Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

A chartered management accountant with more than 10 years of rich experience in investment research and financial analysis. Worked as an equity analyst for one of the world's largest asset managers with USD2.5trn in AUM covering numerous sectors including chemicals, retail, tech, autos, telco, real-estate and banks, globally. Experienced in fundamental equity research, industry research, commodity studies, forensic accounting, and due diligence reviews.

Equity Analyst

Freee 1Q: Turns Profitable Sooner Than We Expected

2025 High Conviction: Freee KK – Becoming Free From Losses; Significant Upside

M3: Earnings Trend Downward, ELAN Acquisition to Further Dilute Margins

Recruit: Labour Markets Continue to Trend Down, but Recruit’s Efforts Pay Off in 1Q

High Conviction - CyberAgent: Market Overreacts to Conservative Guidance

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/recruit-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15070:1" rel="noopener">Recruit Holdings (6098 JP)</a> reported 2QFY03/2025 results on Monday which saw strong improvement in earnings with a beat. The company also revised its full-year guidance upwards.</li>
<li>The labour markets globally have continued to trend downwards, particularly in the US while web traffic on Indeed and Glassdoor has fallen significantly.</li>
<li>• Recruit’s monetisation efforts coupled with measures to reduce costs have paid off, however, we don’t expect labour markets to improve anytime soon, posing significant threat.</li>
</ul>



Recruit Holdings (6098 JP) reported 2QFY03/2025 results on Monday which saw strong improvement in earnings with a beat. The company also revised its full-year guidance upwards.
The labour markets globally have continued to trend downwards, particularly in the US while web traffic on Indeed and Glassdoor has fallen significantly.
• Recruit’s monetisation efforts coupled with measures to reduce costs have paid off, however, we don’t expect labour markets to improve anytime soon, posing significant threat.


Recruit Holdings: Another Quarter of Strong Earnings Despite Labour Markets Trending Downwards