Senior Technology Analyst, Japanese Equities, LightStream Research

Scott Foster

Securities analyst covering electronics, precision equipment & robotics, engineering, construction, transport and other sectors for more than 25 years in Japan and 3 years in Korea. Permanent resident of Japan.

Senior Technology Analyst, Japanese Equities

Semiconductor WFE. China Spending Spree Offsets Memory & Logic Declines

Tokyo Electron (8035 JP): Dubious Guidance

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

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>Thanks to strong demand from China, 1Q results at Tokyo Electron (TEL) were just bad, not horrible. Operating profit was down 30% YoY on a 17% decline in sales.</li>
<li>1H guidance implies that 2Q will also be weak. Full-year FY Mar-24 guidance implies an unlikely 50% sequential increase in net profit, putting the shares on 32x projected EPS.</li>
<li>A return to peak EPS next fiscal year would drop the P/E ratio to 21x, which used to be the top of TEL's P/E range. Sell. </li>
</ul>


Thanks to strong demand from China, 1Q results at Tokyo Electron (TEL) were just bad, not horrible. Operating profit was down 30% YoY on a 17% decline in sales.
1H guidance implies that 2Q will also be weak. Full-year FY Mar-24 guidance implies an unlikely 50% sequential increase in net profit, putting the shares on 32x projected EPS.
A return to peak EPS next fiscal year would drop the P/E ratio to 21x, which used to be the top of TEL's P/E range. Sell. 


Tokyo Electron (8035 JP): Saved from Disaster by China