Consumer

• Since inception on February 23, our Robust Dividend Yielders basket has generated 20.3% total return, vs MSCI Asia-ex-Japan’s 11.34%. 10 stocks in our basket of 23 appreciated more than 20%.
• We reconstruct our basket screening all Asian stocks > US$2bn market cap, dividend yield >6% in 2025 and 2026, EPS CAGR > 5% and upward revision to EPS forecasts.
• Our new Dividend Yield basket has 15 stocks, 10 from HK, 3 from onshore China, 1 each from Indonesia and Singapore. Bosideng is the only stock common in both baskets. 

• Following Ibex’s disposal of its 28% stake in Pepcor earlier this week, Pepcor (PPH) will be upweighted in the closing auction today.
• PPH’s free float will increase to 99.82% from 71.61%. Passive funds and hedgers will need to increase their exposure by between 37 and 47bps.
• In addition, active managers looking to maintain their active positioning would need to buy PPH, failure to do so would result in an underweight of 39bps (assuming a Capped ALSI benchmark and an active weight of 0%).

• Ibex sold its entire 28% stake in Pepkor Holdings (PPH SJ) for $1.5bn in a Secondary Offering completed on 22 July 2025.
• The free float is expected to increase by 28 percentage points causing a significant upweight in Global and South African indices at the close of 25 July 2025.
• Aggregated passive fund demand is estimated at 103m shares, $160m and 15 ADV at the close of 25 July.

• Octopus Energy Ltd., Britain’s largest power utility, has partnered with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD Co. Ltd. on a service in the U.K. that can help EV owners cut down on charging costs by providing them with a way to supply electricity to the grid.
• The Power Pack Bundle, launched last month, offers customers a leased BYD Dolphin and a special two-way charger that turns the car into a battery that can send electricity back to the grid during peak hours.
• This is one application of the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system, creating a two-way street for electricity to flow between charging stations and EVs. This allows cars to charge up when power is abundant and provide electricity back into the grid when demand surges.

• In today’s Morning Views publication we comment on developments of the following high yield issuers: Sands China
• UST yields rose yesterday, with the curve bear flattening for a second day as the market pared expectations for Fed rate cuts. The yield on the 2Y UST increased by 4 bps to 3.92%, while that on the 10Y UST was up 1 bp at 4.40%.
• Equities closed at fresh record highs, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq advancing 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.

• Pacific Industrial (7250 JP) has recommended an MBO at JPY2,050, a 16.4% premium to the last close price and a 40.3% premium to the undisturbed price.
• While the offer is below book value (P/B of 0.71x), it represents an all-time high and is above the mid-point of the IFA DCF valuation range. 
• Pacific Industrial has no history of activism. Therefore, the offer will succeed at current terms unless there is vocal opposition or an activist becomes a substantial shareholder. 

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and $40 price target, and conservatively leaving our 2025 and 2026 EPS projections untouched after JAKKS Pacific registered EPS upside, but a revenue miss, for 2Q25, as the company’s operations were materially impacted by the imposition of China tariffs, which served to disrupt shipments utilizing the Freight On Board (“FOB”) method.
• While a 40% increase in international revenue YoY demonstrated what could have been, domestic sales declines of over 30% in the United States showed the lost potential of the quarter.
• That said, management did a solid job controlling the levers in their control to still register a small profit.

Reach’s interims show it is on track to meet full-year expectations. The statement highlights the new CEO’s strategic priorities: driving deeper and broader connections with audiences, accelerating the use of AI and technology, and diversifying revenue sources. The underlying macroeconomic backdrop is still difficult and further shifts in traffic referral routes, notably via Google, are problematic. However, Reach has plenty of experience in mitigating market challenges. Compelling content, in appropriate formats (especially video), should continue to build digital audiences and generate the associated data to attract advertisers, both in the UK and US markets. With inherently strong cash conversion and the end in sight for the substantive funding needed to settle historical legal issues and pension obligations, Reach can start to be more proactive in building a route back to growth.

• In today’s edition: • ING / Van Lanschot Kempen | ING completes acquisition of Van Lanschot Kempen stake • RELX Group | held talks with investors to move prime listing to New York • Signify | 25Q2 results broadly in line with consensus – marginally adjusts FY25 outlook • BAM Group | revises FY25 adjusted EBITDA-margin upward to at least 5%

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and price target for Betterware de Mexico, but lowering our 2025 and 2026 projections after the company reported lower than expected 1Q25 (March) results and lowered the dividend rate.
• 1Q faced the toughest FX comparisons, which were further exacerbated by weakness in the Mexican consumer and the company’s decision to raise prices at the Betterware division.
• That said, management still reiterated 2024 revenue and EBITDA guidance.

• In this insight, we take a look at the potential index changes for ASX 300, 200, 100, 50, and 20 in the run-up to the September 2025 index rebal event.
• Currently, a market consultation is being conducted and there could be several significant changes made to the index selection process.
• The official index changes will be announced after the close on Friday 5th September 2025.

• Context: On 23 July 2025, Toyota Motor (7203 JP) surged 14.3%, driven by macro factors tied to tariffs. This Insight examines how that sharp move affected the stock’s volatility surface.
• Key Observations: Implied volatility spiked to extreme percentiles, with two-week IV hitting the 99th–100th percentile. Skew dynamics show otm calls becoming historically rich relative to puts.
• Opportunity: Elevated implied volatility and historically flat skew present an attractive setup for a zero-cost option strategy.

• Singapore small-mid cap stocks are having a good run in anticipation of Market Equity Development Programme. QAF may appeal to yield investors
• QAF is a well run number 1 bread company in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines
• Business is stable and mature making it difficult for a new player to enter the market

• Tilaknagar Industries (TLNGR IN) acquires Pernod Ricard India’s Imperial Blue for INR 4,150 crore, diversifying its portfolio into whisky from dominance in brandy.
• This acquisition will establish TI as a pan-India spirits player, significantly enhancing distribution and is expected to be accretive.
• However, substantial deal size raises concerns about equity dilution, high leverage risks, and significant integration challenges for TI

• Overnight, the Nikkei carried an article saying Toyota valve supplier Pacific Industrial (7250 JP) would go private at a 40% premium in an MBO. 
• The implied price would match its ATH, but would remain far below book value, which is disappointing for a company with a very strong customer base and market share.
• This is potentially blockable, but it would need to be activism from scratch I think. An activist or collection of them would need about 18-20% to block this deal.

• Not impressive earnings result for 2Q25 as revenue fell 12%, led by a weaker EV sales followed by lower sales from the renewable energy division as well.  
• The highest-margin business contributor, regulatory credit, may be gone soon as recently the US government removed the financial penalty for higher emissions. 
• Tesla (TSLA US) is trading at premium compared to its Chinese counterparts such as BYD (1211 HK) , NIO (9866 HK) and XPeng (9868 HK) .

• Brigade Hotel Ventures has filed for IPO to raise up to INR 7,596M. The company plans to sell 84.4M shares at between INR 85 and INR 90 per share.
• The company owns and develops hotels in key cities in India, with a portfolio of nine operating hotels. The hotels are operated by global marquee hospitality companies.
• The debt-to-equity ratio for Brigade Hotel being at 5.8x is the highest among its peers. The company’s plans to use the proceeds to service the outstanding debts makes sense.

• Evolution reported 2Q25 earnings, with stock up 7% on the day
• Live casino revenue up 4%, RNG flat with potential for growth
• Expansion of partnership with Hasbro for Monopoly IP in North America, positive outlook in the market

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• The Coles Group’s financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2025 present a mixed picture of robust revenue growth and cost management challenges.
• The company reported a 3.7% increase in group sales revenue, reaching over $23 billion.
• This growth was bolstered by their strategic focus on core business execution, value campaigns, and strong seasonal trade during events like Christmas and Halloween.

• Data suggests that share buybacks/share cancellations are expected to have positive effect on ROE/ROA, while companies with low valuations increasingly utilize share buybacks as a measure to raise stock prices.
• Overseas investors share the value that companies should have business plans for growth and return surplus cash after investment to shareholders. There’s gap between investors and companies inn this value.
• More effective approach would be to require management to fulfill accountability by explaining fundamentals of returning unused cash to shareholders and disclosing business plans if they wish to retain cash.

• Since unwinding the Naspers (NPN SJ)/Prosus (PRX NA) circularity, Prosus has been selling Tencent shares, and buying back its share. Separately, Tencent is buying its shares to offset Prosus’ selling. 
• Prosus’ stake in Tencent has now edged below 23%, a little over seven months since dipping below 24%.
• On an implied stub and relative value, Prosus is elevated to Tencent, suggesting an unwinding of the stub.

• A bit over three years ago I re-wrote on Tsi Holdings (3608 JP). Then? EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA of 0.03x and 0.5x respectively. I pounded the table. 
• My recommended trade: “Buy the stock (preferably from cross-holders interested in selling). Buy with both hands. Buy a lot. Buy more later. Pressure the company to go private.”
• Since then, total return has been +295%. Today they announced another buyback. Tomorrow morning it gets done. Details details details!

• Cloud Village (9899 HK)‘s stock price has doubled over the last quarter and the increased market cap should lead to global index inclusion in August. 
• Short interest in Cloud Village (9899 HK) is at an all-time high and has increased in lockstep with the stock price.
• Cloud Village (9899 HK) has outperformed Tencent Music Entertainment Group (1698 HK) and now trades at much higher valuations. A pair trade looks attractive here.

• An increase in the stock price and free float should result in Vishal Mega Mart (VMM IN)‘s inclusion in a global index in August.
• Estimated passive buying is 191m shares (US$312m; 5.8x ADV; 15.4x delivery volume) at the close of trading on 26 August.
• The index inclusion could take the stock higher in the short-term but buyers in the June placement could be looking for an exit.

• DFI Retail’s strategic shift from portfolio investor to focused operator has unlocked over US$900 million, with US$600 million returned to shareholders via a US¢44.3 per share special dividend announced yesterday.
• Underlying profit rose 39% in 1HFY2025, driven by lower financing costs and strong performance in the Health & Beauty segment.
• On its investor call, DFI Retail Group Holdings (DFI SP) acknowledged sector headwinds and outlined plans for cost control, margin focus, and digital monetisation to offset weak revenue growth.

• We expect JD.com to report C2Q25 revenue/adjusted operating profit growth of 16%/(63%) YoY, which is 2%/(50%) vs. cons. due to the takeout subsidies.
• Despite the surge in new users, we remain skeptical on the ST effectiveness of food delivery (FD) cross-selling. We expect 2025 FD losses at RMB29bn.
• We keep JD as SELL and cut TP from US$25 to US$24.

• Playboy, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLBY) is undergoing a transformation to an asset-light business model centered around its iconic brand, positioning the company for sustainable profitability
• The strategy is starting to yield tangible improvements in profitability, as evidenced by its return to positive adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2025.
• Playboy’s current valuation (2.7x EV/2025 sales) does not fully reflect its long-term earnings potential. As licensing continues to scale and margins expand, the company is poised for a meaningful re-rating.

• We compile our selection of small and mid-cap names with our desired characteristics of high dividend yields, value, and margin of safety.
• We add Asian Terminals (ATI PM) to our value conviction list. Read Asian Terminals Inc (ATI PM): Steady And Cheap Container Port Terminal Operator 
• Our top picks are Asian Terminals (ATI PM), The Keepers Holdings (KEEPR PM), Taste Gourmet (8371 HK), Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE PM), and Ginebra San Miguel (GSMI PM). 

• Based on the successful application of self-developed technology, Boxihe has embarked on a completely opposite path to international brands, highlighting the “cost-effectiveness” in outdoor sports industry, thus achieving high growth.
• Creating the next blockbuster and diversifying product portfolios greatly test Boxihe’s operational capabilities, with some uncertainties. Boxihe may face the troubles of finding a new growth point in long term.
• Performance growth could remain high in the short term. Post-money valuation after Series B Financing reached RMB2.8 billion.Valuation of Boxihe could be higher than Li Ning but lower than Anta.

• Omnicom Group’s second-quarter 2025 results reflect a mix of steady performance, strategic advancement, and ongoing operational challenges.
• Organic growth hit 3%, aligning with company expectations, and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin remained stable at 15.3%.
• Non-GAAP adjusted net income per share increased by 5.1%, reaching $2.05.

• On July 20, 2025, Sona Blw Precision Forgings Lt (SONACOMS IN) announced a $20 million joint venture with China’s JNT to enter the world’s largest EV market.
• The move aims to capture growth in China’s dominant EV market, aligning with the company’s new strategy to expand into eastern markets
• An EV slowdown is expected in FY26 while the China JV and railway business, despite driving future growth from FY27 onwards, are expected to lower margins.

• Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (1929 HK) saw lowest degrowth in retail sales value(RSV) in Q1FY26 among last few quarters.
• Same-Store sales growth showed a clear sequential improvement across key regions. Mainland China self-operated stores saw the decline narrow sharply.
• Driven by store optimization and brand transformation, earnings quality should sustain. At 16.9x P/E valuation on FY26e EPS, we believe investors will increasingly view CTF as a long-term structural winner.

• Prestige Hospitality Ventures Ltd (1831338D IN) is looking to raise about US$317m in its upcoming India IPO.
• Prestige Hospitality Ventures Ltd (PHVL) is part of the Prestige Group. It is a hospitality asset owner and developer focused on luxury, upper upscale, and upper midscale properties in India.
• In this note, we talk about the company’s historical performance.

• Woolworths Group’s half-year financial performance for FY 2025 exhibits a mix of achievements and challenges, emphasizing the competitive and dynamic retail landscape.
• The company’s diverse portfolio, including Australian Food, New Zealand Food, BIG W, and other segments, reflected varied growth patterns influenced by external and internal factors.
• Starting with the positives, Woolworths Group achieved a 3.7% increase in group sales, reaching $35.9 billion, with eCommerce sales showcasing robust growth of 20%.

• Although corporate governance in Japan has gradually improved over the past decade, many listed companies have failed to achieve their management goal of sustainable growth in corporate value.
• TSE seems to believe that the underlying problem is that management does not recognize “capital costs” and is therefore unable to concentrate resources on businesses that can secure sufficient margins.
• I believe that the problem stems from a lack of awareness that free cash flow belongs to shareholders and that companies have a fiduciary duty to shareholders.

• REA Group Limited has reported strong growth in its third quarter of the fiscal year, underscored by significant yield increases across its operations.
• The company posted a 12% rise in revenue to $374 million, alongside a 12% boost in EBITDA, excluding associates, reaching $199 million.
• These results reflect favorable market conditions and strategic initiatives implemented by the company.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, $65 price target and projections for Build-A-Bear Workshop after visiting stores in Long Island and Connecticut.
• Even though we are in the dog days of Summer, Build-A-Bear has seen no slowdown in innovation, launching their first round of licensed Mini Beans (Hello Kitty and Friends), leveraging the recent Superman movie release, beginning to roll out new fixtures for Mini Beans, expanding their relationship with cheer-leading leader Varsity Sports and launching new Giant licensed characters (Bluey).
• With Halloween on track for release next month, we believe there has been no slowdown in momentum for the company, and we remain confident in Build-A-Bear’s potential to drive further top and bottom line upside; as such, we reiterate our Buy rating and $65 price target for BBW.

• AH premia flat again among liquid names but “beautiful skew” of wide premia converging more than narrow premia continues bigly. It still pays well to be long wide H discounts.
• Weeks ago I said, “It has paid to be long the H on those H/A pairs with the biggest H discounts. I would continue to ride that trend.” Ride on.
• The data tables below update on a daily basis in the Tools section of Smartkarma. The SOUTHBOUND Flow Monitor and AH Monitor are both there free for SK readers.

• Alimentation Couche-Tard just withdrew their offer to buy Seven&i for $47.2bn, and within two days, Seven’s share price is down 12.5% and ACT’s is up 10.6%.
• Seven’s management deluded itself into thinking it could match ACT’s returns by selling off non-core assets. This is pure financial gimmickry, and the market sees right through it.
• Seven will never see a deal as good as the one ACT offered, and failing to capitalize on should be investigated as a potential crime against common sense.

• ACT’s bid for Seven & I has been withdrawn and Seven will be better off long-term because of it – although we detail here how competitors are catching up fast.
• Once York HD has been split off, the company can at last focus on its crucial local CVS operation: Japan makes up 25% of revenues but almost 50% of profits.
• The potential is real and we are bullish on the long-term value but we would have been more bullish if the former CEO Ryuichi Isaka was still on board.

• Gross SOUTHBOUND volumes again US$17+bn a day this past 5-day week. Net buying strong at +US$550mm a day. Meituan the top buy extending a very strong 12 week run.
• Among the top buys as a percentage of volume, FINANCIALS stood out, dramatically. Again. INFO TECH negative again after two weeks of buying broke a three-month sell streak.
• The data tables below update on a daily basis in the Tools section of Smartkarma. The SOUTHBOUND Flow Monitor and AH Monitor are both there free for SK readers.

• Korea surpassed France as the top exporter of cosmetics to the USA in 2024. Korea exported $1.7 billion worth of cosmetics to the USA in 2024, up 54.2% YoY.
• CJ Olive Young’s online cosmetic sales to overseas markets soared 70% YoY in 1H 2025, fueled largely by the explosive demand from the United States.
• We have raised our NAV valuation of CJ Corp to 207,713 won per share (up 28%). We raised the valuation of CJ Olive Young to 7 trillion won. 

• Concerns for sugar cane yields and sugar content in major sugar market exporter
• China’s soybean import demand reached record seasonal high, following Brazilian crop
• Short covering seen in grain complex, USDA trimmed US corn availability expectations, driving force behind corn price recovery; tariff impacts on Brazilian products into US market, potential changes in sweetener mix for Coca Cola

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• The SET50 index tracks the performance of the top 50 largest and most liquid names listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
• In this insight, we take a look at our capping flow expectations for the September 2025 index rebal event.
• We have also presented our index change expectations for the next semiannual index review in December 2025 (regular ADDs/DELs only take place in June and December).

• The company that describes itself as a leading global consumer intelligence company positioned at the nexus of brands, retailers and consumers is to debut on Wednesday, July 23rd.
• According to guidance, that the deal is multiple-times oversubscribed with long-only, 1-on-1 conversions including anchor indications.
• The company showed solid growth in 2024 of nearly 19% and followed that up with solid flash numbers of +7.5% growth in Q2.

• In 25Q1, Jin Jiang did not show a turning point in performance.There’s uncertainty about whether 2025 performance target can be achieved due to low efficiency of membership system/weak overseas business.
• The growth of the core mid-to-low end economic market is weak.The transition to the high-end market or international expansion is difficult to shoulder the banner of growth in short term.
• Valuation of Jin Jiang could be lower than Atour and H World Group, who have found new development paths and growth points.A relatively conservative valuation range is P/E of 15-18x.

• JB Hi-Fi Limited has presented a mixed financial performance for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, showcasing its resilience in a competitive and challenging retail environment.
• The company reported a solid increase in total sales across its key divisions, namely JB Hi-Fi Australia, JB Hi-Fi New Zealand, and The Good Guys.
• Total sales in JB Hi-Fi Australia grew by 7.2%, reaching AUD 3.88 billion, while JB Hi-Fi New Zealand exceeded expectations with a 20% rise in sales to NZD 202.5 million.

• Welcome to Curator’s Cut, a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,000+ insights published in the past two weeks on Smartkarma
• In this cut, we compare Japanese insurers versus banks, look at the Chinese EV sector and explore how tariff hikes benefit Asian port operators
• Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next

• The Hang Seng Index is the main benchmark index for Hong Kong stocks. It follows a highly-subjective selection process which makes it difficult to predict index changes.
• In this insight, we take a look at a group of names with reasonably high likelihood of being involved in index changes during the next review in September 2025.
• The index changes are expected to be confirmed on 22nd August 2025.

• Three for three. Three low-balled Hong Kong Offers, by way of Schemes, have now lapsed over the past ten weeks. 
• Both Goldlion Holdings (533 HK) and Soundwill Holdings (878 HK) spectacularly failed back in May.
• Now Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK) has followed suit. But the vote was (much) closer than it should have been.

• Formosa Prosonic is a very cheap stock. Cash on its Balance Sheet is MYR 1.65 which is way higher than stock price.
• Operating business has been consistently profitable & generated very good ROE & is available for free. 
• Stock has been falling as Wistron the largest shareholder has decided to exit its holding as part of strategic overview which we think is a Buying opportunity

• For IP toy, the ability to provide a variety of categories is valuable,which means brands have access to diverse/creative designs/production based on IP characteristics, highlighting/interpreting the core of each IP.
• Driven by top-tier licensed IPs, 52TOYS achieved solid growth, but its revenue scale/profit margin are inferior to peers. Due to intense competition, 52TOYS’s market share may be further squeezed.
• The post-money valuation after Series C+ Financing is RMB4.27 billion. Based on the analysis, we think valuation of 52TOYS should be lower than Pop Mart (9992 HK), Bloks (325 HK).

• While very few companies allocate cash appropriately, many companies simply announce small-scale share buybacks, resulting in cash being used in a half-hearted manner for both growth and shareholder returns.
• The problem is that many managers lack awareness of their fiduciary responsibility to make sincere decisions on cash allocation based on the idea that free cash flow belongs to shareholders.
• Even for listed companies, the time has come to discuss the role of managers who are unable to thoroughly fulfill their fiduciary duties to shareholders.

• Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK) shareholders have voted against Sir Poon’s HK$7.20 per share offer. The vote marginally failed the <10% of all disinterested shareholders’ rejection threshold.
• While painful, this deal break was arguably the correct outcome as the offer was below the net cash and Dickson is cash generative on an underlying basis. 
• Unlike the last HK deal break (Soundwill), the price action over the last two days indicated a done deal. My estimated break price is HK$5.00 (30% downside to last close).

• A weekly summary of key developments across ECM and Event-Driven names tracked by us across Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, India and Chinese ADRs.
• ECM developments: NSDL (NSDL IN) is seeking to raise US$400 million
• Event-Driven developments: Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP), Shibaura Electronics (6957 JP), DD Group (3073 JP), Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK), Abacus Storage King (ASK AU), PointsBet Holdings (PBH AU).

• TSLA is set to report Q2 earnings after the close on Wednesday, July 23, following a 28% rally since its last report.
• We examine implied vol and the projected earnings-day move, which may be underpricing event risk.
• Volatility positioning and historical earnings reactions are assessed to help frame expectations.

• Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD CN) walks away from Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP), and accuses 7&i’s Board, management, and the Special Committee of bad faith and bad governance.
• Buy Krungthai Card (KTC TB) with both hands as pledged sharesfall to 3.5% of shares outstanding from 16.3% the previous month.
• If you have borrow on GMO Internet (4784 JP), use it. Otherwise, avoid like the plague. It would not be surprising if the TSE were to ding someone on manipulation. 

• Samsonite (1910 HK), the world’s leading travel luggage manufacturer/retailer, is trading well below its historical metrics. 
• The share price is up ~30% from its recent low, but down ~22% YTD following a ~31% fall over a 10-day period in early-April, shortly after Trump’s “Liberation Day” speech. 
• Management initiated a US$200mn buyback program last August. Overhangs include tariff and weak retail market in Asia and North America. Plus short selling has touched an all-time high.

• HSI continued its rally, breaking out to the highest level since early 2022.
• Breadth was solid and all sectors finished the week higher, led by standout moves in Health Care.
• Call volumes were underwhelming given the breakout to new highs.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, $22.50 price target and projections, with Betterware de Mexico announcing 2Q25 (June) results after the close on Thursday.
• After a surprising miss (and dividend cut) in 1Q, driven by United States tariff worries, which led Mexican consumers to look for bargains (and resulted in lower-than-expected Betterware operating margins), 2Q will answer whether the shift was an over-reaction, which will position the company to return to strong overall cash flow generation, or a new normal.
• Given BWMX is now trading at over 40% below its 52-week high and providing a dividend yield (based on the lower 1Q25 dividend rate) of 12%, we believe investors are viewing 1Q results as a harbinger, and are implying management will have to lower their current 2025 guidance (we note Street consensus is already materially below Betterware management’s 2025 guidance).

• In this edition: • Sligro Food Group | post analyst meeting comment

• Online AGMs using Internet account for 18%. More than 90% of these meetings are limited to broadcasting the meeting, without allowing shareholders to exercise their voting rights during the meeting.
• Technical issues are cited as the reason why online shareholder meetings are not increasing, and the Ministry of Justice’s advisory board is discussing legal reforms.
• For companies whose goal is to pass company proposals at AGMs and end quickly, even if the resolution of issues is included in legal revision, it will have little effect.

• The company achieved FY02/25 sales of JPY205.0bn, surpassing the JPY180.0bn target, driven by agile menu pricing.
• Operating profit for FY02/25 reached JPY7.3bn, exceeding the JPY7.0bn target, despite rising raw material and labor costs.
• The company maintained a strong operating margin of 6.3% in FY02/25, supported by cost control and efficiency improvements.

• Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD CN) which proposed a takeover to Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP) almost a year ago, has walked. They delivered a letter bomb on the way out.
• The letter is titled “ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSAL TO ACQUIRE SEVEN & I HOLDINGS DUE TO LACK OF ENGAGEMENT.” This is not the first time they have complained.
• The letter is not aimed at the 7&i Board or at ATD stakeholders. It is meant to drive a wedge between 7&i active shareholders and its management team. We’ll see.

• Back on the 20th June, betr (BBT AU) tabled an all-scrip off-market Offer for PointsBet (PBH AU), with no minimum acceptance condition, which they considered superior to MIXI (2121 JP)‘s.
• Which was a bold statement, as 3.81 new betr shares, at the time, was equivalent to A$1.143/share versus MIXI’s A$1.20/share all-cash Offer. It’s now worth A$1.03/share. 
• Last night, betr released its Bidder’s Statement. Terms are unchanged.  Offer opens ~31st July. PointsBet was quick to point out, again, the current (low) value of the scrip terms.

• Couche-Tard has withdrawn its offer for Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP) by unfairly laying the entire blame on the Board.
• The Board has made credible progress, but the jury is still out on whether the Board’s plan will generate returns. Shareholders remain sceptical as the shares have underperformed the index.
• In theory, the sell-off presents a buying opportunity (My SoTP valuation is JPY 2,376). However, the shares are likely to tread water as there are no near-term catalysts. 

• The HSTECH Index tracks the performance of the top 30 technology companies listed in Hong Kong that have high business exposure to certain technology themes.
• In this insight, we take a look at our final expectations of index changes and the resultant capping flows for HSTECH index rebal event in September 2025.
• We see one low-conviction ADD/DEL and one significant float percentage revision which could collectively trigger roughly US$1.6bn in one-way index flows in September 2025.

• The HSCEI serves as a benchmark to reflect the overall performance of the top 50 “Mainland China” securities listed in Hong Kong.
• In this insight, we take a look at the potential index changes and capping flows for HSCEI index rebal event in September 2025.
• We expect one ADD and one DEL for September 2025. We also estimate there to be US$269mn in one-way flows.

• Ryohin Keikaku (7453 JP)‘s stock price has more than doubled this year and the increased market cap could now result in a global index inclusion.
• Ryohin Keikaku (7453 JP) has outperformed its peers by a BIG margin since its inclusion in the Nikkei 225 (NKY INDEX) in September 2024.
• There appears to be significant positioning in the stock. Given the huge outperformance over the last few months, trim into strength.

• Geely announced that its deliveries grew by 42% YoY in June 2025.
• We expect BEV deliveries will continue to grow fast in 3Q25, but slow down from 4Q25.
• We believe the stock price will rise by 39% for the next twelve months.

• Insiders have been selling at Silicon2 (257720 KS). The company’s CEO Kim Seong-Woon and other related parties sold 0.37 million shares (0.6% stake) in June 2025.
• Overall, we are concerned about this recent insider selling at Silicon2. We are lowering our rating on Silicon2 to Negative over the next 6-12 months. 
• Silicon2 needs to introduce new cosmetic brands such as Joseon Beauty, Round Lab, and Anua that could become very popular on a regular basis. However, that could be a challenge. 

• Hagihara Industries [HI] (7856 JP) reported FY25 (Oct year-end) 1H earnings results on 9 June 2025, producing 1H operating profit [OP] of ¥899mil (-30.8% YoY) on sales of ¥16,400mil (+0.2% YoY) versus 1H OP guidance of ¥1,160mil (-10.7% YoY) on sales of ¥16,780mil (+2.5% YoY).
• Although 1H sales hit a record in semi-annual sales, 1H OP declined -30.8% YoY.
• HI forecasts FY25 RP of ¥2,500mil (+14.2% YoY) vs the RP target of ¥3,300mil.

• This Q1 2025 analysis of Ahold Delhaize presents both promising aspects and challenges facing the company.
• Ahold Delhaize reported solid financial performance, demonstrating resilience amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by geopolitical volatility, fluctuating tariffs, and job insecurity in markets such as the U.S. and parts of Europe.
• Ahold Delhaize achieved a 5% increase in net sales to EUR 23.3 billion, alongside a 3.8% underlying operating margin despite pressures from strategic price investments.

• We believe that toymakers are experiencing a bubble like rally led by Pop Mart International Group L (9992 HK) and Hasbro Inc (HAS US) which raised forecasts recently. 
• Dream International (1126 HK) has returned >200% since liberation day tariffs were declared on April 2nd 2025 and now trades at 12.7x trailing earnings (vs 3.7x when we initiated). 
•  “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” ! .We would take some money off the table here as toy stocks go through periods of cyclicality due restocking/destocking.

• BETR Entertainment (BBT AU) has despatched the bidder’s statement for PointsBet Holdings (PBH AU) takeover offer. The offer is scheduled to run from July 31 to September 8.
• BBT continues to clutch at straws by claiming its offer is superior to Mixi’s A$1.20 all-cash offer. The Mixi scheme results suggest that BBT has limited support from PBH shareholders.
• BBT will struggle to gain material acceptance, but hints at possible revised terms. Mixi Inc (2121 JP) will also need to reconsider its offer terms to see off BBT. 

• Asian buybacks, dominated by HK, China and Korea, are skyrocketing.  In H125, buybacks more than doubled from their full year 2024 levels in HK/China and increased 40% in Korea. 
• We screen companies repurchasing consistently, with total buyback of minimum $1bn and buyback over 2024-25 of at least 2% of present market cap, yielding companies in HK(11), Korea(6), Philippines(2), Singapore(1).
• Top five repurchasers are Alibaba, Tencent, China Communication Construction, AIA, Netease. These, barring the third, are up more than 20% this year. Share price support from buybacks do seem solid.

• Toyota Motor Corporation’s latest financial results present a mixed bag of data for investors to consider.
• For the fiscal year ending March 2025, the company reported a robust operating income of JPY 4.8 trillion, primarily driven by revised pricing strategies and value chain profit expansion.
• However, this figure represents a decline from the previous year’s results, which were buoyed by one-time favorable effects.

• Sony Group Corporation’s recent earnings underscore a strategic pivot towards a more entertainment-centric business model, emphasizing the importance of content creation and technological innovation.
• The company’s repositioning towards entertainment is highlighted by its 51% contribution to consolidated sales, showcasing the segment’s resilience, especially during economic downturns like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The focus on expanding IP presence in gaming, music, film, and anime demonstrates a coherent vision aligning with its longterm creative goals.

• A global perspective on what happened overnight

• The sustainability industry and ESG protocols took some major steps forward in Europe while the US unravels decarbonisation efforts at home

• Casey’s General Stores’ performance in Q4 and the fiscal year 2025 showed promising growth along with some challenges.
• Positively, the company reported record earnings per share for the year, reaching $14.64, a 9% increase over the previous year.
• Net income also increased to a record $547 million, with EBITDA hitting $1.2 billion, reflecting strong financial health.

• The Simply Good Foods Company reported strong third-quarter fiscal year 2025 performance, bolstered by its strategic acquisition of Only What You Need, Inc. (OWYN) and continued organic growth.
• Total net sales increased by 13.8% to $381 million, primarily driven by the inclusion of OWYN, which contributed $33.6 million, and Quest’s organic growth of 15%.
• However, the decline in Atkins sales countered this advancement, as the brand’s consumption decreased by 12.7%.

• Revenue for Q1 FY02/26 was JPY14.8bn, a 6.7% YoY increase, with operating profit rising 22.9% YoY.
• PR and Advertising revenue declined 5.0% YoY, while Press Release Distribution saw a 19.7% YoY revenue increase.
• Direct Marketing revenue grew 36.7% YoY, but recorded an operating loss of JPY224mn due to increased ad spending.