Independent Investment Research, The IDEA!

The IDEA!

Independent Investment Research

The Idea-Driven Equities Analyses company (the IDEA!) is an employee-owned boutique providing independent investment research and financial consultancy services with a clear focus on the Benelux countries. The company was founded in the summer of 2007 by Henk Slotboom and Maarten Verbeek, both with more than 35 years of professional experience in the financial sector. The IDEA! differentiates itself by focusing on adding value through self-initiated in-depth, idea-driven investment research, as well as by bespoke research assignments for institutional investors, hedge funds and private equity. In addition, we provide market intelligence, strategic research and – together with our business partners – consultancy services to businesses. In case you are interested in receiving more information, a sample of our products or an introductory meeting, please send a message to info@theidea.nl.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>In this edition: • Adyen | solid 1Q25 revenue development – reiterates financial objectives • ASM International | better than expected gross margin and cost control resulting in a strong beat in operational profitability • AkzoNobel | PPG beats expectations and reaffirms FY25 guidance • dsm-firmenich | 1Q25 falls slightly short of market expectations; FY25 guidance intact • DHL | 1Q25 shows clear beat of consensus; external environment remains uncertain</li></ul>

In this edition: • Adyen | solid 1Q25 revenue development – reiterates financial objectives • ASM International | better than expected gross margin and cost control resulting in a strong beat in operational profitability • AkzoNobel | PPG beats expectations and reaffirms FY25 guidance • dsm-firmenich | 1Q25 falls slightly short of market expectations; FY25 guidance intact • DHL | 1Q25 shows clear beat of consensus; external environment remains uncertain

What's New(s) in Amsterdam - 30 April (Adyen | AkzoNobel | ASM Int'l | dsm-firmenich | DHL)

US-EU Index Rebalances / Quantitative Researcher, ORTEX

Dimitris Ioannidis

US-EU Index Rebalances / Quantitative Researcher

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>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/rheinmetall-ag" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21700:1" rel="noopener">Rheinmetall AG (RHM GR)</a> surged ~65% over the last month and is now passing the sector coverage threshold resulting in its selection list qualification and rank of ~26.</li>
<li>Fast-Entry inclusion to Euro STOXX50 can be triggered at the June 2025 quarterly review if RHM's price increases by ~4% to reach the fast-entry rank of 25. </li>
<li>RHM's inclusion at the September 2025 annual review has a high probability given a failed fast-entry in June. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kering" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21492:1" rel="noopener">Kering (KER FP)</a> is the main deletion candidate.</li>
</ul>



Rheinmetall AG (RHM GR) surged ~65% over the last month and is now passing the sector coverage threshold resulting in its selection list qualification and rank of ~26.
Fast-Entry inclusion to Euro STOXX50 can be triggered at the June 2025 quarterly review if RHM's price increases by ~4% to reach the fast-entry rank of 25. 
RHM's inclusion at the September 2025 annual review has a high probability given a failed fast-entry in June. Kering (KER FP) is the main deletion candidate.


EURO STOXX50: Fast-Entry In June Or Inclusion In September 2025 For Rheinmetall AG (RHM GR)

Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>We update Klarna’s pre-IPO valuation based on recent private share transactions and that of Stripe; Indian payments company Pine Labs is reputedly looking for an IPO valuation of USD6bn</li>
<li>Our 2H24 recommended shares performance was suboptimal; only two of our four longs delivered gains, and our short’s share price was strong in the “risk on” investor climate</li>
<li>We downgrade Shift4 to neutral, keeping PagSeguro as our core value pick along with European value play Nexi and US megacap Visa; we keep our sell rating on Affirm</li>
</ul>


We update Klarna’s pre-IPO valuation based on recent private share transactions and that of Stripe; Indian payments company Pine Labs is reputedly looking for an IPO valuation of USD6bn
Our 2H24 recommended shares performance was suboptimal; only two of our four longs delivered gains, and our short’s share price was strong in the “risk on” investor climate
We downgrade Shift4 to neutral, keeping PagSeguro as our core value pick along with European value play Nexi and US megacap Visa; we keep our sell rating on Affirm


Payment Companies – Key Picks and Potential IPOs in Focus

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>We explore Klarna’s and Stripe’s IPO prospects and valuations based on recent share transactions; Nuvei and Cielo are close to being taken private, with Worldpay now controlled by private equity</li>
<li>Nuvei and Worldpay both grew by acquisition but failed to deliver on the market’s expected returns, in our view, ending up under PE ownership; is Nexi a potential PE target?</li>
<li>We retain Visa as a core holding and also keep PagSeguro and PayPal as buys, replacing Cielo with new peer group addition Shift4; we keep our sell rating on Affirm</li>
</ul>


We explore Klarna’s and Stripe’s IPO prospects and valuations based on recent share transactions; Nuvei and Cielo are close to being taken private, with Worldpay now controlled by private equity
Nuvei and Worldpay both grew by acquisition but failed to deliver on the market’s expected returns, in our view, ending up under PE ownership; is Nexi a potential PE target?
We retain Visa as a core holding and also keep PagSeguro and PayPal as buys, replacing Cielo with new peer group addition Shift4; we keep our sell rating on Affirm


Payment Companies – Potential IPOs, Select Companies Being Taken Private and Sector Overview

<ul>
<li>In 2H23 our longs Visa and PagSeguro delivered positive returns, whilst PayPal was in negative territory; among our shorts, Kakao Pay was modestly successful, DLocal and Affirm continued to appreciate</li>
<li>We retain card network megacap Visa as a core holding, and keep PagSeguro and PayPal adding Cielo to the buy list</li>
<li>We keep our negative views on DLocal and Affirm, and remove Kakao Pay from the sell list for its less marked price-to-sales multiple valuation</li>
</ul>


In 2H23 our longs Visa and PagSeguro delivered positive returns, whilst PayPal was in negative territory; among our shorts, Kakao Pay was modestly successful, DLocal and Affirm continued to appreciate
We retain card network megacap Visa as a core holding, and keep PagSeguro and PayPal adding Cielo to the buy list
We keep our negative views on DLocal and Affirm, and remove Kakao Pay from the sell list for its less marked price-to-sales multiple valuation


Payment Companies – Our High Conviction Calls for 1H 2024

Netherlands

Adyen N.V. provides payment solutions. The Company offers a platform that enable merchants and businesses to process payments online, mobile, and point-of-sale systems with payment methods including card schemes, mobile wallets, and other local methods. Adyen serves customers worldwide.

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Adyen BV (ADYEN NA)

What's New(s) in Amsterdam - 30 April (Adyen | AkzoNobel | ASM Int'l | dsm-firmenich | DHL)

In this edition: • Adyen | solid 1Q25 revenue development – reiterates financial objectives • ASM International | better than expected gross...

The IDEA!

EURO STOXX50: Fast-Entry In June Or Inclusion In September 2025 For Rheinmetall AG (RHM GR)

Rheinmetall AG (RHM) is now ranked 26th in Euro STOXX50, after surpassing the Industrial sector coverage threshold and is ~4% away from fast-entry...

Dimitris Ioannidis

Payment Companies – Key Picks and Potential IPOs in Focus

PagSeguro is our core value pick, Nexi and Visa are also buys, Affirm still rated a sell, Shift4 is now neutral. Updated Klarna and Stripe pre-IPO...

Victor Galliano

Payment Companies – Potential IPOs, Select Companies Being Taken Private and Sector Overview

In payments, PagSeguro, Visa, PayPal and Shift4 are buys while Affirm remains a sell. Klarna and Stripe prep for their IPOs, Nuvei and Cielo are...

Victor Galliano

Payment Companies – Our High Conviction Calls for 1H 2024

In payments, we stick with Visa, PayPal and PagSeguro, adding Cielo to the buy list; we remain negative on DLocal and Affirm, removing Kakao Pay...

Victor Galliano

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

What's New(s) in Amsterdam - 30 April (Adyen | AkzoNobel | ASM Int'l | dsm-firmenich | DHL)

In this edition: • Adyen | solid 1Q25 revenue development – reiterates financial objectives • ASM International | better than expected gross...

The IDEA!

EURO STOXX50: Fast-Entry In June Or Inclusion In September 2025 For Rheinmetall AG (RHM GR)

Rheinmetall AG (RHM) is now ranked 26th in Euro STOXX50, after surpassing the Industrial sector coverage threshold and is ~4% away from fast-entry...

Dimitris Ioannidis

Payment Companies – Key Picks and Potential IPOs in Focus

PagSeguro is our core value pick, Nexi and Visa are also buys, Affirm still rated a sell, Shift4 is now neutral. ​Updated Klarna and Stripe pre-IPO...

Victor Galliano

Payment Companies – Potential IPOs, Select Companies Being Taken Private and Sector Overview

In payments, PagSeguro, Visa, PayPal and Shift4 are buys while Affirm remains a sell. Klarna and Stripe prep for their IPOs, Nuvei and Cielo are...

Victor Galliano

Payment Companies – Our High Conviction Calls for 1H 2024

In payments, we stick with Visa, PayPal and PagSeguro, adding Cielo to the buy list; we remain negative on DLocal and Affirm, removing Kakao Pay...

Victor Galliano

PagSeguro is our core value pick, Nexi and Visa are also buys, Affirm still rated a sell, Shift4 is now neutral. Updated Klarna and Stripe pre-IPO...