Research from Water Tower Research, Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research

Research from Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

Equity Research Firm

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>Investors are rightfully looking at AI investments, but it can be difficult to find the right ones.</li><li>They might be just straight big tech companies like Google or Microsoft, or they might be private, like OpenAI. So, what should investors look for in SMID-cap AI stocks?</li><li>First, the fundamentals of investing still apply. Investors need to consider business fundamentals (revenue growth potential is critical), market position (watch the competition), management (the ability to handle the inevitable ups and downs of a SMID-cap tech company), and valuation (relative to its peers is a good place to start).</li></ul>

Investors are rightfully looking at AI investments, but it can be difficult to find the right ones.They might be just straight big tech companies like Google or Microsoft, or they might be private, like OpenAI. So, what should investors look for in SMID-cap AI stocks?First, the fundamentals of investing still apply. Investors need to consider business fundamentals (revenue growth potential is critical), market position (watch the competition), management (the ability to handle the inevitable ups and downs of a SMID-cap tech company), and valuation (relative to its peers is a good place to start).

Tech Talk: AI Investing Questions Is Investing in AI That Different?

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>A Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/cybersecurity-firm-trend-micro-explores-sale-sources-say-2024-08-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> overnight says Trend Micro might be up for sale. This caused the ADRs to jump 10% overnight. The remaining co-founders are 65 and 70 this year. </li>
<li>The stock has effectively gone sideways the last few years as Value Act has been activisting. Now one has to exercise one's imagination to think about a possible sale price. </li>
<li>On a DCF basis, a PE fund couldn't reasonably do this. Multiples are too high. That means a strategic buyer would be more likely. But Who? Why? And How much?</li>
</ul>


A Reuters article overnight says Trend Micro might be up for sale. This caused the ADRs to jump 10% overnight. The remaining co-founders are 65 and 70 this year. 
The stock has effectively gone sideways the last few years as Value Act has been activisting. Now one has to exercise one's imagination to think about a possible sale price. 
On a DCF basis, a PE fund couldn't reasonably do this. Multiples are too high. That means a strategic buyer would be more likely. But Who? Why? And How much?


Trend Micro (4704) Up For Sale? Would Be a HUGE Buyout But How Huge? And Who?

Asian Hedge Fund Manager, Long Short Equity, Macro

David Mudd

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Hong Kong's secular bull market gained after DeepSeek's announcement ignited shares in the tech sector.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kingsoft-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:492:1" rel="noopener">Kingsoft Corp (3888 HK)</a> broke out to new high after it announced its DAU for WPS exceeded 100mm.  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kingsoft-cloud-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:36647:1" rel="noopener">Kingsoft Cloud Holdings (3896 HK)</a> is benefiting from the AI rally.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/byd-co-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20962:1" rel="noopener">BYD (1211 HK)</a> broke out to an all-time high after announcing it would offer its ADA service for free. The move caused <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tesla-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20279:1" rel="noopener">Tesla (TSLA US)</a> shares to fall.
</li>
</ul>


Hong Kong's secular bull market gained after DeepSeek's announcement ignited shares in the tech sector.

Kingsoft Corp (3888 HK) broke out to new high after it announced its DAU for WPS exceeded 100mm.  Kingsoft Cloud Holdings (3896 HK) is benefiting from the AI rally.

BYD (1211 HK) broke out to an all-time high after announcing it would offer its ADA service for free. The move caused Tesla (TSLA US) shares to fall.



Technically Speaking, Breakouts and Breakdowns: HONG KONG (February 11)

Macroeconomics

<ul>
<li>Trump imposed smaller than anticipated tariffs on China and Xi reacted with a smaller than anticipated retaliation.  China is in a better negotiating position than Canada and Mexico.</li>
<li>DeepSeek's announcement of its powerful and less expensive A.I. model which performed at a similar level to ChatGPT changes the dynamic of US tech domination in the A.I. field.</li>
<li>Xi has taken aim at the Magnificent 7 companies as a strategy to weaken Trump's hand in negotiations and pressuring the US stock market. </li>
</ul>


Trump imposed smaller than anticipated tariffs on China and Xi reacted with a smaller than anticipated retaliation.  China is in a better negotiating position than Canada and Mexico.
DeepSeek's announcement of its powerful and less expensive A.I. model which performed at a similar level to ChatGPT changes the dynamic of US tech domination in the A.I. field.
Xi has taken aim at the Magnificent 7 companies as a strategy to weaken Trump's hand in negotiations and pressuring the US stock market. 


The Art of the Trade War: US/CHINA Opening Moves

Podcast On the Business of Semiconductors, The Circuit

The Circuit

Podcast On the Business of Semiconductors

A Podcast On the Business of Semiconductors. With Jay Goldberg and Ben Bajarin

<ul><li>Microsoft's focus on AI resulted in throwing themselves under the bus to keep the AI train going.</li><li>Microsoft's decision to maintain CapEx numbers for AI semis may not align with street expectations.</li><li>Microsoft's shift away from AI for small and medium businesses indicates uncertainty about the utility of AI for a large part of the customer base.</li></ul>This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

Microsoft's focus on AI resulted in throwing themselves under the bus to keep the AI train going.Microsoft's decision to maintain CapEx numbers for AI semis may not align with street expectations.Microsoft's shift away from AI for small and medium businesses indicates uncertainty about the utility of AI for a large part of the customer base.This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

Episode 103: Earnings - MSFT, META, AAPL, INTC - The Custom ASIC Debate!

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)

Tech Talk: AI Investing Questions Is Investing in AI That Different?

Investors are rightfully looking at AI investments, but it can be difficult to find the right ones. They might be just straight big tech companies...

Water Tower Research

Trend Micro (4704) Up For Sale? Would Be a HUGE Buyout But How Huge? And Who?

Reuters has an article out saying that Buyout firms are "vying for" Trend Micro. Bain, Advent, EQT, KKR all in the mix. The stock went limit up...

Travis Lundy

Technically Speaking, Breakouts and Breakdowns: HONG KONG (February 11)

HK stocks gained momentum after the DeepSeek announcement. Kingsoft shares broke out to new highs after announcing that WPS had DAUs of 100mm. BYD...

David Mudd

The Art of the Trade War: US/CHINA Opening Moves

Trump's tariff actions against China have resulted in a muted response from Xi in retaliatory tariffs. Instead Xi has targeted the US tech sector...

David Mudd

Episode 103: Earnings - MSFT, META, AAPL, INTC - The Custom ASIC Debate!

Microsoft's financial numbers remained steady with a focus on AI investment and potential growth in other areas of the business.

The Circuit

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