MD, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Gu Jun, CFA

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

General slowdown in music live show streaming• We see there has been a general slowdown of music live show streaming because of the rise of other online entertainment formats, like video programs.• Although some platforms and agencies attempt to launch various programs in live streaming, such as Ecommerce, cooking, traveling, etc., they all return to live music shows because it’s the most profitable.• Tencent’s Kugou, Toutiao’s Volcano and Kuaishou are three quickly rising major players.Total…

General slowdown in music live show streaming• We see there has been a general slowdown of music live show streaming because of the rise of other online entertainment formats, like video programs.• Although some platforms and agencies attempt to launch various programs in live streaming, such as Ecommerce, cooking, traveling, etc., they all return to live music shows because it’s the most profitable.• Tencent’s Kugou, Toutiao’s Volcano and Kuaishou are three quickly rising major players.Total…

China Live Streaming: Music Live Shows Slow Down，Game Live Streaming Rising

Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>Spotify's decade-long battle with Apple over App Store fees has escalated into a defining global fight over mobile market power, and it's showing signs of denting Apple's dominance.</li><li>The most recent development came from Spotify's Q2 2025 earnings call, where CEO Daniel Ek directly credited the U.S. legal win against Apple in the Epic v. Apple case for improving Spotify's subscription conversion rates.</li><li>For years, Apple restricted developers from directing users to alternative payment options.</li></ul>

Spotify's decade-long battle with Apple over App Store fees has escalated into a defining global fight over mobile market power, and it's showing signs of denting Apple's dominance.The most recent development came from Spotify's Q2 2025 earnings call, where CEO Daniel Ek directly credited the U.S. legal win against Apple in the Epic v. Apple case for improving Spotify's subscription conversion rates.For years, Apple restricted developers from directing users to alternative payment options.

Spotify's War On Apple: How One App Is Undermining The iPhone’s Powerhouse

<ul><li>Spotify's recent performance demonstrated both progress and challenges, outlining a mixed yet strategic path forward.</li><li>The company's impressive growth metrics in user engagement and subscription numbers stood out, particularly in Europe, where Spotify surpassed 100 million subscribers.</li><li>The total Monthly Active Users (MAUs) reached nearly 700 million, with the subscribers exceeding expectations by 3 million.</li></ul>

Spotify's recent performance demonstrated both progress and challenges, outlining a mixed yet strategic path forward.The company's impressive growth metrics in user engagement and subscription numbers stood out, particularly in Europe, where Spotify surpassed 100 million subscribers.The total Monthly Active Users (MAUs) reached nearly 700 million, with the subscribers exceeding expectations by 3 million.

Spotify Technology: Expanding Audiobook and Video Content Formats To Up Their GAME!

<ul><li>Spotify reported its first-quarter 2025 results with decent metrics, yet the numbers failed to satisfy market expectations, leading to a sharp drop in its stock price.</li><li>Despite posting a 12% year-over-year increase in premium subscribers to 268 million—exceeding analyst estimates of 265 million—Spotify shares fell 8.7% in early trading to $545.77.</li><li>The company also registered 678 million monthly active users, up 10%, broadly meeting expectations.</li></ul>

Spotify reported its first-quarter 2025 results with decent metrics, yet the numbers failed to satisfy market expectations, leading to a sharp drop in its stock price.Despite posting a 12% year-over-year increase in premium subscribers to 268 million—exceeding analyst estimates of 265 million—Spotify shares fell 8.7% in early trading to $545.77.The company also registered 678 million monthly active users, up 10%, broadly meeting expectations.

Spotify Bets Big on Audiobooks—Is This the Platform's Most Disruptive Move Yet?

US-EU Index Rebalances / Quantitative Researcher

Dimitris Ioannidis

Global Financial Data and Analytics Platform

ORTEX

ORTEX is a global financial data and analytics platform providing real-time securities lending and short interest data, index rebalance data, holdings and insider transactions, trading signals, corporate actions and news,  stock machine learning and factor scores and other analytics. The majority of the data are downloadable and accessible through APIs.

Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>Klarna is anticipated to file for a US IPO next week and go public next month looking to raise ~$1bn at a valuation of ~$15bn.</li>
<li>Klarna is expected to be added to one US index at the June 2025 review if its primary asset/revenue location is US and its listed shares are non-ADRs.</li>
<li>Klarna is expected to be added to one Global index at the December 2025 review if its listed shares are non-ADRs and passes the fcap threshold.</li>
</ul>


Klarna is anticipated to file for a US IPO next week and go public next month looking to raise ~$1bn at a valuation of ~$15bn.
Klarna is expected to be added to one US index at the June 2025 review if its primary asset/revenue location is US and its listed shares are non-ADRs.
Klarna is expected to be added to one Global index at the December 2025 review if its listed shares are non-ADRs and passes the fcap threshold.


Klarna: IPO Next Month? US Foreign Listing Limits Index Inclusion

Luxembourg

Spotify Technology S.A. provides music streaming services. The Company offers commercial free music and ad-supported services to subscribers. Spotify Technology serves clients worldwide.

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Spotify (SPOT US)

China Live Streaming: Music Live Shows Slow Down，Game Live Streaming Rising

General slowdown in music live show streaming• We see there has been a general slowdown of music live show streaming because of the rise of other...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Spotify's War On Apple: How One App Is Undermining The iPhone’s Powerhouse

Spotify's decade-long battle with Apple over App Store fees has escalated into a defining global fight over mobile market power, and it's showing...

Baptista Research

Spotify Technology: Expanding Audiobook and Video Content Formats To Up Their GAME!

Spotify's recent performance demonstrated both progress and challenges, outlining a mixed yet strategic path forward. The company's impressive...

Baptista Research

Spotify Bets Big on Audiobooks—Is This the Platform's Most Disruptive Move Yet?

Spotify reported its first-quarter 2025 results with decent metrics, yet the numbers failed to satisfy market expectations, leading to a sharp...

Baptista Research

Klarna: IPO Next Month? US Foreign Listing Limits Index Inclusion

The $15bn Klarna IPO has been paused and is unlikely to proceed in April due to market turmoil caused by Trump tariffs and the escalating global...

Dimitris Ioannidis

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