AI | Semiconductors | Commodities, Mint Finance

Raghav Vashisht

AI | Semiconductors | Commodities

Deep Fundamental Analysis

Mint Finance

Mint Finance's investment research blends deep fundamental analysis with technical & quant insights. Investment strategies straddle across multiple asset classes with risk management embedded into every trade to deliver an outsized reward-to-risk ratio.

Mint Finance's research is centered around three key themes. First, energy transition and climate change. Second, artificial intelligence. Third, shifting world order with its impact across politics and monetary economics.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>SoftBank widens its AI bet with a $2B stake in Intel, suffers a 12% dip over two consecutive days.</li>
<li>Nvidia’s dominance has hyperscalers wary of lock-in. With Amazon and Microsoft building their chips, SoftBank’s move lands right as the market searches for alternatives.</li>
<li>Can Son replicate Intel’s historic design-fab alignment in AI, or would execution risk outweigh his ecosystem-diversification logic?</li>
</ul>


SoftBank widens its AI bet with a $2B stake in Intel, suffers a 12% dip over two consecutive days.
Nvidia’s dominance has hyperscalers wary of lock-in. With Amazon and Microsoft building their chips, SoftBank’s move lands right as the market searches for alternatives.
Can Son replicate Intel’s historic design-fab alignment in AI, or would execution risk outweigh his ecosystem-diversification logic?


Masa’s AI Double Down: Masterstroke or Misstep?

<ul>
<li>Despite a 307% surge in revenue, CoreWeave's extended six-year GPU depreciation schedule flatters its profitability while masking faster asset wear-down.</li>
<li>Despite ballooning into a $30 bn market cap, CoreWeave is weighed down by debt and lease obligations; Q2 interest expense exceeded operating profit, with CRWV netting $290 m in losses. </li>
<li>The Aug 15 IPO lock-up expiry triggered insider selling via $1 bn+ block trades, driving a 35% stock plunge and spiking short interest.</li>
</ul>


Despite a 307% surge in revenue, CoreWeave's extended six-year GPU depreciation schedule flatters its profitability while masking faster asset wear-down.
Despite ballooning into a $30 bn market cap, CoreWeave is weighed down by debt and lease obligations; Q2 interest expense exceeded operating profit, with CRWV netting $290 m in losses. 
The Aug 15 IPO lock-up expiry triggered insider selling via $1 bn+ block trades, driving a 35% stock plunge and spiking short interest.


CoreWeave’s Growth Meets Debt-Heavy Risk

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

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sicc-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:36273:1" rel="noopener">SICC (688234 CH)</a>, a manufacturer of high-quality SiC substrates, aims to raise up to US$250m in its H-share listing.</li>
<li>In terms of market share, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan, based on 2024 sales, its market share was at 16.7%.</li>
<li>In this note, we look at the PHIP updates and talk about the likely A/H premium.</li>
</ul>



SICC (688234 CH), a manufacturer of high-quality SiC substrates, aims to raise up to US$250m in its H-share listing.
In terms of market share, as per Frost &amp; Sullivan, based on 2024 sales, its market share was at 16.7%.
In this note, we look at the PHIP updates and talk about the likely A/H premium.


SICC A/H Listing - PHIP Updates and Thoughts on A/H Premium

<ul>
<li>Record royalties now make up over half of Arm’s revenue, with Compute Subsystems (CSS) earning nearly 2x more than conventional designs.</li>
<li>Hyperscaler CPU share jumps to ~50%, as Neoverse powers AI infrastructure at NVIDIA, AWS, Google, and Microsoft.</li>
<li>Custom silicon stickiness deepens, with multigenerational GPU deals and CSS design wins spanning cloud, PC, and automotive verticals.</li>
</ul>


Record royalties now make up over half of Arm’s revenue, with Compute Subsystems (CSS) earning nearly 2x more than conventional designs.
Hyperscaler CPU share jumps to ~50%, as Neoverse powers AI infrastructure at NVIDIA, AWS, Google, and Microsoft.
Custom silicon stickiness deepens, with multigenerational GPU deals and CSS design wins spanning cloud, PC, and automotive verticals.


[Earnings Review] Arm’s AI Royalty Engine Powers Through Cloud and Edge Tailwinds

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Engineering work continues on the 14A, but further capacity expansion is on hold until a major external customer commits.</li>
<li>CEO Lip-Bu Tan is prioritising balance sheet strength and shareholder returns after years of aggressive capex.</li>
<li>Intel would only expand PPE upon firm commitments, ensuring any new foundry capacity is tied to revenue certainty.</li>
</ul>


Engineering work continues on the 14A, but further capacity expansion is on hold until a major external customer commits.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan is prioritising balance sheet strength and shareholder returns after years of aggressive capex.
Intel would only expand PPE upon firm commitments, ensuring any new foundry capacity is tied to revenue certainty.


Is 14A on the Chopping Block, or Is Intel Raising the Stakes for a Whale

United States

Microsoft Corporation operates as a software company. The Company offers applications, extra cloud storage, and advanced security solutions. Microsoft serves customers worldwide.

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Microsoft Corp (MSFT US)

Masa’s AI Double Down: Masterstroke or Misstep?

SoftBank invests $2B in Intel for AI, faces stock drop. While the market seems to look for alternatives to Nvidia, Son's strategy is still...

Mint Finance

CoreWeave’s Growth Meets Debt-Heavy Risk

CoreWeave's revenue surge masks faster asset wear-down; debt and lease obligations weigh down $30 bn market cap; insider selling triggers 35%...

Mint Finance

SICC A/H Listing - PHIP Updates and Thoughts on A/H Premium

SICC (688234 CH), a manufacturer of high-quality SiC substrates, aims to raise up to US$250m in its H-share listing. In this note, we talk about...

Sumeet Singh

[Earnings Review] Arm’s AI Royalty Engine Powers Through Cloud and Edge Tailwinds

Record Q1 royalties, surging Neoverse share, and premium CSS adoption reinforce Arm’s AI platform strategy, even as the quarter missed revenue...

Mint Finance

Is 14A on the Chopping Block, or Is Intel Raising the Stakes for a Whale

Intel is focusing on financial stability and shareholder returns, delaying capacity expansion until it secures commitments from major customers.

Mint Finance

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Masa’s AI Double Down: Masterstroke or Misstep?

​SoftBank invests $2B in Intel for AI, faces stock drop. While the market seems to look for alternatives to Nvidia, Son's strategy is still...

Mint Finance

CoreWeave’s Growth Meets Debt-Heavy Risk

​CoreWeave's revenue surge masks faster asset wear-down; debt and lease obligations weigh down $30 bn market cap; insider selling triggers 35%...

Mint Finance

SICC A/H Listing - PHIP Updates and Thoughts on A/H Premium

SICC (688234 CH), a manufacturer of high-quality SiC substrates, aims to raise up to US$250m in its H-share listing. In this note, we talk about...

Sumeet Singh

[Earnings Review] Arm’s AI Royalty Engine Powers Through Cloud and Edge Tailwinds

Record Q1 royalties, surging Neoverse share, and premium CSS adoption reinforce Arm’s AI platform strategy, even as the quarter missed revenue...

Mint Finance

Is 14A on the Chopping Block, or Is Intel Raising the Stakes for a Whale

​Intel is focusing on financial stability and shareholder returns, delaying capacity expansion until it secures commitments from major customers.

Mint Finance

SoftBank invests $2B in Intel for AI, faces stock drop. While the market seems to look for alternatives to Nvidia, Son's strategy is still...

CoreWeave's revenue surge masks faster asset wear-down; debt and lease obligations weigh down $30 bn market cap; insider selling triggers 35%...

Intel is focusing on financial stability and shareholder returns, delaying capacity expansion until it secures commitments from major customers.