Daily Brief TMT/Internet: Meituan, Network International Holdings, Uber, Lyft Inc, Trimble Navigation, Iridium Communications, MotorK Ltd, Soluna Holdings and more

• We upgrade Meituan to BUY as (1) its recent subsidy campaign vs. Douyin has achieved some  successes, and (2) its food delivery margin may have further upside; 
• We suggest that Douyin’s local service market share reaches a high level, especially when compared with its eCommerce market share; 
• Our C1Q23 top/bottom line are in-line/25.5% vs. cons. Raise TP to HK$ 165, which implies 4x PS/12x PE/1x PS for delivery/in-store/new initiatives.

• Middle East and Africa leading payments processing firm Network International is in play. On 21 April, Brookfield submitted a 400p competing proposal, vs. CVC/Francisco’s earlier 387p. Network was trading cheaply.
• Exposure to underserved MEA markets should support sustainable longer-term growth. My fair value estimate is 431p. The shares trade 0.75% below Brookfield’s proposal, the market awaits a counteroffer from CVC/Francisco.
• The fact that Brookfield has raised just 3.4% above CVC/Francisco seems to signal that Brookfield will be cautious in case of an “auction”. Long.

• Uber Technologies Inc. has delivered good results during this quarter and managed an all-around beat with a positive bottom-line.
• The overall situation is in favor of the company as the competitive environment is getting better.
• We give Uber Technologies Inc. a ‘Hold’ rating with a revised target price.

• Lyft’s Q4 financial performance was mixed as it reported wider-than-expected losses despite surpassing the revenue expectations of Wall Street.
• The company saw a mix of high demand for ride-sharing services, an improving supply, and promising early results from its cost-cutting initiatives.
• Its overall revenue for 2022 increased by 28% compared to 2021 and the company added $375 million to its insurance reserves.

• Trimble Inc had a disappointing result and failed to meet Wall Street expectations in terms of revenues as well as earnings.
• The challenges in terms of the supply chain remained the same in the business environment, which has also affected the operations of the company.
• Trimble delivered over 20% organic growth in ARR in addition to high levels of ACV software bookings and cross-sell bookings.

• IRDM reported first quarter results continuing its recent trend of adding more billable subscribers to its network. 
• The first quarter is seasonally a period when there are fewer maritime customers, but Internet of Things (“IOT”) data subscribers grew sequentially
• Equipment revenue has grown over the past year. IRDM’s partners do not stock inventory. Therefore, any planned installs should result in higher subscriber revenue as these units are activated

MotorK’s Q123 trading update indicates that the group is on track to meet its FY23 guidance and our forecasts after management secured 59% of the annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth required. Performance in Q1 was strong, with the group reporting high double-digit revenue growth, driven by low customer churn and continuing multi-product adoption. With investment in its platform largely complete, the company is starting to see operating leverage. The stock is up 89% year to date, and we believe there is still significant upside potential, as highlighted by its discount to peers.

• Project Dorothy now energized. ERCOT (grid operator) has given final approval to energize the first 50 MW of Soluna’s game-changing Project Dorothy.
• The long-delayed project had been held up by ERCOT while it implemented its new Interim Large Load Interconnection Process to ensure grid reliability.
• Energization sets the stage for signing hosting contracts at Project Dorothy. Soluna can now finalize and begin receiving revenues from hosting contracts at Project Dorothy.