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>Baidu has reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, showcasing resilience with its Baidu Core which posted a modest revenue growth to RMB 26.7 billion.</li><li>This growth was driven by the accelerating performance in the AI Cloud sector, which somewhat counterbalanced the drag provided by the online marketing segment.</li><li>Notably, there was an 8% year-over-year increase in non-GAAP operating profit for Baidu Core, reflecting continued operational efficiencies.</li></ul>

Baidu has reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, showcasing resilience with its Baidu Core which posted a modest revenue growth to RMB 26.7 billion.This growth was driven by the accelerating performance in the AI Cloud sector, which somewhat counterbalanced the drag provided by the online marketing segment.Notably, there was an 8% year-over-year increase in non-GAAP operating profit for Baidu Core, reflecting continued operational efficiencies.

Baidu's Launch of Advanced AI Model Ernie 4.0 Turbo

Blue Lotus Non US Internet research, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Ying Pan

Blue Lotus Non US Internet research

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

<ul>
<li>BIDU reported C2Q24 top line, non-GAAP operating profit and GAAP net income inline, 5.6% and 7.6% vs. our estimate and inline, 10% and 8.4% vs. consensus. </li>
<li>Weak economy is only part of the problem. Weak monetization exists across the entire product line. </li>
<li>We cut the TP to US$80 and reiterate SELL rating.</li>
</ul>


BIDU reported C2Q24 top line, non-GAAP operating profit and GAAP net income inline, 5.6% and 7.6% vs. our estimate and inline, 10% and 8.4% vs. consensus. 
Weak economy is only part of the problem. Weak monetization exists across the entire product line. 
We cut the TP to US$80 and reiterate SELL rating.


[Baidu, Inc. (BIDU US, SELL, TP US$80) TP Change]: Baidu’s Problem Is Not All Cyclical…Maintain SELL

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/foshan-haitian-flavouring-food-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15577:1" rel="noopener">Foshan Haitian Flavouring &amp; Food (603288 CH)</a> (FHCC), China’s leading condiments company, raised around US$1.5bn (including over-allocation) in its H-share listing.</li>
<li>FHCC is China’s leading condiments company within its main product categories of soy sauce, oyster sauce, flavored sauce, specialty condiment products and other products.</li>
<li>We have looked at the past performance and likely A/H premium in our previous note. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.</li>
</ul>



Foshan Haitian Flavouring &amp; Food (603288 CH) (FHCC), China’s leading condiments company, raised around US$1.5bn (including over-allocation) in its H-share listing.
FHCC is China’s leading condiments company within its main product categories of soy sauce, oyster sauce, flavored sauce, specialty condiment products and other products.
We have looked at the past performance and likely A/H premium in our previous note. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.


Foshan Haitian Flavouring A/H Trading - Very Strong Demand, Weak Price Momentum

Eternal Beauty Holdings Limited / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/eternal-beauty-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:43725:1" rel="noopener">Eternal Beauty Holdings Limited</a> is looking to raise around US$144m in its Hong Kong IPO. </li>
<li>Eternal Beauty is the largest brand management company of perfumes in the combined markets of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, in terms of retail sales in 2023.</li>
<li>We have looked at the company’s past performance in our previous note. In this note we talk about valuations.</li>
</ul>



Eternal Beauty Holdings Limited is looking to raise around US$144m in its Hong Kong IPO. 
Eternal Beauty is the largest brand management company of perfumes in the combined markets of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, in terms of retail sales in 2023.
We have looked at the company’s past performance in our previous note. In this note we talk about valuations.


Eternal Beauty IPO - Not Expensive but Its Not Enticing Either

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pony-ai-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:44035:1" rel="noopener">Pony AI (PONY US)</a> raised around US$260m in its upsized US ADR listing in Nov 2024. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.</li>
<li>As per Frost &amp; Sullivan, Pony AI was among the first companies in China to obtain licenses to operate fully driverless robotaxis in all four Tier-1 cities in China.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



Pony AI (PONY US) raised around US$260m in its upsized US ADR listing in Nov 2024. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.
As per Frost &amp; Sullivan, Pony AI was among the first companies in China to obtain licenses to operate fully driverless robotaxis in all four Tier-1 cities in China.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


Pony AI IPO Lockup - US$4.3bn Lockup Release with Stock at 69x EV/Sales

China

Baidu, Inc. operates an Internet search engine. The Company offers algorithmic search, enterprise search, news, MP3, and image searches, voice assistance, online storage, and navigation services. Baidu serves clients globally.

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Baidu (BIDU US)

Baidu's Launch of Advanced AI Model Ernie 4.0 Turbo

Baidu has reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, showcasing resilience with its Baidu Core which posted a...

Baptista Research

[Baidu, Inc. (BIDU US, SELL, TP US$80) TP Change]: Baidu’s Problem Is Not All Cyclical…Maintain SELL

BIDU's Q2 results meet expectations, but weak monetization across products leads to a lowered price target and a SELL rating.

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Foshan Haitian Flavouring A/H Trading - Very Strong Demand, Weak Price Momentum

Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food (603288 CH) raised around US$1.5bn (including over-allocation) in its H-share listing. In this note, we talk about...

Sumeet Singh

Eternal Beauty IPO - Not Expensive but Its Not Enticing Either

Eternal Beauty Holdings Limited is looking to raise around US$144m in its Hong Kong IPO. We have looked at the past performance in our earlier...

Sumeet Singh

Pony AI IPO Lockup - US$4.3bn Lockup Release with Stock at 69x EV/Sales

Pony AI (PONY US) raised around US$260m in its upsized US ADR listing in Nov 2024. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.

Sumeet Singh

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Baidu's Launch of Advanced AI Model Ernie 4.0 Turbo

Baidu has reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, showcasing resilience with its Baidu Core which posted a...

Baptista Research

[Baidu, Inc. (BIDU US, SELL, TP US$80) TP Change]: Baidu’s Problem Is Not All Cyclical…Maintain SELL

​BIDU's Q2 results meet expectations, but weak monetization across products leads to a lowered price target and a SELL rating.

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Foshan Haitian Flavouring A/H Trading - Very Strong Demand, Weak Price Momentum

Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food (603288 CH) raised around US$1.5bn (including over-allocation) in its H-share listing. In this note, we talk about...

Sumeet Singh

Eternal Beauty IPO - Not Expensive but Its Not Enticing Either

Eternal Beauty Holdings Limited is looking to raise around US$144m in its Hong Kong IPO. We have looked at the past performance in our earlier...

Sumeet Singh

Pony AI IPO Lockup - US$4.3bn Lockup Release with Stock at 69x EV/Sales

Pony AI (PONY US) raised around US$260m in its upsized US ADR listing in Nov 2024. The lockup on its pre-IPO investors is set to expire soon.

Sumeet Singh

BIDU's Q2 results meet expectations, but weak monetization across products leads to a lowered price target and a SELL rating.