External broker reports(aggregated public sources), CMB International

CMB International

External broker reports(aggregated public sources)

Incorporated in Hong Kong, supported by the mainland and targeting in global market, CMB International Capital Corporation Limited (“CMBI”) is an integrated financial institution providing comprehensive and professional services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank ("CMB"), by leveraging on the Group’s synergy and coordination in domestic and overseas markets, as well as CMB’s strong resources and outstanding social reputation, CMBI and its subsidiaries have been actively implementing diversified business strategies and set up an overall layout of main business segments including Corporate Finance, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Global Markets and Structured Finance, etc. Adhering to the philosophy of “being clients oriented and increasing our own values by the way of creating value for clients”, CMBI endeavors to provide quality and integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual customers both domestic and overseas including Hong Kong IPO sponsorship and underwriting, share placement and rights issue for listed companies, financial advisors, bonds issuance services, asset management, direct investment, wealth management, equity sales and trading, etc.

Equity Bottom-Up

Meta Platforms (Facebook) / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>Meta reported 1Q24 results: total revenue grew by 27% YoY to US$36.5bn, in line with consensus estimate of US$36.2bn; net income was up 117% YoY to US$12.4bn, also in line with consensus estimate (US$12.2bn).</li><li>For 2Q24, management guides total revenue to increase by 14-22% YoY to US$36.5- 39.0bn (vs. consensus estimate of US$38.3bn), with growth rate normalizing as the base effect wanes.</li><li>Looking ahead, Meta expects to start a multi-year investment cycle to build full-scale AI capabilities and enhance monetization. </li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Meta reported 1Q24 results: total revenue grew by 27% YoY to US$36.5bn, in line with consensus estimate of US$36.2bn; net income was up 117% YoY to US$12.4bn, also in line with consensus estimate (US$12.2bn).For 2Q24, management guides total revenue to increase by 14-22% YoY to US$36.5- 39.0bn (vs. consensus estimate of US$38.3bn), with growth rate normalizing as the base effect wanes.Looking ahead, Meta expects to start a multi-year investment cycle to build full-scale AI capabilities and enhance monetization. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Meta (META US) - Launch of the AI investment cycle

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>International advertising market (global ad market ex-China, same below unless otherwise specified) still has ample room for further digital transformation, benchmarking to rather advanced state in China’s market.</li><li>The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation towards online and mobile advertising globally.</li><li>According to eMarketer, spending in international ad market reached US$809bn in 2023, with that for digital ad reaching 66% of total at US$533bn (vs. pre-pandemic level of 47% in 2019). </li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

International advertising market (global ad market ex-China, same below unless otherwise specified) still has ample room for further digital transformation, benchmarking to rather advanced state in China’s market.The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation towards online and mobile advertising globally.According to eMarketer, spending in international ad market reached US$809bn in 2023, with that for digital ad reaching 66% of total at US$533bn (vs. pre-pandemic level of 47% in 2019). Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

US Digital Advertising – AI-Empowered Digital Transformation

<ul>
<li>Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta, collectively known as Hyperscaler 3 &amp; Meta, have recently announced their CY4Q23 results, unanimously claiming to increase investments in AI-related infrastructure from the current levels.</li>
<li>Per Bloomberg consensus, the capex of Hyperscaler 3 &amp; Meta will grow 22.6% in 2024, higher than prior forecasts of 16.6%.</li>
<li>This capex boost further confirms our perspective on the ongoing AI momentum into 2024, driven by strong demand for building computing capacity.</li>
</ul>


Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta, collectively known as Hyperscaler 3 &amp; Meta, have recently announced their CY4Q23 results, unanimously claiming to increase investments in AI-related infrastructure from the current levels.
Per Bloomberg consensus, the capex of Hyperscaler 3 &amp; Meta will grow 22.6% in 2024, higher than prior forecasts of 16.6%.
This capex boost further confirms our perspective on the ongoing AI momentum into 2024, driven by strong demand for building computing capacity.


Semi - Hyperscalers’ FY23 Results Review

<ul><li>Post 3Q earnings, investors have regained confidence in AI capital spending for the next few quarters. Amazon/Microsoft/Alphabet/Meta (“CSP3 &amp; Meta”) all announced QoQ increases in their 3Q capex.</li><li>The aggregate number topped US$37bn, representing the fourth highest quarterly spending in history.</li><li>These companies are committed to ramping up spending to remain competitive at the AI front line</li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Post 3Q earnings, investors have regained confidence in AI capital spending for the next few quarters. Amazon/Microsoft/Alphabet/Meta (“CSP3 &amp; Meta”) all announced QoQ increases in their 3Q capex.The aggregate number topped US$37bn, representing the fourth highest quarterly spending in history.These companies are committed to ramping up spending to remain competitive at the AI front lineContent is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Technology (Hardware/Semi): CSP3 & Meta Ramp up Spending to Stay at the AI Front Line

<ul><li>Since our downgrade report on 14 Aug, we have seen a continuous decline on Innolight’s share price by more than 23%.</li><li>Our current view on the stock is becoming increasingly favourable, driven by: 1) continuous strong momentum observed in building up AI infrastructure globally; and 2) quick uptake seen in downstream application market (e.g., AI-powered Ads adopted by Meta, Google and Amazon, GitHub copilot by Microsoft).</li><li>In addition, companies within the AI hardware value chain start to report strong earnings. </li></ul>Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Since our downgrade report on 14 Aug, we have seen a continuous decline on Innolight’s share price by more than 23%.Our current view on the stock is becoming increasingly favourable, driven by: 1) continuous strong momentum observed in building up AI infrastructure globally; and 2) quick uptake seen in downstream application market (e.g., AI-powered Ads adopted by Meta, Google and Amazon, GitHub copilot by Microsoft).In addition, companies within the AI hardware value chain start to report strong earnings. Content is external broker report sourced from online content aggregator through publicly available sources and is displayed below for general informational purposes only. Refer full disclaimer below.

Innolight (300308 CH) – Expect Higher Contribution from AI Revenue in 3Q

United States

Meta Platforms Inc. operates as a social technology company. The Company builds applications and technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. meta Platform is also involved in advertisements, augmented and virtual reality.

Meta Platforms (Facebook) (META US)

Meta (META US) - Launch of the AI investment cycle

Looking ahead, Meta expects to start a multi-year investment cycle to build full-scale AI capabilities and enhance monetization.

CMB International

US Digital Advertising – AI-Empowered Digital Transformation

International advertising market (global ad market ex-China, same below unless otherwise specified) still has ample room for further digital...

CMB International

Semi - Hyperscalers’ FY23 Results Review

This capex boost further confirms our perspective on the ongoing AI momentum into 2024, driven by strong demand for building computing capacity.

CMB International

Technology (Hardware/Semi): CSP3 & Meta Ramp up Spending to Stay at the AI Front Line

Post 3Q earnings, investors have regained confidence in AI capital spending for the next few quarters. Amazon/Microsoft/Alphabet/Meta (“CSP3 &...

CMB International

Innolight (300308 CH) – Expect Higher Contribution from AI Revenue in 3Q

Our current view on the stock is becoming increasingly favourable, driven by: 1) continuous strong momentum observed in building up AI...

CMB International