TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst, Obex Capital Research

Aaron Gabin

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research

Obex Capital Research

“Obex” is Latin for Barriers to Entry. Obex Capital Management’s investment philosophy is driven by an intense focus on which business model’s Barriers to Entry are able to withstand the ever increasing competitive disruption in the TMT and Consumer Sectors.

Equity Bottom-Up

Today we want to address Zillow’s decision to exit iBuying and whether or not the 25% share price drop gets us interested in owning Zillow. We will do a followup note later in the week about the overall prospects for iBuying and if we would be buyers of Opendoor or Offerpad. Spoiler alert: We’d buy Opendoor.<div class="content-highlight">Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.</div>

Today we want to address Zillow’s decision to exit iBuying and whether or not the 25% share price drop gets us interested in owning Zillow. We will do a followup note later in the week about the overall prospects for iBuying and if we would be buyers of Opendoor or Offerpad. Spoiler alert: We’d buy Opendoor.Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.

Zillow: What Data Driven Competitive Advantage?

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 Capital Markets

<ul><li>This is our first report on Match Group, one of the global market leaders in online dating with a massive app portfolio that includes nearly 50 brands.</li><li>Match Group has delivered a string of good results and has been among the few companies that has benefitted from the Covid-19 pandemic with a sharp rise in paying users that resorted to online dating during the lockdowns.</li><li>Match Group’s financial results are showing visible improvement in revenues per paying user and as well as the number of paid users across most of its platforms resulting in improving profitability and free cash flow generation.</li></ul>

This is our first report on Match Group, one of the global market leaders in online dating with a massive app portfolio that includes nearly 50 brands.Match Group has delivered a string of good results and has been among the few companies that has benefitted from the Covid-19 pandemic with a sharp rise in paying users that resorted to online dating during the lockdowns.Match Group’s financial results are showing visible improvement in revenues per paying user and as well as the number of paid users across most of its platforms resulting in improving profitability and free cash flow generation.

Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

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.

While the battle for payment systems between Epic and Apple will continue with Epic filing an appeal, the rather mild ruling against Apple has some interesting implications, as do the responses of both companies to the ruling. In the context of regulatory upheaval in the key gaming space in China and a slew of regulatory moves in other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, there is plenty worth mulling as new winners and losers could emerge.

While the battle for payment systems between Epic and Apple will continue with Epic filing an appeal, the rather mild ruling against Apple has some interesting implications, as do the responses of both companies to the ruling. In the context of regulatory upheaval in the key gaming space in China and a slew of regulatory moves in other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, there is plenty worth mulling as new winners and losers could emerge.

Apple's quasi loss in the Epic lawsuit regarding app store take rates makes us all the more bullish on one of our favorite longs...Match Group. And also more bullish on Roblox (another long recommendation) and ATVI (less a beneficiary, but still a good entry point. We think Spotify and Netflix's benefits are overstated. Spotify has run too much on the news, and we think its potentially another good short entry point.

Apple's quasi loss in the Epic lawsuit regarding app store take rates makes us all the more bullish on one of our favorite longs...Match Group. And also more bullish on Roblox (another long recommendation) and ATVI (less a beneficiary, but still a good entry point. We think Spotify and Netflix's benefits are overstated. Spotify has run too much on the news, and we think its potentially another good short entry point.

Apple's App Store Price Cut Beneficiaries

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Index Rebalance

It's time for the S&amp;P500 Index Rebalance. Friday night on 3 Sep ahead of the long weekend we got the <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/indexnews/announcements/20210903-1443045/1443045_sept2021-546-shuf-rebal.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> from S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices. This quarter we have 3 Additions...<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/match-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25903:1" rel="noopener">Match Group Inc (MTCH US)</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ceridian-hcm-holding-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27122:1" rel="noopener">Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (CDAY US)</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/brown-brown-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19532:1" rel="noopener">Brown &amp; Brown (BRO US)</a> </li>
</ul>Combined, the three ADDITIONS had US$6.4bn of revenue in the last 12 months, US$1.6bn of OP in that time, and they are forecast to have OP of $1.97bn in the next 12 months.and 3 Deletions... <ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/perrigo-co-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:869:1" rel="noopener">Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO US)</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/unum-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2521:1" rel="noopener">Unum Group (UNM US)</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/national-oilwell-varco-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3046:1" rel="noopener">National Oilwell Varco (NOV US)</a></li>
</ul>Combined, the three DELETIONS had US$21.97bn of revenue in the last 12 months, US$1.1bn of OP in that time, and they are forecast to have $2.13bn of OP in the next 12 months.<div class="content-highlight">
With 3+x the revenue and a combined OP forecast 8% higher than the ADDITIONS in the next 12 months, these three DELETIONS have a combined market cap of US$16bn as of Friday's close against the combined market cap of the ADDITIONS which are at US$75bn.
That may not make much sense but most major indices are like that - they buy what goes up, after it has gone up, and they sell what underperforms, after it has underperformed. 
</div>While these names are not really a surprise, they may prove interesting.Much more analysis below the fold.

It's time for the S&amp;P500 Index Rebalance. Friday night on 3 Sep ahead of the long weekend we got the announcement from S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices. This quarter we have 3 Additions...

Match Group Inc (MTCH US) 

Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (CDAY US) 

Brown &amp; Brown (BRO US) 
Combined, the three ADDITIONS had US$6.4bn of revenue in the last 12 months, US$1.6bn of OP in that time, and they are forecast to have OP of $1.97bn in the next 12 months.and 3 Deletions... 

Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO US) 

Unum Group (UNM US) 
National Oilwell Varco (NOV US)
Combined, the three DELETIONS had US$21.97bn of revenue in the last 12 months, US$1.1bn of OP in that time, and they are forecast to have $2.13bn of OP in the next 12 months.
With 3+x the revenue and a combined OP forecast 8% higher than the ADDITIONS in the next 12 months, these three DELETIONS have a combined market cap of US$16bn as of Friday's close against the combined market cap of the ADDITIONS which are at US$75bn.
That may not make much sense but most major indices are like that - they buy what goes up, after it has gone up, and they sell what underperforms, after it has underperformed. 
While these names are not really a surprise, they may prove interesting.Much more analysis below the fold. 

S&P500 September 2021 Rebalance:  3 OUT, 3 IN - The Deletions May Be More Interesting

United States

Match Group, Inc. is a dating service provider. The Company offers diverse portfolio of apps and services which enables connections across the spectrum of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and backgrounds. Match Group serves customers worldwide.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

Match Group (MTCH US)

Zillow: What Data Driven Competitive Advantage?

We are puzzled by Zillow's sudden exit from iBuying given its supposed data driven competitive advantages. While the remaining IMT biz is...

Aaron Gabin

Match Group Inc - Investment Thesis

This is our first report on Match Group, one of the global market leaders in online dating with a massive app portfolio that includes nearly 50...

Baptista Research

Not an Epic Ruling Against Apple

We examine developments in Epic's legal battle with Apple to identify potential long-term implications and winners and losers.

Mio Kato

Apple's App Store Price Cut Beneficiaries

Apple's quasi loss in the Epic lawsuit regarding app store take rates makes us all the more bullish on one of our favorite longs...Match Group.

Aaron Gabin

S&P500 September 2021 Rebalance: 3 OUT, 3 IN - The Deletions May Be More Interesting

The S&P500 Quarterly Review is here. 3 in and 3 out. $14bn a side as of now. I expect the DELETIONS are more interesting though the headlines will...

Travis Lundy

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)