Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a renowned provider of child care, early education, and work-life servcies, recently reported a robust performance for the second quarter of 2024 in their latest earnings call.
- CEO, Stephen Kramer, highlighted substantial revenue growth in full service and back-up care segments and a nearly 40% increase in adjusted EPS, surpassing the company’s expectations due to improved operational efficiency across all three segments.
- In light of these results, the company has raised its full-year guidance for both revenue and EPS.
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