Category

Daily Briefs

May 26
0

Daily Brief TMT/Internet: Cisco Systems, Dropbox Inc, Dynatrace , Epam Systems, Nanometrics Inc, Qorvo Inc, Unity Software and more

By | Daily Briefs, TMT/Internet

In today’s briefing:

  • Cisco Systems: AI Investments
  • Dropbox Inc.: Investments in AI-Enabled Experiences and New Market Opportunities! – Major Drivers
  • Dynatrace Inc.: Will The Double-Digit Subscription Revenue Growth Last? – Major Drivers
  • EPAM Systems: Global Operations Refinement and Rebalancing Delivery Platform! – Major Drivers
  • Onto Innovation: Opportunities in Advanced Nodes and NAND & Other Major Drivers
  • Qorvo Inc.: Investment in New Product Development for Multiyear Growth! – Major Drivers
  • Unity Software: Customer Engagement with the Engine and Emphasis on Industries! – Major Drivers

Cisco Systems: AI Investments

By Baptista Research

  • Cisco Systems (Cisco) had a promising Q3, with organic revenue aligning with the higher end of guidance expectations.
  • The company has transformed its business model, with over half of its total revenue now coming from subscription services, providing the company with a robust base for potential long-term growth.
  • The acquisition of Splunk was also completed, adding over $4 billion in annualized recurring revenue and strengthening Cisco’s position as one of the world’s major software companies.

Dropbox Inc.: Investments in AI-Enabled Experiences and New Market Opportunities! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Dropbox, Inc.’s Q1 2024 earnings showed both positive and negative aspects of the company’s financial performance.
  • In terms of positives, the company reported revenue for the quarter that met its expectations.
  • In addition, Dropbox reported an increase in paying users with 35,000 net new additions, despite a challenging fourth quarter.

Dynatrace Inc.: Will The Double-Digit Subscription Revenue Growth Last? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Dynatrace, a software intelligence company specializing in Software Intelligence Platform (SIP) and Application Performance Management, has reported an impressive Q4 FY 2024 and the full fiscal 2024 financial report.
  • During this period, the company achieved significant milestones and accomplishments, among them surpassing $1.5 billion in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), translating to 50% growth compared to the result from two years ago.
  • They also closed their largest new logo ever, an almost 8-figure ACV deal, and landed their first 9-figure TCV deal.

EPAM Systems: Global Operations Refinement and Rebalancing Delivery Platform! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • EPAM Systems, a leading global provider of digital platform engineering and software development services, reported their Q1 2024 earnings and these financial results marked a tough quarter as they experienced a year-on-year decrease of 3.8% on a reported basis or 4.3% in constant currency terms, which translated to a revenue of $1.165 billion.
  • Their gross margin was also affected, decreasing to 28.4% as compared to 29.3% in Q1 of last year, mainly due to foreign exchange impacts due to the strengthening of currencies in specific delivery locations.
  • This was further amplified by their inability to adjust prices following EPAM’s Q2 2023 promotion campaign.

Onto Innovation: Opportunities in Advanced Nodes and NAND & Other Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Onto Innovation’s Q1 2024 results indicate a solid start to the year, reflecting a robust uptake for high bandwidth memory and logic packaging for AI devices.
  • The net quarter revenue upsurged at the top end of the guidance range, a significant 15% rise from the same period the previous year.
  • Notably, Onto Innovation’s specialty and advanced packaging customers achieved a record growth for the third consecutive quarter, attributing a 64% year on year increase during Q1 2024.

Qorvo Inc.: Investment in New Product Development for Multiyear Growth! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Following the fiscal 2024 fourth quarter earnings, of Qorvo Inc, an investment thesis can be derived from the presented results that highlights both positive and negative aspects for potential investors.
  • Starting with the positive aspects, Qorvo seems well-positioned to capitalize on global secular macro trends, including mobility, connectivity, electrification, and datafication.
  • These trends are enabling new applications and user experiences, making them increasingly relevant in the modern business landscape.

Unity Software: Customer Engagement with the Engine and Emphasis on Industries! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • In the first quarter 2024 earnings of Unity, the management expressed strong optimism about the platform’s future, citing the imminent arrival of new CEO Matt Bromberg.
  • The interim CEO also noted indicators pointing to the ability to deliver on the plan for the year.
  • The previously unsettled customers have now gained confidence with Unity’s transition to runtime fee, and discussions have been productive about this change.

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May 26
0

Daily Brief Consumer: Alibaba Group Holding , Best World International, Grape King Bio, Sony Corp, Honda Motor Co Ltd (Adr), Home Depot Inc, TSE Tokyo Price Index TOPIX, US Foods Holding Corp, Tapestry Inc, Skechers Usa Inc Cl A and more

By | Consumer, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers
  • Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer
  • Asian Dividend Gems: Grape King Bio
  • Sony Corporation: How It Is Implementing A Multi-Faceted Strategy In A Maturing Consumer Electronics Market! – Major Drivers
  • Honda Motor Co.: What Is The Positioning of Hybrid in Electrification Strategy? – Major Drivers
  • The Home Depot Inc.: The Influence of Housing Turnover and Interest Rate Environment! – Major Drivers
  • Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request
  • U.S. Foods: A Story Of Increasing Core Customer Business! – Major Drivers
  • Tapestry Inc.: Synergies From Capri
  • Skechers U.S.A.: Increased Innovation and Messaging around Comfort Technologies & Other Major Drivers

Alibaba Group: A Story Of Cross-Border E-commerce Scale-up! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Alibaba Group’s March Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2024 results show that major segments such as the Taobao and Tmall Group, Alibaba International Digital Commerce, and core public cloud offerings are experiencing growth.
  • The Taobao and Tmall Group achieved double-digit year-over year growth, while Alibaba International Digital Commerce revenue increased by 45%.
  • Moreover, AI related revenue increased triple digit year-over-year, demonstrating the potential of AI technology in fueling the company’s growth.

Best World (BEST SP): Best and Final S$2.56 Offer

By Arun George

  • Best World International (BEST SP) has disclosed a revised exit offer which has been declared final. The S$2.56 offer is a modest 2.4% premium to the previous S$2.50 offer. 
  • The key conditions are approval for the selective capital reduction (at least 75% of eligible shareholders) and delisting resolution (a majority holding not less than 75% in value).
  • The revised offer remains underwhelming. However, the headcount test risk is lowering as retail seems resigned to accepting it. At the last close, the gross spread was 2.4%. 

Asian Dividend Gems: Grape King Bio

By Douglas Kim

  • Grape King Bio has one of the most remarkable consistency in profit margins among all Asian F&B companies. Its net margins ranged from 13% to 15% in the past decade.
  • The company’s dividend yield increased from 3.8% in 2021 to 4.1% in 2022, and 4.4% in 2023. Its annual dividend payout averaged 69.6% from 2019 to 2023. 
  • Established in 1969, Grape King Bio is one of the leading health food, drink, and supplement products manufacturers in Taiwan.

Sony Corporation: How It Is Implementing A Multi-Faceted Strategy In A Maturing Consumer Electronics Market! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Sony Group Corporation recently reported its FY 2023 results and offered insights into its FY 2024 forecast as well as its fifth mid-range plan.
  • The corporation experienced a record high in consolidated sales at JPY 13,020.8 billion while consolidated operating income was JPY 1,208.8 billion.
  • Net income stood at JPY 970.6 billion, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was JPY 1,880 billion.

Honda Motor Co.: What Is The Positioning of Hybrid in Electrification Strategy? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Honda Motor’s earnings of FY ’24 reveals that the mobility company has been posting a historic high operating profit of JPY 1,381.9 billion, with an operating profit margin of 6.8%.
  • Underpinning this growth has been the company’s core strategy of focusing on environmental sustainability and safety, which is resonating well with the consumers.
  • For FY ’25, Honda has set a higher target for operating profit at JPY 1.42 billion, aiming to achieve an operating profit margin of 7%, a year ahead of their original plan.

The Home Depot Inc.: The Influence of Housing Turnover and Interest Rate Environment! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • In the first quarter of 2024, The Home Depot’s total sales amounted to $36.4 billion, marking a decrease of 2.3% from the same period last year.
  • The company’s comp sales declined by 2.8% and US stores also reported negative comps of 3.2%.
  • The diluted earnings per share were noted to be $3.63 for the first quarter, a dip from $3.82 during the first quarter of the previous year.

Improved Profitability to Attract Overseas Investors Key to Raise Valuation Even After TSE’s Request

By Aki Matsumoto

  • Companies that increased Tobin’sQ have further increased Tobin’sQ due to continued growth in ROE and ROA. They have room to further improve return on capital by reducing cash on hand.
  • Companies with lower Tobin’s Q may include small-cap stocks that are increasingly undervalued because they have relatively high ROE and ROA but are not covered by overseas investors.
  • Over the past year, few companies raised their valuations based solely on expectations of P/B bottoming-out without improving profitability, and IR activities alone have had limited effect in boosting valuations.

U.S. Foods: A Story Of Increasing Core Customer Business! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • US Foods, one of the largest foodservice distributors in the United States, delivered its first quarter 2024 earnings, demonstrating adequate progress in executing its long-term strategy, despite adverse weather conditions and labor disruptions.
  • Despite these challenges, they still managed to achieve 4.2% total case growth, with independent case volume growing by 4.6%.
  • The company’s quarterly success gave them the confidence to maintain their full-year guidance.

Tapestry Inc.: Synergies From Capri

By Baptista Research

  • Tapestry Inc. reported its third quarter earnings results, outpacing expectations primarily due to disciplined brand building and operational excellence.
  • CEO, Joanne Crevoiserat, highlighted that total revenue was aligned with the prior year on a constant currency basis, reflecting the initial end of their guidance range.
  • The fashion house witnessed a 2% sales decline in Greater China, although it remained confident about long-term prospects and continued investment in the region.

Skechers U.S.A.: Increased Innovation and Messaging around Comfort Technologies & Other Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • In Q1 2024, Skechers hit a new quarterly sales record of $2.25 billion, a gain of 12.5% or $250 million, compared to the previous year.
  • Also, diluted earnings per share registered a record of $1.33.
  • These results were fuelled by growth in both direct-to-consumer and wholesale sectors on a global scale.

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May 26
0

Daily Brief Financials: StoneCo and more

By | Daily Briefs, Financials

In today’s briefing:

  • StoneCo Ltd.: Business Diversification Through Additional Monetization Opportunities Beyond Payments! – Major Drivers

StoneCo Ltd.: Business Diversification Through Additional Monetization Opportunities Beyond Payments! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • StoneCo Ltd., a financial technology company in Brazil, provided its Q1 2021 results with an updated outlook on the business.
  • The company’s business performed strongly, delivering strategic priorities with significant growth in financial services across all client offerings.
  • StoneCo also launched instant payments in Ton, which fulfills a key request from micro-merchant clients.

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May 26
0

Top 10 Highlights from the APAC PE, VC and Startup Ecosystem this Week – 26 May 2024

By | Private Markets, Smartkarma Newswire

Top ten highlights from the APAC PE, VC, and startup ecosystem this week:

  1. International investors are flocking to Japan as rising China-US tensions reshuffle the private equity landscape in Asia.
  2. Monument Group’s Hiroshi Nishimuro notes that some investors are waiving minimum commitment sizes to tap into the emerging opportunities in Japan.
  3. Bain Capital is set to double its investments in Japan over the next five years amid the country’s revitalization as a key destination for global investors.
  4. Carlyle Group raises $2.8 billion for its fifth Japan buyout fund, signaling confidence in Japan’s market potential.
  5. PAG raises $550 million for its renewable energy fund, with a focus on solar power in Japan as a primary target.

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