Equity Bottom-Up

• BYD announced that the company would provide price discounts for 22 models.
• BYD has scale advantage over other NEV car makers and the NEV industry has bargaining power over suppliers and dealers.
• The auto association and the Ministry of Industry are trying to protect small companies from bankruptcy.

• MHI has delivered a strong turnaround over the past four years, with revenue up 26% and business profit expanding nearly 10x from FY22 to FY25
• The consolidated order backlog crossed ¥10.2 trillion in FY25, up ~22% YoY, offering ~2 years of forward revenue visibility and skewed toward high-margin Energy and Defense segments.
• While the stock has rallied sharply, management’s solid FY25–30 guidance, along with structural tailwinds from energy transition and defense spending, continue to underpin the long-term thesis.

• We recently visited Guangzhou city, a tier one city in China, on a vacation trip. 
• One of the malls that we visited happened to have several listed tea chain stores.
• We took a snapshot of the shop traffic and noted the difference in locations of various stores. We also ordered tea drinks from two of these stores.

• Shiseido’s core brand remains strong, but years of weak growth, high costs, and tariff risks have pushed valuations to deeply discounted, near-decade lows.
• Early signs from Japan show margin recovery is possible; aggressive cost-cutting could double core operating margins and unlock significant upside if execution holds.
• If management fails to deliver, Shiseido’s global brand equity, strategic footprint, and low valuation make it an obvious acquisition target for PE or industry buyers.

• MHI is up nearly 60% year-to-date to 46x management’s EPS guidance for FY Mar-26 and 27x our EPS estimate for FY Mar-30.
• By then, we expect Air, Defense & Space revenues to double and the division’s operating margin to rise from 10% to 15%, which is the likely cap on profitability. 
• Given Japan’s uncertain finances and the long time horizon that should already be discounted, we recommend profit taking. 

• TSMC’s Next Generation 2nm Node Gathers Momentum as Intel Lags Behind
• TSMC’s Arizona Plant Ships First AI Chips — But Taiwan Remains Core to Packaging
• MediaTek (2454.TT): Chinese Stimulus Program Might Lose Actively; Google DPU Project Delay to 2026. 

• HZL has approved a ₹12,000 crore investment to set up a 250 KTPA integrated zinc smelter at Debari as part of its 2x capacity expansion plan.
• While smelting investments are not inherently value-accretive due to low TCs, they are necessary to process captive ore and minimize logistics costs.
• The overall growth outlook remains strong, but the pending mine lease expiries by 2030 pose a material long-term risk.

• Boss delivered a robust March 2025 quarter, with Honeymoon generating free cash flow and production ramping sharply.
• The company targets ~2.9M lbs annual output by FY27, supported by Alta Mesa and multiple exploration assets.
• Valuations remain attractive at ~8× forward P/E, though uranium price volatility and execution risks persist.

• Yes, I know I wrote this one up a year ago, but things have changed to make this a more interesting investment opportunity.
• I would recommend holding this in an account where you can sit on it for a few years.
• The ultimate IRR will be attractive, but this isn’t a quick flip.

• KEPCO E&C is well-positioned to benefit from the global revival in nuclear power, with strong domestic visibility and growing international interest in its engineering capabilities. 
• Its proprietary APR1400 reactor platform anchors the business, supported by verticals in O&M, decommissioning, and green energy EPC. 
• While earnings have grown sharply on margin gains, high valuations and project execution risks—particularly overseas—warrant careful monitoring.

• Yamada, Japan’s leading home appliance retailer, trade at a PER of less than 9x. Nitori, the leading furniture retailer trades at about 17x.
• Both companies, having saturated their core market, are diversifying into the other’s territory.
• Key Takeaway: Nitori is diversifying into a business with inherently lower margins, while Yamada moves into one with inherently higher margins.

• In this Postcard Edition, we detour and go international—to the streets, shops, and supermarkets of Vietnam. Choosing Vietnam as a country to explore and begin building our Asian Coverage.
• Despite strong manufacturing fundamentals, capital markets remain narrow, with limited institutional participation and underrepresentation of export-led sectors.
• Vietnam is on our watchlist for its evolving opportunity set, and we will continue tracking IPO activity, MSCI inclusion efforts, and policy reforms.

• U.S. political moves last month backing nuclear power are part of a long-term secular trend of increasing global support for the industry which could drive a uranium rebound 
• A nearly 40% uranium slump from early 2024 to March 2025 has priced in a significant degree of the industry’s challenges, and a price recovery has started 
• As the world’s largest producer, Kazatomprom is well positioned for a rise in uranium, it has lagged the recent sector rebound, and trades at a moderate 1.4x P/B ratio  

• Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M Group) presented its first quarter results for 2025, reflecting a mixed performance amid efforts to strategize for long-term profitable growth.
• Sales in Swedish krona grew by 3%, while local currency sales increased by 2%.
• The company experienced strong sales performance in regions like Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, particularly in Germany and Poland, but sales were weaker in Northern Europe, including the Nordics and the U.K., as well as in the U.S. Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

• Ciena Corporation’s financial results for the fiscal second quarter of 2025 reflect robust performance and strategic positioning within the dynamic networking and telecommunications industry.
• The company reported revenue of $1.13 billion, marking alignment with the high end of their guidance, an indicator of successful strategy execution and market demand.
• This strong revenue performance is underscored by substantial growth in cloud provider revenue, which represented 38% of total revenue and grew by 85% year-over-year to over $400 million in the quarter.

• Intel layoffs now extending to production in US, Israel. Intel’s revenue/employee is half that of AMD, TSMC. An AMD or TSMC employee generates 2x more revenue than an Intel employee. 
• Intel shareloss in PC, Server continues. Over the past 4 years Intel lost 6 percentage points PC market share (down to 76%), 13 percentage points in server (down to 73%).   
• Intel is now without an AI / GPU roadmap. It looks bad but the twist is it helps Intel requalify with Nvidia DGX, replacing AMD. Weakness breeds strength.   

• Denison’s core asset is the Phoenix ISR project within the Wheeler River property, offering high-grade reserves and low projected costs in Canada’s Athabasca Basin. 
• First production is targeted for 2028, with ramp-up to 6.5M lbs U₃O₈ by 2030, contingent on timely permitting and funding.
• While trading at a premium to in-situ reserve value, the stock reflects early-mover ISR potential, but remains exposed to development, financing, and uranium price risks.

• Keysight Technologies reported its fiscal second quarter 2025 earnings, highlighting several key aspects that investors may find noteworthy.
• The company delivered a robust performance, with revenues at $1.3 billion and earnings per share of $1.70, both exceeding the high-end of guidance.
• This performance marks continued revenue growth, driven by strong demand in the Communications Solutions Group (CSG) and a return to growth in the Electronics Industrial Solutions Group (EISG).

• GameStop, the once-mighty video game retailer turned meme stock sensation, is back in the headlines—but not for reasons that inspire confidence.
• The company recently announced a $1.75 billion offering of 0% convertible senior notes due 2032, triggering a nearly 20% plunge in its share price.
• Investors were spooked not only by the prospect of future dilution but also by GameStop’s new strategy: pouring hundreds of millions into Bitcoin, mimicking the controversial playbook of MicroStrategy.

• Indutrade AB’s recent quarterly earnings present a nuanced picture of its current operational and financial health.
• The company reported a 5% organic growth in order intake amidst an uncertain market environment.
• This was primarily driven by strong demand in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, the broader process industry, and energy.

• Pop Mart International Group (9992 HK)  opened its first dedicated jewellery concept store, POPOP, in Shanghai last Friday, featuring accessories based on its best-selling characters like Labubu, Molly, and Skullpanda.
• The jewellery line represents a natural, high-return extension of Pop Mart’s brand. If scaled successfully, it could support overall revenue growth, enhance group margins, and contribute to higher returns.
• Expect high margin, high return casual jewellery business to support growth and uplift margins going forward and  lead to analyst upgrades to future revenues/earnings. 

• TSMC: +21.5% Premium; Consider Shorting ADR Spread at Current Level
• UMC: +2.3% Premium; Can Consider Shorting ADR Premium at Current Level
• ASE: +3.8% Premium; Wait for More Extreme Premium Before Going Long or Short the Spread

• Paladin reported a Q3 FY25 net loss of US$38M, impacted by non-cash impairments and ramp-up costs, though production at Langer Heinrich hit post-restart highs.
• Management targets steady-state output of ~6 Mlb by FY27, with uranium demand set to outpace supply driven by new reactor builds and SMR adoption.
• At core EV/EBITDA of ~2.8x on US$70/lb uranium, valuations appear undemanding relative to long-life assets and sector-leading leverage to uranium prices.

• Resilient FY25 Margins: Despite a 17.5% revenue drop, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (1929 HK) expanded operating margins by 400bps through cost control and premium product mix.
• Brand-Led Recovery in FY26: Signature launches, digital sales, and store optimization to drive Same Store Sales Growth (SSSG) recovery and sustain high operating leverage.
• Valuation Supported by Fundamentals: Valuation at 20.8x P/E (TTM) valuation justified by strong ROE (>20%), margin leadership, and stable dividend payout (~88%) versus regional jewellery peers.

• The footwear retail sector is a one horse race, with that horse being ABC Mart.
• It continues to grow at a respectable rate while increasingly diminutive rivals contract.
• ABC Mart is expanding further into the apparel category too, providing more room for future growth.

• BILL Holdings shares have materially underperformed year-to-date and fell ~51%. Shares saw selling pressure post 2QFY25 earnings as results indicated weak outlook.
• I see limited room for downside given current valuation of ~3x 2025E EV/Revenue (with ~13% growth) and recent acquisition of AvidXchange at a higher multiple.
• I believe BILL’s current attractive valuation levels can be viewed as opportunity to unwind bearish positions and valuation looks more reasonable vs. peers, especially AvidXchange.

• We anticipate that 2H26 may not be strong for Mediatek Inc (2454 TT), and a typical peak season demand is unlikely.
• Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance issued an urgent response: the current unified deadline for the 2025 national subsidy policy remains December 31, 2025.
• Mediatek Inc (2454 TT) recently underperforms among large-cap stocks due to delay in Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) project, affecting next year’s revenue and profit.

• 2025 GPU (Blackwell for Nvidia, MI350 for AMD) use HBM3e 12Hi. SK Hynix and Micron supply Nvidia, Samsung has failed qualification again. Micron and Samsung supply AMD.  
• 2026 GPU (Rubin, MI400) use HBM4 12Hi. SK Hynix, Micron are qualified by Nvidia – that’s done. Micron is closing the gap with Hynix. Samsung still nowhere to be seen.
• Samsung got its consolation prize: AMD is using its HBM3e 12Hi in MI350. It looks like Broadcom will use Samsung’s HBM3e 8Hi in 2 projects (speculatively Apple and OpenAI).

• WSJ reported that Amazon and other major multinational in the US are actively considering on potentially issuing their own stablecoins. This could negatively impact card issuers such as Samsung Card. 
• Once stablecoins are legally approved in South Korea and some of the major merchants in Korea start to use stablecoins, the current revenue streams of Samsung Card could get disrupted.
• Although the exact levels of revenue disruption still remain uncertain, many investors do not like uncertainty which means that some investors could start to reduce their holdings on Samsung Card. 

• SHI reported robust Q1 2025 results with revenue of KRW 2.49T (+6% YoY) and operating profit of KRW 123B (+58% YoY), reflecting improved offshore project execution and margin expansion.
• Management reiterated FY2025 guidance of KRW 10.5T revenue and KRW 630B operating profit, with offshore accounting for ~40% of new orders and a USD 9.8B full-year target
• With LNG carrier replacement demand, FLNG ramp-up, and leadership in eco-vessels, SHI’s earnings trajectory supports its 22x FY27E P/E, despite execution and competition risks.

• FnGuide has been able to capitalize on its excellent brand name in the financial industry (especially for research used in equity trading) to profitably expand into the index development business.
• Although the index business accounted for 25% of its sales in 2024, it has been the fastest growing business in the past six years. 
• Valuations are reasonable and it is trading at 27% below four year historical EV/EBITDA basis. We like FnGuide as a long-term investment story. 

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SUNP IN) is appointing Kirti Ganorkar as the Managing Director to succeed Dilip Shanghvi, effective September 1, 2025, with the entire business reporting to him.
• In another development, Richard Ascroft will be joining as CEO – North America, succeeding Abhay Gandhi. Aalok Shanghvi has been additionally entrusted with the responsibility for the North America business.
• Succession plan and management rejig come at a time when SPIL is at an inflection point, with its India business being on a strong foothold and specialty business gaining traction.

• Recent Results: Newmont delivered a strong Q1 2025 performance with record free cash flow of $1.2 billion, driven by higher gold prices and increased production from Tier 1 assets.
• Future Plans: The company plans to ramp up Tier 1 output to ~6.7 Moz by 2028, led by projects like Ahafo North, Tanami Expansion 2, and Cadia block-cave development.
• Valuation Upside: If current gold prices around $3,400/oz persist, Newmont’s earnings could double vs. consensus, unlocking over 50% potential upside from current share levels.

• Baidu, Inc. delivered a solid performance in the first quarter of 2025, with its Baidu Core division reporting a 7% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching RMB 25.5 billion.
• This growth was primarily driven by a substantial surge in its AI cloud business, which saw a 42% increase year-over-year, contributing significantly to Baidu Core’s overall revenue.
• A notable development within this business unit is the expansion of the AI cloud’s role in Baidu’s operations, now accounting for 26% of Baidu Core’s revenue, up from 20% in the previous year.

• Context: This Insight follows up on previously highlighted relative value opportunities, using a statistical methodology based on mean-reversion to identify opportunities in paired securities.
• Highlight: Two pair trade opportunities in the Indian financial sector persist, with price ratios exceeding two standard deviations from their historical means.
• Why read: Statistical analysis offers a unique perspective on relative value. Gain insights into actionable statistical pair trade opportunities and monitor performance of previously highlighted pairs.

• Alibaba Group delivered a mixed performance in the March quarter and for the full fiscal year 2025, showing resilience in its core operations while falling short of analyst expectations on key financial metrics.
• The company reported revenue of $32.58 billion for the quarter, marking a 7% year-over-year increase, but this fell below projections of $33.28 billion.
• Net income for the period came in at $1.71 billion, significantly lower than the anticipated $2.93 billion.

• Palantir Technologies has become one of Wall Street’s most polarizing success stories in 2025.
• Riding a 76% year-to-date gain and clocking in at more than 460% over the past 12 months, the company’s stock has reached new highs, closing at a record for three consecutive sessions earlier this month.
• The surge puts it in league with speculative darlings like CoreWeave and even evokes comparisons to meme stock veterans such as GameStop.

• iQIYI’s first-quarter 2025 results exhibited growth across several key business segments, though certain challenges remain.
• The company experienced sequential growth in total revenues, largely attributed to their emphasis on premium content production and strong performance in long-form and micro-dramas.
• This focus has effectively positioned iQIYI as a leading platform for both long-form and short-form entertainment content, contributing positively to user engagement and content consumption.

• Dell Technologies Inc.’s fiscal year 2026 first quarter financial results provide a mixed but generally positive view of the company’s current performance and future prospects.
• The company reported revenue of $23.4 billion, a growth of 5% year-over-year.
• This increase was driven by robust performance across its core markets, particularly in Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG), each growing by 8%.

• Copart, Inc.’s Q3 2025 earnings highlight several noteworthy aspects of its performance and market dynamics, offering a balanced view of the company’s current standing and future challenges.
• The company’s global unit sales increased by 1%, with a more notable rise of 2% on a per-business-day basis.
• This growth, however, masks a flat performance in the U.S. segment and a decrease in U.S. insurance unit volume by nearly 1% year-over-year.

• The separation will occur via a two step transaction – an initial minority IPO carve-out followed by a split-off of the remaining stake.
• Two-Step separation allows investors an early opportunity to assess and value the Diabetes business independently, while Medtronic ultimately divests full ownership over time.  Diabetes business could be valued between $8-$11B.
• The move will allow Medtronic to focus on its faster-growing, higher-margin businesses such as pulsed field ablation and renal denervation.

• AMD launched MI300-355. AMD claims that for training MI355 is on par with Nvidia’s B200. For inference MI355 generates more token per $, has a better TCO. MI350 shipped May-25
• AI addressable market: AMD maintains its $500bn by 2028 estimate, 60% Cagr “or exceeding that”. Inference will grow faster, over 80% Cagr.
• AMD stock is cheap, has bottomed out, the roadmap is more competitive, etc. For investors looking for an alternative to Nvidia and TSMC, AMD is the best alternative imo.

• EBITDA margin is expected to expand to 19% by FY27, with EPS rising from CNY 0.51 to CNY 1.10, supported by operational efficiencies and a favorable gold price environment.
• Shandong Gold aims for 70–80 tonnes of self-mined gold by 2027, with FY25–FY27 revenue projected to reach CNY118.8 billion at $3,400/oz gold price, driven by volume growth & higher prices.
• Commodity price volatility, geopolitical risks in international ventures (Argentina, Greece), and state ownership influence pose challenges to margins and shareholder value.

• Bloks Group is one of the top performing stocks in Hong Kong this year, with shares up 186% over the year versus a ~19% gain on the HSI.
• Chinese assembly character toy maker priced its offering at HK$60.35 per share in January, top of a range, and raised ~HK$1.8B of the net proceeds.
• The offering was 5,000+ times oversubscribed and Bloks Group IPO attracted a surge of retail investors. The company’s six-month IPO lockup will expire on July 9, 2025.

• DRAM — Global Memory Market Has Regained Momentum in Mid-2025, Driven by a Sharp Upswing in Spot Prices.
• NAND Flash — Strategic Outsourcing, High ASP Segments Drive Memory Controller Specialist Gains
• Conclusion — Short-Term Gains vs. Long-Term Growth in Memory Markets

• Past Growth: Oswal scaled rapidly under PM-KUSUM, becoming India’s largest solar pump supplier with strong revenue and order book growth.
• Plans: It aims to expand capacity, enter industrial pumps and motors, and grow exports and private-sector sales.
• Risks: Heavy reliance on a tapering subsidy scheme, limited post-KUSUM demand, and exposure to policy, ESG, and working capital challenges.

• Margin pressures are likely to ease from Q2FY26 as raw material costs normalize and recent price hikes take effect.
• The company is executing a Rs150 Cr capex plan focused on automating DOCL plants and localizing high-margin products.
• Integration challenges, cost inflation, and inventory issues that weighed on FY24–25 performance appear largely behind now.

• In this edition: • KPN | more behind the VodafoneZiggo / Delta Fiber access deal than meets the eye?
• • Odido | IPO expected to be postponed until after the summer • Triodos Bank | intends to focus more on the Netherlands

• U-Haul Holding Company is the parent company of U-Haul International, the world’s largest consumer truck and trailer rental company.
• U-Haul is also the third largest self-storage operator in North America.
• U-Haul benefited from a step up in top-line demand for self-moving services during the pandemic, namely in FY2021 & FY2022.

• Operating revenue increased 51.1% YoY to JPY6.9bn, driven by strong sales of absorbable local hemostat TDM-621.
• The company reported an operating loss of JPY1.2bn, narrowing by JPY961mn YoY, with a recurring loss of JPY2.5bn.
• FY04/26 forecast anticipates JPY9.3bn operating revenue, JPY400mn operating profit, and JPY301mn net income attributable to owners.

• While Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (1929 HK) has a stellar share price performance YTD, it still lags the HSI since 2023. The solid 2H FY25 result should support further upside. 
• SSS growth has recovered sharply in Apr-May 2025 (the first two months of 1Q FY26), and CTF should reap further benefits from cost management and product transformation.
• FY26F ROE may reach 27.2%. While its current yield is only 4.6%, it is possible to declare special dividend this year, easily pushing it to over 10%.

• In this insight, we discuss the emergence of the North Korea reconciliation related stocks that are starting to outperform. We have seen this playbook before.
• With the new President Lee Jae-Myung, there is likely to be an outperformance of some of these stocks once again.
• Among the 6 stocks listed above, we believe Hyundai Elevator is one of best stocks to capitalize on the increased reconciliation with North Korea.

• Qualcomm’s recently rumoured desire to acquire UK-listed Alphawave finally came to fruition on June 9 with a US$2.4 billion offer
• Just two days earlier, on June 7, Alphawave announced that the company had disposed of its interest in China-based JV, WiseWave Technology
• What is WiseWave Technology, why did Alphawave invest in it and why is it now divesting that interest prior to the Qualcomm acquisition?

• TSMC May Sales at Record High; Rumored A16 Pricing Underscores Strategic Moat in Advanced Nodes
• Review of Client Roadmaps Shows TSMC Positioned as Indispensable Enabler of AI and Advanced Compute Products
• We Maintain Our Structural Long Rating on TSMC; Inexpensive Despite Recent Rally

• In today’s edition: • ABN Amro | restructuring within Corporate Banking • BE Semiconductor Industries | increases long-term financial targets • Heineken | intends to invest USD 2.75bn in Mexico until 2028 • KPN | VodafoneZiggo secures access to part of Delta Fiber’s network • KPN | CEO denounces ‘populistic discussion’ on high broadband tariffs • InPost | court dismisses motion for injunction against Yodel • DHL | CMA to start DHL/EVRi merger inquiry

Team Internet’s 10-year deal to run the .co top-level domain (TLD) enhances the growth prospects for Domains, Identity and Software (DIS), the group’s highest-quality division in terms of revenue diversity and visibility. Growth prospects may strengthen with ICANN’s planned new Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program, scheduled for 2026. This is welcome news at a time when visibility for Search is low. Our estimates are unchanged, but we see upside potential to our 55p/share sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation for DIS as prospects strengthen, and believe that the current valuation factors in modest prospects for DIS and Comparison and no value for Search.

• Cross-Holding Overhang Easing:Denso Corp (6902 JP) accelerates exit from Toyota Industries stake via tender offer, unlocking capital and aligning with capital efficiency and governance reforms.
• Profitability Set to Improve: FY2026 profit outlook strong, driven by reduced quality-related costs, better operating leverage, and ongoing cost controls post fuel pump recall.
• Valuation Comfort with Growth Drivers: Stock trades below historical average P/E; SDV, electrification, and semiconductor focus positions Denso well for re-rating amid sector tailwinds.

• Apimeds US is a clinical-stage biopharma company that is developing an intradermal bee venom-based toxin, Apitox, for pain associated with inflammatory conditions, including knee OA and multiple sclerosis (MS), for the US market.
• Apitox is licensed from Apimeds, Inc. in South Korea (Apimeds Korea), where the therapy has Korean approval as Apitoxin for treatment of OA.
• Honeybee venom has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

• Sumitomo Pharma (4506 JP) and Knight Therapeutics (GUD CN) entered into exclusive license and supply agreements to commercialize Myfembree, Orgovyx, and vibegron in Canada.
• Sumitomo Pharma and Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVOB DC) have entered into a co-promotion agreement in Japan for Ozempic subcutaneous injection.
• Streamlining efforts and scouting for new revenue streams augurs well. Sumitomo stock remains in contention, up 27% in last 5 days.

Molten Ventures confirmed the key highlights from its FY25 trading statement published in April, including a positive uptick in portfolio valuations and, in turn, a 4% NAV per share total return in H225 (1.4% in FY25 to end-March 2025), strong cash realisations of c £135m in FY25 (ahead of the original guidance of £100m) and a robust cash balance of £89m at end-March 2025. Molten has collected a further £30m in proceeds so far in FY26 from the exits of Lyst and Freetrade. The company earmarked £30m of its FY25 proceeds for share buybacks amid a continued wide discount to NAV (c 53% at present), of which £24m has been executed to date.

• In the next several weeks, the South Korean government is likely to provide details of a no visa policy for group tour visitors from China to South Korea.
• We provide a list of top 15 Korean companies that could benefit from potential no visa policy for group tour visitors from China to South Korea. 
• These 15 companies’ share prices are up on average 49.2% YTD, sharply outperforming KOSPI and KOSDAQ that are up 21.2% and 15.9%, respectively YTD.

• Department stores had a terrific year in FY2024, especially some of the more iconic stores like Isetan Shinjuku and Hankyu Umeda. 
• Declining custom from tourists is beginning to be a worry but the emphasis on capturing data on core local customers has, and will, pay big dividends for the best stores.
• The rest of the sector however, will continue to contract but the polarisation will help highlight the luxury positioning of the best stores.

• Kumamoto 2nd Fab delayed because of bad traffic? Sure, bad traffic, but legacy Fab utilization is 70%, who needs additional capacity now and in 2026? Legacy demand remains weak. 
• Arizona construction is accelerating, highlighting the dichotomy that I’ve been mentioning : demand for AI / Data Center is booming, demand for Legacy (specially auto & industrial) remains weak. 
• 2nm yield reached 90%. True, but that’s the yield of SRAM test cell. This is not a production yield. SRAM is a very small cell used to qualify volume ramp. 

• Tabio is the biggest retailer of hosiery in Japan but has suffered a decade of stagnant growth. 
• It now has plans to grow e-commerce, men’s sports lines through licenses such as with FC Barcelona.
• It will also speed up overseas expansion, especially in China.

• We are turning bearish on Hang Lung Properties.   Given China’s economic slowdown, we think luxury spending in China will take longer than expected
• In addition, the property slowdown and housing prices decline will lead to a negative wealth effect, which will further impact luxury consumption
• If RMB is to strengthen, more Chinese will travel to spend overseas.  HLP P/B valuation is almost historical low, but can stay cheap as a “value trap”

• Nippo produced record earnings in FY24, with OP of ¥1,970mil (+2.7% YoY) on sales of ¥44,890mil (+7.1% YoY).
• Thanks primarily to solid growth in order for print circuit boards [PCBs] used in generative AI servers and wafer polishing jigs manufactured in Nippo’s Okinawa factory, sales landed above the firm’s guidance of ¥42,000mil.
• FY25 is the final year of Nippo’s medium-term plan [MTP] which calls for an OP target of ¥2,000mil.

• Strong fundamentals priced in: Sinfonia’s sharp share price rally reflects robust FY3/25 results, but modest FY3/26 guidance limits near-term upside potential.
• Conservative outlook despite tailwinds: Management’s cautious projections for semiconductor and defense segments appear understated given ongoing structural growth in both industries.
• Valuation fair at current levels: Updated DCF suggests shares are reasonably valued; premium to peers justified by dual exposure to secular growth in aerospace and semiconductors.

• We are suspending our rating and price target for Vera Bradley and lowering our projections after a below expectations 1Q, and the announced departure of CEO Jacqueline Ardrey and Chief Financial Officer Michael Schwindle.
• Further, the company has already hired Martin Layding (x-Divisional CFO for the Coach brand) as CFO, with Board member Ian Bickley (Coach management) entering into a new role as Vera Bradley Executive Chairman until the CEO transition is completed.
• Given the shifts, the company suspended any formal financial guidance.

• There is speculation that the cost of Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – ADR (TSM US) 1.4nm wafers is more than 30% higher than that of 2nm wafers.  
• In semiconductor node migration, newly introduced solutions are generally more advanced and therefore more valuable—which naturally means higher costs.
• Apple (AAPL US)’s iPhone consistently adopts TSMC’s most advanced technology, ensuring its products maintain industry-leading operational efficiency.

• Product authentication and legitimacy are paramount for The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL), which sells used luxury items.
• But our research indicates that REAL’s authentication lets through many counterfeits, and that has enraged both buyers and sellers, undermining the sense of trust.
• REAL has applied AI to the authentication problem to speed things up, but we see no evidence of effectiveness.

• We preliminarily estimate TOP TOY may be valued at 19.1-40.3% of MINISO Group Holding (9896 HK)‘s market capitalisation, though there are still a lot of moving parts.  
• TOP TOY is doing well in FY24 with a 41.1% surge in GMV, and for 1Q25, its revenue grew by 58.9%, reflecting exciting growth prospects.
• Bloks Group (325 HK) is a better comparable as its revenue is 2.3x TOP TOY’s, but its profit is 8x. A successful TOP TOY spin-off should benefit Miniso.

• Qualcomm acquired Alphawave, a UK firm that specializes in chip design IP, especially silicon photonics and chiplets. 
• AMD acquired 3 firms. Untether AI, an AI edge / inference chip designer. Brium, an AI software and compiler firm. Enosemi, a silicon photonics and co-packaged optics firm. 
• 4 acquisitions in 2 weeks. AMD and Qualcomm are putting their money where their mouth is: the future is AI. This also illustrates how far ahead Nvidia is.

• In this insight, we provide updated NAV valuations of Hanmi Science (008930 KS), Amorepacific Holdings (002790 KS), Youngone Holdings (009970 KS), OCI Holdings (010060 KS), and Orion Holdings (001800 KS).
• These five smaller holding companies have also outperformed the market this year (up 43% on average versus KOSPI which is up 20% in the same period).
• These holdcos’ outperformance has been driven by investors’ perception that the new Lee Jae-Myung administration will make real changes to improve corporate governance policies. 

• Almonty Industries has reported first quarter 2025 financial results in line with expectations and reaffirmed its position as one of the most strategically important critical mineral suppliers in the Western Hemisphere.
• The company continues to deliver on its operational roadmap, capital deployment, and geopolitical positioning at a time when global interest in reliable non-Chinese tungsten supply is intensifying.
• Following a significant rally in tungsten prices since February and the continued de-risking of its Sangdong Mine in South Korea, we have updated our forecasts and valuation model.

• In this insight, we discuss the preferred shares of five major holding companies and how the share price gap relative to their common counterparts could decrease. 
• There is a relatively easy way to improve shareholder value of these holding companies which is to cancel the entire preferred shares that trade at discount to their common counterparts.
• The common shares of these five companies have experienced an average share price appreciation of 33.2% YTD versus 28.7% appreciation for their preferred shares counterparts.

• TSMC is on its way to beat its 2Q revenue guidance, Apr + May represent 72% of 2Q guide. YTD revenue growth 43% YoY, Consensus at 26% (NT$). Upgrade coming? 
• UMC is on its way to miss its 2Q revenue guidance, Apr + May represent 63% of 2Q guide. YTD revenue growth 4% YoY . No recovery in legacy semiconductor. 
• This confirms, again, that AI is the only growing segment in semiconductors. The rest is lackluster (computers, smartphone, automotive, industrial, you name it).

• Pinduoduo’s surprise Q125 OP & NP declines happened before US tariff, de minimis changes
• Recent data from Bain & Co. suggests extremely difficult US conditions for Temu, SHEIN
• If representative, the April-May US data suggest deep, lasting US challenges for the platforms

• Taylor Wimpey (TW) is the UK’s third largest homebuilder, managing 14,154 completions in 2022.
• Their share price has declined 44% over the last 2 years in response to rising mortgage rates.
• While we acknowledge the short to medium term impact of rising rates, we see Taylor Wimpey’s long-term profitability as strong, and worth twice their current valuation.

GB Group’s CEO Dev Dhiman’s first full year has seen initiatives addressing the company’s foundations rather than its short-term growth. This is a necessary step if management are to optimise longer-term shareholder value. Accordingly, any share price disappointment regarding H225 and H126 growth rates needs to be set against the group’s increasing optionality around capital allocation and the reassurance of an unchanged FY26 financial outlook.

• FET’s Beat-the-Market strategy is geared to position the company to gain share with customers during cyclical troughs that can support accelerated growth as the cycle turns higher.
• The strategy is underpinned by the company’s focus on developing specialized technological solutions that allow its customers to develop their assets cost-efficiently and safely.
• Increased drilling and completion intensity as operators push the limits of lateral lengths and stimulation intensity drives demand for the consumable products that account for ~80% of FET’s revenue.

• Holding companies have been the best performing asset class in the Korean stock market in the past month.
• In this insight, we provide updated NAV valuations of the top five, largest “pure” holdcos in Korea including SK Square, SK Inc, LG Corp, Hanjin KAL, and HD Hyundai.
• The NAVs of these five holdcos are about 18% higher than their current prices on average. 

• We provide updated NAV valuations of Doosan Corp (000150 KS), Hanwha Corporation (000880 KS), CJ Corp (001040 KS), GS Holdings (078930 KS), and LOTTE Corporation (004990 KS).
• These holding companies’ outperformance has been driven by investors’ perception that the new Lee Jae-Myung administration will make real changes to improve corporate governance policies that could unlock greater value. 
• The share prices of Hanwha Corp, Doosan Corp, CJ Corp, GS Holdings, and Lotte Corp are up on average 97% YTD. 

• AMD recently announced the acquisition of Enosemi, a silicon-valley based startup specialising in chips for Co-Packaged Optics (CPO), and Brium, a previously unknown startup specialising in compiler optimisation
• AMD is also acquiring the engineering team behind Untether, a canadian AI hardware startup similar in many ways to Graphcore
• Wave Computing, Luminos Computing, Graphcore, Untether, the list of failing would-be NVIDIA challengers keeps growing. Who’s next?

• COLI, being a SOE residential developer, has no bankruptcy risk.  Under the current downturn, it is gaining market share and evolving into a stronger market leader
• It recently issued onshore bond at historical low coupon 1.80% (5-year) and 2.37% (10-year), which is even lower than China’s LPR.  This is very significant 
• Valuation is almost all time low, and downside is limited.  We think it is the perfect beta play for China

• We continue to reiterate our short call on Tata Motors Ltd (TTMT IN) based on near term challenges.
• May sales volume is weak versus peers in industry. This weak performance is seen across segments – India passenger cars, commercial vehicles and UK Retail sales
• This insight discusses the whole sale volume in the month of May and compares it with its nearest competitors.

• Lululemon Athletica Inc. reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, posting revenue growth that reached the high end of its guidance range with a notable improvement in the United States, where revenues grew by 2%.
• The overall revenue increased by 7% (or 8% in constant currency) reaching $2.4 billion, driven by strong performance across various regions, despite a seemingly cautious consumer sentiment in the U.S. The brand witnessed robust in-market performance with revenues in Canada increasing by 9% and a significant 22% increase in Mainland China.
• The company also saw 17% revenue growth in the rest of the world.

• Lulu is again back to LSD growth in the US; what makes it more disappointing is they actually had a somewhat easier comparison since 1Q’24 growth was just 2%.
• Canada, despite a low double digit growth in 1Q’24, again had higher growth than the US this quarter.
• China and Rest of the World (RoW) maintained healthy growth rates but growth has materially decelerated. 

• PVH Corp.’s first-quarter 2025 performance reflects a balance of achievements and challenges in a complex macroeconomic environment.
• On the positive side, PVH delivered revenue growth that surpassed company guidance, attributable to the effective execution of its PVH+ Plan.
• The revenue increased by 2%, exceeding expectations due to stronger-than-projected wholesale performance, early shipments, and the relaunch of Calvin Klein women’s sportswear and jeans in North America.

• MongoDB, Inc., a leading document-oriented database platform provider, has reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.
• This quarter, MongoDB announced revenues of $549 million, marking a 22% year-over-year increase that surpassed expectations.
• The revenue growth was significantly driven by Atlas, its cloud-based database service, which saw a 26% rise and accounted for 72% of the total revenue.

• How many times can Apple management say “delightful” when they have nothing to say? WWDC25 highlighted a bunch of small software tweaks, mostly “new designs” and nothing on AI. 
• The air pocket continues: very low growth in hardware categories, potentially large negative consequence of the Epic lawsuit, no AI roadmap.   
• Consensus expects revenue growth for FY26 and that’s very questionable. The stock trades at 28x FY25 EPS, 26x FY26 with the only driver being share buybacks. Avoid!

• Welcome to Curator’s Cut, a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,200+ insights published over the past two weeks on Smartkarma
• In this cut, we look at an Asian toy manufacturer not named Pop Mart or Dream Int’l, the mashup between crypto and equity markets and the takeaways from tracking buybacks
• Want to dig deeper? Comment or message on the themes you think should be highlighted next

• TSMC: +23.4% Premium; Consider Shorting ADR Spread at Current Level
• UMC: 1.5% Premium; Wait for More Extreme Premium Before Going Short the Spread
• ASE: +4.4% Premium; Wait for Higher Premium Before Going Short

• Our proprietary scorecard applies a series of metrics related to valuation, returns, capital adequacy, funding, liquidity and credit quality to generate rankings in an investment valuation scorecard
• Driven by the scorecard results, we keep Baroda on the buy list adding Canara and UBI, with the latter two replacing Bandhan and PNB previously on the buy list
• We remove Kotak Mahindra from the sell list; IndusInd ranks bottom on the scorecard, but we feel that a lot of bad news is now discounted, limiting further downside risk

• Berli Jucker (BJC TB) remains one of the most interesting consumer plays in Thailand through Big C, glass and aluminium cans, and its consumer supply chain segment. 
• The company booked a strong start to 2025 across all segments from a profit growth perspective, with package sales being impacted by lower raw material prices, but that improved margins.
• 2Q has seen a slower start due to poor weather, slower tourism, partly due to the earthquake, but May has seen a turnaround, and management is confident in annual guidance

• Despite some disgruntled investors, the privatisation of Tam Jai International (2217 HK) is appealing. If it is successful, payment will be made on or before 26 Aug. 
• The proposed price of HK$1.58 equals a 24% premium to the peer CY25F PER. The poor reported peer results and earnings downgrades are the reasons for a narrower premium.
• Since the announcement of privatisation, the sector has retreated by 7.8%, vs. a 5.2% gain in HSI, reflecting the industry’s tough operating environment. It remains wise to exit. 

• BDL reported strong FY25 revenue of ₹3,345 Cr and PAT of ₹550 Cr, though EBITDA margins declined to 24.6% from earlier highs.
• With a ₹22,700 Cr order book, BDL is expanding via new plants in Jhansi, Amravati, and Ibrahimpatnam backed by ₹600+ Cr capex.
• At 100x PE and 75xPE FY27e valuations appear stretched, leaving limited margin of safety despite strong execution and order visibility.

• Shyam Metalics reported robust FY25 results with 15% revenue growth and 21% EBITDA rise, driven by higher volumes and a shift toward value-added products.
• The company is executing a ₹10,025 Cr capex plan to double capacity by FY27, targeting high-margin segments like stainless steel and aluminium foil with backward integration.
• With zero net debt, strong cash flows, and a forward P/E of ~14×, Shyam Metalics offers a rare blend of growth, capital discipline, and low leverage in the steel sector.

• Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (APHS IN) reported strong FY25 result, with 14% revenue growth and a massive 61% jump in net profit. EBITDA margin improved to 13.9% (FY24: 12.5%).
• Overall margin expansion is mainly driven by AHLL (margin up 140bps YoY to 9.9%) and Apollo HealthCo (margin at 1.8% vs loss in FY24).
• AHEL plans to add 4,300 beds over the next three to four years, with 2,000 beds expected to become operational in FY26.