TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst, Obex Capital Research

Aaron Gabin

I have over 20 years’ experience investing in the TMT and Consumer sectors, almost entirely on the buyside. Started at Bernstein covering software in 2001, moved to the buyside at Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) in 2003, covering hardware, software, and media. 

After getting an MBA at NYU in 2008 and a CFA, I spent 8 years at Coburn Ventures (a market neutral TMT/Consumer hedge fund). In 2015, I joined Deimos Asset Management, a low net multi-strat, where I managed a  TMT/Consumer portfolio.

I've spent the past few years at Obex Capital Management providing independent investment research to TMT and Consumer investors.

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst

DoorDash 1Q21 Earnings: Reopening or Decelerating?

TMT Weekly: 4 Things That Stood Out the Week of 7/2/​2021

DoorDash 2Q21 Earnings: Awaiting Deceleration

DoorDash – Primed for a Nice Open but the Peak of Good News Could Have Passed

Battle Lines Drawn As BABA Builds Out First/Last-Mile Capacity; But Who Will Fund 75+ Bn CNY CapEx?

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research

Obex Capital Research

“Obex” is Latin for Barriers to Entry. Obex Capital Management’s investment philosophy is driven by an intense focus on which business model’s Barriers to Entry are able to withstand the ever increasing competitive disruption in the TMT and Consumer Sectors.

Equity Bottom-Up

DoorDash’s first earnings call confirmed many of the concerns from our initiation. The key point for 2021? We think estimates that came up to reflect the easy COVID comp for 1Q21 will fall the rest of the year as COVID recedes, which will result in the rising customer acquisition costs cited in 4Q and 2021 meeting falling LTVs as customers return to dining out. DoorDash is likely to continually underperform expectations.Why do we think DoorDash is worth maybe half its current valuation?We’ll leave it to “NEUTRAL” rated Goldman Sachs to sum it up, “With the stock trading near 20x 2022E EV/Gross Profit vs. GSe 28% 3-year Gross Profit CAGR compared to the peer average of 10x on 30% growth we believe much of that opportunity is reflected in the current valuation. Therefore, we remain Neutral rated, while our 12-month price target goes to $145 from $135 to reflect revised estimates and current comp multiples.”As always, if you can’t explain why one company is worth 2x more then all its peers…it’s a neutral.<div class="content-highlight">Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.</div>

DoorDash’s first earnings call confirmed many of the concerns from our initiation. The key point for 2021? We think estimates that came up to reflect the easy COVID comp for 1Q21 will fall the rest of the year as COVID recedes, which will result in the rising customer acquisition costs cited in 4Q and 2021 meeting falling LTVs as customers return to dining out. DoorDash is likely to continually underperform expectations.Why do we think DoorDash is worth maybe half its current valuation?We’ll leave it to “NEUTRAL” rated Goldman Sachs to sum it up, “With the stock trading near 20x 2022E EV/Gross Profit vs. GSe 28% 3-year Gross Profit CAGR compared to the peer average of 10x on 30% growth we believe much of that opportunity is reflected in the current valuation. Therefore, we remain Neutral rated, while our 12-month price target goes to $145 from $135 to reflect revised estimates and current comp multiples.”As always, if you can’t explain why one company is worth 2x more then all its peers…it’s a neutral.Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.

DoorDash 4Q20 Earnings: This Is a Business Worth $50B?