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• KKR & Co (KKR US) has increased its Fuji Soft Inc (9749 JP) offer to JPY9,850, a 4.2% premium to the previous JPY9,451 offer and a 2.6% premium to Bain’s JPY9,600 offer.
• A bump from KKR was expected and necessary, as the shares have consistently traded above its previous offer. Bain is scheduled to launch its competing offer this week. 
• Expect a final round of bids, as KKR’s offer is not final. The shares closed above KKR’s offer, which remains below the high end of the IFA DCF valuation range. 

• In this insight, we discuss the first day trading strategy of LG CNS which starts trading on 5 February.
• On the first day of trading, we believe LG CNS’s shares could trade at higher levels, overshooting its intrinsic valuations.
• We recommend investors to take some profits off the table if the share price shoots higher by 30% to 50%+ from the IPO price on the first day.

• Tecnos Japan (3666 JP) has recommended a tender offer from Ant Capital at JPY1,155, a 38.7% premium to the last close.
• The offer is reasonable as it is above the midpoint of the target IFA’s DCF valuation range and represents a seven-year high.
• Ant has secured irrevocables from the top three shareholders. However, the largest shareholder’s irrevocable has a counteroffer and share price clause, which could result in a competing bid. 

• There are 11 stocks (maybe 12) in Korea that could be deleted from a global index in February and that will result in large selling from passive trackers.
• With announcement in a week and implementation in just over 3 weeks, there is positioning in a lot of the names.
• With short selling still banned, positioning will not be as high as the passive selling and the stocks could still drop over the next few weeks.

• Tecnos Japan (3666 JP) decided it wanted to go private. It has a bunch of large shareholders and a lot of retail, and was getting kicked out of TOPIX.
• An activist bought 6% last spring, Tecnos conducted a bidding process last fall. Ant Capital won. The activist has 10+% now. They and two others with 25% agreed to tender.
• This should get done easily. It is not expensive, but an auction is good process and should be a model for deals done in future.

• In Dec 2024, Bain announced it would overbid KKR’s bid without requiring Fuji Soft’s approval, backed by the founding family. In early Jan 2025, we got an anticipated start date.
• That anticipated start date is upon us. KKR’s deal to close 7 Feb is now bumped to ¥9,800 and extended 7 days, suggesting Bain’s bid beacons.
• I think they’ll have to go to ¥10,000 and from here there may not be much upside. I’d rather stay away.

• Switch slowdown: Nintendo’s Q3 revenue and profit fell sharply as the ageing console nears the end of its cycle, missing hardware sales expectations.
• Guidance cut: Full-year revenue and profit forecasts were lowered, but investors remain focused on the upcoming Switch 2 launch.
• Muted upside: Switch 2 is an incremental upgrade, unlikely to expand the market significantly or boost Nintendo’s valuation beyond its current fair value of ¥9,000 per share.

• SailPoint is sponsor-backed by Thoma Bravo and is seeking a valuation north of $11b after taking the company private in August 2022 for $6.9bn
• The sponsor will be only selling 2.5mm shares in this offering.
• As of October 31, 2024, their annual recurring revenue was $813.2 million, reflecting an increase of 30% compared to October 31, 2023. 

• Austin-Based SailPoint, a Thoma Bravo-backed identity management software company, has announced the initial price range for its US IPO.
• The offering is expected to be between $19.00 and $21.00, implying a market cap of ~$11B at the midpoint, up ~61% vs. take-private transaction valuation of ~$6.9B in 2022.
• I see modest post-listing upside for SailPoint stock, and the company plans to use only ~$690M to repay a portion of its $1.5B+ debt.

• Revenue increased 31.1% YoY to JPY2.5bn, with HENNGE One revenue at JPY2.3bn and Professional Service at JPY175mn.
• Operating profit rose 37.3% YoY to JPY529mn, with a margin of 21.1% and SG&A expenses at JPY1.6bn.
• Gross profit reached JPY2.1bn, gross margin at 85.5%, and advertising expenses increased 68.8% YoY to JPY157mn.

• Today, in conjunction with the release of Q3 earnings, Kyocera Corp (6971 JP) announced a change in its Corporate Governance Code doc, a change in Cross-holding Policy, and Buyback Policy.
• Full-Year earnings guidance revision was non-salutary. Revs -1%, OP -69%, Net Profit -72% vs previous predictions from 30 October (those were -1.5%, -38.2%, -36.6% vs April guidance at the time). 
• Based on this disappointment, they announced they would speed up the sale of crossholdings and buy back shares this year and over the following three years.

• Market value of stocks close to 2 trillion, including Nvidia at 600 billion
• Author missed opportunity to short Nvidia despite strong case outlined in article
• Concerns about competition, margins, and custom chips impacting Nvidia’s growth potential

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• LG CNS (LGCNSZ KS) priced its IPO at KRW61,900 per share to raise gross proceeds of US$820 million. The shares will start trading on 5 February.
• We previously discussed the IPO in LG CNS IPO: The Bull Case, LG CNS IPO: The Bear Case and LG CNS IPO: Valuation Insights.
• Since the prospectus’s release, the peers have marginally re-rated. The valuation remains undemanding at the IPO price, and bullish grey market prices suggest a strong debut.

• Stifel is a leading middle market investment bank with a large equity research franchise
• Stifel has won the J.D. Power Award for Employee Advisor satisfaction two years in a row
• The Odd Lots podcast discusses topics like MicroStrategy’s perpetual motion machine and leveraged bitcoin investments

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• LG CNS (LGCNSZ KS) raised around US$825m in its Korea IPO. LG CNS is a South Korean information technology company.
• LG CNS is a South Korean information technology company. The firm primarily provides comprehensive digital transformation services and solutions backed AI, big data, and cloud.
• In this note, we will talk about the demand for the deal and other trading dynamics.

• After 2 very poor quarters (revenue decline YoY), 2Q25 revenue increase 93% YoY, net income 137%. The painfully high volatility will not go away. 
• But Lasertec maintains its FY25 guidance which means that the blowout 2Q25 does not indicate higher growth
• The expectation bubble should have completely deflated (SiC for EV, Intel, Samsung). The stock is trading at 18x, at the bottom of its trading range and valuations. Attractive.

• Didi Global Inc. is a prominent mobility technology platform offering ride hailing, taxi hailing, and ride sharing services
• The company dominates the market in China and Latin America, especially in Brazil and Mexico
• Didi also has other initiatives including E-bike sharing, energy and vehicle services, intra-city freight, autonomous driving, and financial services.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• India aims to create its own foundational model by 2025, showing its commitment to technological development and innovation.
• DeepSeek’s founder’s journey from stock prodigy to AI disruptor highlights the potential for growth and success in the tech industry.
• Cadence’s focus on expanding in India’s data center industry shows the increasing importance of this sector in the global economy.

• Celestica’s fourth-quarter 2024 financial performance illustrates a complex landscape with both impressive achievements and areas of strategic caution.
• The company reported strong revenue growth, reaching $2.55 billion, aligning with the high end of its guidance.
• Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) surpassed expectations, recording $1.11, reflecting the company’s robust operational capabilities.

• India plans to create its own foundational model by 2025, aiming for independence in technology development.
• DeepSeek’s founder, a former stock prodigy, is now making waves in the field of AI disruption.
• Cadence is focusing on expanding in India’s growing data center market, expecting continued growth in the future.

• There could be 1/2 changes to the iShares China Large-Cap (FXI) (FXI US) in March. Then there will be more changes as large Chinese companies list H-shares on the HKEX.
• Fast Entries and regular inclusion of newly listed H-shares will change the characteristics of the FXI and there could be further deviations from the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI INDEX). 
• That will provide opportunities for index rebalance traders as well as volatility traders that are active on the iShares China Large-Cap (FXI) (FXI US) options.

• Lixil increased operating profit by 15.7% YoY, to ¥20.6bn, compared to consensus estimates for an 18% decline. The stock trades at 80% of book value.
• TEPCO earned ¥112bn compared to a consensus forecast of a ¥3bn loss. It trades at 35% of book value.
• Lasertec increased EBIT by 122% to ¥47.7bn compared to consensus estimates for ¥27bn, and the stock trading at the lowest multiples relative to Topix in seven years.  

• Big Dec-24 due to China. Mar-25 will be weaker. FY26 growth will come only from TSMC and HBM. After a strong FY25 (~30% growth), FY26 should see growth at 10-15%.
• Accounting concerns  should be over after the publication of the audit report on Jan 14 2025. The stock has started appreciating since early Jan 2025.
• Valuations are low. The stock is trading at ~11x FY26 EPS. A muted Mar-25 could limit the upside short-term, let’s wait.

• HK Alpha Portfolio returned -1.29% in December and outperformed the benchmark by 0.34%. The portfolio has outperformed Hong Kong indexes by 7.93% to 9.64% since its inception on 10/01/24. 
• About 75% of the portfolio’s excess returns have been from alpha generation. The portfolio had no exposure to Real Estate, Energy or Materials.
  
• At month-end we sold China Cinda Asset Management (1359 HK) , Citic Ltd (267 HK) , China Galaxy Securities (H) (6881 HK) and GDS Holdings (9698 HK) . 

• Aequitas Research’s weekly update on the IPOs, placements, lockup expiry and other ECM linked events that were covered by the team over the past week.
• On the IPO front, we had a look at the valuations for Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital and Seoul Guarantee Insurance (031210 KS). 
• On the placements front, given the holiday shortened week, there were no placements this week.

• For the month of January 2025, 14 new transactions (firm and non-binding) were discussed on Smartkarma with an overall announced deal size of ~US$6bn.
• The average premium for the new transactions announced (or first discussed) in January was ~57%, excluding Sun Art Retail (6808 HK)‘s massive takeunder.
• The average premiums for transactions in 2024 (129 transactions), (2023 (117), 2022 (106), 2021 (165), 2020 (158), and 2019 (145 ) were 43%, 39%, 41%, 33%, 31%, and 31% .

• Giga Prize (3830 JP) has recommended Freebit Co Ltd (3843 JP)’s tender offer at JPY2,500, a 48.5% premium to the last close.
• While the offer is below the midpoint of the target IFA’s DCF valuation range, it represents an all-time high and aligns with the Board’s requested price. 
• The required minority acceptance rate is modest, and tendering by the third-largest shareholder is enough to close the deal. 

• Logitech recently reported strong financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, showcasing robust demand across various products and geographies, leading to a rise in their annual outlook.
• The company’s net sales increased by 6% year-over-year, with a notable 8% growth in demand, driven primarily by strategic focuses introduced the previous year.
• One of the key highlights for Logitech was the gaming segment, which saw double-digit growth of 13%, propelled by the launch of 16 new gaming products before the holiday season.

• Rubrik reported strong financial performance in its latest quarter, achieving $1 billion in subscription ARR, representing 38% year-over-year growth.
• Net new subscription ARR stood at $83 million, while subscription revenue increased by 55% year-over-year to $221 million.
• The company also recorded free cash flow of $15.6 million, marking an improvement from $3.5 million in the prior year period.

• Q424 revenues of $14.3 billion which was $500 million above the guided midpoint, down 7% YoY but up 7.5% QoQ.
• Forecasted Q125 revenues of $12.2 billion at the midpoint, down $500 million YoY and down 15% QoQ
• Transition to EUV abysmally slow, Falcon Shores cancelled, Clearwater Forest delayed, GMs will see some improvement or mixed improvement in 2026. 

• ServiceNow demonstrated strong financial and operational performance throughout the fourth quarter of 2024.
• The company reported a subscription revenue growth of 21% year-over-year, with the remaining performance obligation reaching nearly $23 billion.
• This emphasizes the firm’s ability to capture and sustain customer interest in its services.

• ASML Holding N.V. continues to cement its position as the linchpin of the semiconductor supply chain, demonstrating resilience in the face of market turbulence.
• The Dutch chip-equipment manufacturer posted robust fourth-quarter results, with net sales reaching €9.3 billion, surpassing prior guidance.
• Despite concerns about AI efficiency potentially reducing demand for high-end chips—exemplified by the recent DeepSeek-driven selloff—ASML’s strong order intake and continued industry reliance on its cutting-edge lithography technology highlight its long-term investment appeal.

• Western Digital Corporation delivered a mixed performance in its second fiscal quarter of 2025, reflecting both strengths and challenges across its two major business units, HDD and Flash.
• Revenue reached $4.3 billion, supported by strong growth in HDD, but tempered by challenges in the Flash segment, which is facing significant pricing pressures.
• On the positive side, the HDD business showed impressive results, characterized by record high revenues and strong adoption of high-capacity enterprise drives.

• Corning Incorporated has reported strong fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results, successfully capping off the first year of its Springboard growth plan.
• The company’s sales for the fourth quarter surged by 18% year-over year to $3.9 billion, marking a record high.
• Correspondingly, the company saw a 46% increase in EPS, reaching $0.57, and expanded its operating margin by 220 basis points to 18.5%.

• International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) showcased a mixed set of results and strategic narratives during its fourth quarter 2024 earnings call.
• The company reported an overall revenue growth of 3% for the year and generated $12.7 billion in free cash flow, highlighting both accomplishments and opportunities for improvement.
• IBM’s software segment posted impressive growth rates, with a 9% spike in 2024.

• Market looks happy about Intel 4Q result / 1Q guidance. There’s actually a fait bit of poor news for 2025. But the tone / narrative is a lot better.  
• 2025: Product margins under pressure, Foundry margins better if 18A EUV delivers. Server share loss to be fixed. No GPU. Capex reduced to US$20bn.
• How much do you pay for “we began the process of resizing our expense structure to support more modest long-term growth”. The stock trades at 13x 2025, 11x 2026 EPS. 

• Apple 1Q25 Results — Overall Price-Supportive for Taiwan Supplier Share Prices When the Taiwan Market Re-Opens Monday
• Why Zhen Ding Technology Holding (4958 TT) and Kinsus Interconnect Tech (3189 TT) Could Be in a Favorable Position Relative to Apple’s AI Trajectory
• Increasingly sophisticated Apple products require significantly more complex PCBs & interconnect solutions, especially as advanced packaging has become a key enabler of high-performance computing.

• KPIT Technologies (“KPIT”) reported decent growth despite challenging macroeconomic environment in the automotive OEM segment. Q3FY25 revenue grew 17.4% YoY and 2.0% QoQ in constant currency (CC) terms.
• Led by improved efficiency and revenue mix, EBITDA margin came in stronger than expected at 21.1%. This led KPIT to raise its FY25 EBITDA guidance to 21%+ from 20.5%+.
• Deal engagement has been strong. TCV came in at $236mm vs typical run-rate of $150mm+. Deal pipeline is also healthy and the management is expecting substantial closures by H1FY26.

• Lam Research Corporation reported its earnings for the December 2024 quarter with results largely exceeding guidance midpoints, showcasing strong operational execution and strategic positioning.
• The company reported a revenue of $4.38 billion, an increase of 5% from the previous quarter.
• This growth was driven by a balance of increased spending in the DRAM and NAND segments, despite muted NAND spending levels earlier in the year.

• Revenue rose to JPY14.0bn (+19.3% YoY), with operating profit margin increasing to 18.1% (+2.0pp YoY).
• Outsourcing and software businesses drove revenue growth, with order backlog in Q2 FY06/25 at JPY4.8bn (+24.0% YoY).
• Consolidated employees increased to 1,567, with substantial profit growth in Corporate Management Solutions Business in 1H FY06/25.

• Today, Freebit Co Ltd (3843 JP) announced it would launch a Tender Offer next Monday to buy out minorities in 60.9%-owned Giga Prize (3830 JP). 
• The multiple is not terribly impressive. It could be better. But they only need 5.8% of the 39.1% they do not own to get this over the hump.
• Synergies are clear. They are expected. They are not priced in the valuation. This is disappointing. Again.

• Weak results again in 4Q24. Weak outlook for 1H25 as Mobile, PC demand remains weak (ie DRAM, NAND, Display).
• Samsung expects its “optimized” HBM3E to ramp from 2Q25.  HBM4 in 2H25. Logic 2nm production in 2026.
• The stock is cheapish at ~8x 2025-26EPS but with a lack of catalyst, visibility, effectiveness of managements changes. Revisit mid-2025.

• SAP’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial outcomes underline a significant phase in its continuing evolution toward cloud-driven solutions and artificial intelligence.
• The results reflect a substantial transition from a traditional software company to a more agile, cloud-focused entity.
• This shift is evidenced by a 40% increase in total cloud backlog, reaching €63 billion, and a 27% rise in cloud revenue, which now accounts for half of SAP’s total revenue.

• T-Mobile U.S. delivered a strong performance in 2024, as indicated by their latest earnings call.
• Key highlights include record growth in customer acquisition, solid financial metrics, continued network improvements, and strategic investments that position the company for future expansion.
• T-Mobile’s 2024 results were marked by substantial gains in postpaid phone customers, with more than 3 million net additions for the third consecutive year.

• In cumulative Q3 FY03/25, orders were JPY156.7bn (+22.1% YoY), with revenue at JPY155.4bn (+8.7% YoY).
• Operating profit increased 18.3% YoY, with notable growth in Enterprise and Public businesses, but declined in Telecom Carrier.
• Net One’s shares are scheduled for delisting, leading to withdrawal of full-year earnings forecast for FY03/25.

• PC Monitor: Snapdragon’s Surge, AMD’s Gains, Intel’s Test; Long Asus & Dell
• Memory Monitor: Is DeepSeek a Problem for SK Hynix & Micron’s HBM DRAM Growth? 
• TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): Earthquake Impact Limited; Setting Newest Production Line Not Viable in US. 

• In recent weeks, Meta stock has mostly been one-way street: up! That continued to be the case after-hours post 4Q’24 earnings.
• Here are my highlights from today’s call. Daily Active People (DAP) across its Family of Apps (FOA) accelerated to 60 mn QoQ in 4Q’24.
• It’s kind of mind boggling that Meta added 1 Billion DAP since 1Q’20.

• ASML reported Q424 revenues of €9.3 billion, marginally above the high end of the guided range, up 24% QoQ and up 28.5% YoY.
• Full year 2024 revenue amounted to €28.3 billion, up 2.7% YoY and a modest improvement on the previously forecasted zero growth
• Guided full year 2025 revenues to be in the $30-$35 billion range, representing a 15% YoY increase at the midpoint.

• AT&T’s latest financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2024 shows a balanced overview of strengths and challenges that shape its investment profile.
• Positively, the company has demonstrated solid growth in its core operations, particularly in the Mobility and Consumer Wireline segments.
• Postpaid phone net additions totaled approximately 1.7 million with a service revenue growth of 3.5% for Mobility, contributing to AT&T likely leading the industry in postpaid phone churn for most of the past sixteen quarters.

• Recent U.S. Market Weakness Appears to Have Been More Focused on Falling Sentiment for Server Businesses, Not PCs
• CES 2025 Showed Qualcomm Chips Gaining Momentum in PCs, While AMD Continued Aggressive Competition — Intel Under Pressure
• PC Maker Universe to Experience Decent Revenue Growth in 2025E — Structural Long Asustek & Dell

• According to our valuation analysis, it suggests a base case implied price of 19,673 won per share (46% higher than the high end of the IPO price range).
• Our base case valuation is based on target P/S of 5.4x using our estimated sales of 57.7 billion won.
• To value TXR Robotics, the target P/S of 5.4x is based on a 30% discount to the comps’ valuation multiple.

• Naver’s CHZZK has been increasing its market share in the Korean live game streaming sector. This improving momentum is likely to continue to positively impact Naver’s share price. 
• CHZZK was the top ranking live streaming platform in Korea in December 2024 with about 2.5 million MAU.
• Naver is currently trading at EV/EBITDA of 11.4x and P/E of 18.3x, which are 50% and 51% lower respectively than its historical average valuation multiples from 2020 to 2023.

• Verizon Communications Inc.’s latest earnings release highlights a blend of strategic initiatives, market positioning, operational performance, and future outlook amidst both challenges and opportunities.
• The results provide insights into Verizon’s growth trajectory, notably in the wireless, broadband, and emerging AI sectors, as well as operational efficiencies driving financial performance.
• The company reported a successful financial year, with wireless service revenue growing by 3.1% and adjusted EBITDA by 2.1%.

• For Q3 FY03/24, operating revenue was JPY62.4bn (+6.8% YoY), with net income JPY9.5bn (-1.0% YoY).
• Capex for Q3 FY03/25 was JPY4.2bn, a 34.4% YoY decrease, with 66.3% progress against the full-year plan.
• FY03/25 forecast revised: revenue JPY83.0bn (+6.4% YoY), operating expenses JPY65.5bn (+7.4% YoY), dividend JPY120/share.

• RaaS Research has published an update on edtech group ReadCloud (ASX:RCL) following the release of its Q1 results in which it reported a 26% increase in cash receipts to $2.4m.
• The result was in line with our forecasts from an operating cash flow and ending cash position.
• The company’s commentary was positive and gave us confident of our forecasts for the remainder of FY25 and into FY26.

• On 28 January, Dropsuite Ltd (DSE AU) entered a scheme implementation deed with NinjaOne at A$5.90 per share, a 34.1% premium to the undisturbed price of A$4.40 per share.
• The offer is conditional on shareholder and FIRB approval. The vote is low-risk as the largest shareholder has provided an irrevocable. 
• The offer is attractive and represents an all-time high. At the last close, for a 20 May payment, the gross/annualised spread was 3.0%/10.3%.

• Deepseek, formerly a quantitative hedge fund, has transitioned to building foundational AI models, causing a stir in the tech community
• Their recent paper on transformer LLM models has sparked interest and confusion, particularly regarding training and inference costs
• Despite claims of training on a small pool of GPUs, it is speculated that Deep Seq has access to tens of thousands of GPUs, challenging traditional notions of cost and capabilities in AI research.

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• SailPoint, a founder-led provider of identity security for the modern enterprise, aims to raise up to $1B to pay off debt.
• The company ended last quarter at $813M of implied ARR and I see a clear path to $1B+ ARR in FY26 ended Jan 30, 2026.
• I believe SailPoint may consider IPO at valuation above take-private transaction of ~$6.9B in 2022. The company is expected to go public in February.

• Market sees major losses in tech complex, catalyzed by introduction of Chinese AI model Deepseek
• Concerns arise about cheap Chinese competitor impacting market heavily invested in AI companies
• Zvi Moshevitz, AI expert, discusses Deepseek model’s training cost and optimization techniques

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• As we hit Chinese New Year break,  we want to examine if Hynix’s earnings and investor call met investor expectations
• 6 key questions going in and where we are post SK Hynix (000660 KS) reporting and before Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) reports early February
• The consensus is that the key questions were not answered.  Well, not all answered and some remains to be seen. 

• Zegona is a special purpose vehicle in the telecom sector that owns Vodafone’s operations in Spain
• The company has potential plans to monetize Vodafone Spain’s fiber assets and turnaround the underperforming business
• Zegona could see a fivefold increase in stock value, presenting an opportunity for investors seeking high growth potential

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• In this edition: • AkzoNobel | 4Q24 shows a mixed picture; some bright spots ahead • ASML Holding | reiterates FY25 and long-term outlook / record quarterly FCF • InPost | AliExpress survey shows Polish shoppers are looking for ‘engaging experiences’

• CARTA HOLDINGS (hereafter, the Company) announced its Q3 FY2024/12 results on November 13, 2024, which were in line with its upwardly revised forecasts disclosed with Q2 results.
• The Company positioned FY2024/12 as the first year toward its sharp recovery following aggressive cost structure reforms in FY2023/12, and expects full- year operating profit to rise 53.7% YoY to JPY 2,000 mn as a signal to the start of its comeback.
• Q4 is the Company’s busy season, and investors likely have a certain level of interest in where actual results come in.

• In Q3 FY03/25, the company reported revenue of JPY12.1bn, operating profit of JPY2.1bn, and net income of JPY1.4bn.
• Revenue by product category showed cloud services increased 28.2% YoY, while conventional software decreased 53.3% YoY.
• FY03/25 forecasts include revenue of JPY16.5bn, operating profit of JPY2.4bn, and a dividend of JPY83.00/share.

• Alarm.com has high dollar retention rates and is focused on diversifying revenue through growth initiatives, accounting for 30% of revenue and growing over 20% annually
• The company has potential for improvement in EBITDA margins and could be a target for activists or a PE buyout due to its strong financial position
• Founded in 2000 and incubated within MicroStrategy, Alarm.com has a history of innovation in the security products industry and is led by CEO Stephen Trundle

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• DeepSeek has been the biggest story in the global markets in the past couple of weeks.
• In this insight, we discuss how the rise of DeepSeek could impact the share prices of the major AI related companies in Korea including SK Hynix (000660 KS). 
• The top five Korean companies that could be negatively impacted by the rise of DeepSeek include SK Hynix, Hanmi Semiconductor, SK Square, HD Hyundai Electric, and LS Electric. 

• SK Hynix Expects 100% HBM Revenue Growth in 2025E After a Massive 2024 — Which Means Traditional DRAM Doesn’t Matter as Much Anymore
• DeepSeek Market Fears — A Problem for HBM & Enterprise SSD Memory?
• AI Industry Opportunities Are Not a Fixed Size Pie — Will DeepSeek Impact HBM DRAM TAM? Why We Don’t Think So

• TSMC: 10.8% Premium; Taiwanese Investors Likely to Be Less Shocked by DeepSeek News?
• UMC: -7.3% Discount; The Latest Extreme Discount Cannot Be Sustained
• ASE: -10.2% Discount; This Extreme Discount Also Cannot Be Sustained

• The HSTECH index is trading higher on higher breadth and momentum in January, up 6% so far.  Analysts project an upside of 23% over 12 months.
• China’s semiconductor sector is advancing this year from AI enthusiasm and accelerated localization in the chip industry.  Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (981 HK) shares have benefited from this trend.
• Sunny Optical Technology Group (2382 HK) benefits from China’s announcement that it will subsidize more consumer products, including smartphones and new vehicles.

• Azeus Systems Holdings Ltd. (SGX: AZEUS SP) is a leading global IT solutions provider with over 30 years of experience, specializing in board governance and digital transformation solutions. The company’s flagship product, Convene, serves boardrooms and executive teams across more than 100 countries, with additional offerings like Convene AGM, Convene Records, and Convene ESG, tailored to meet specific enterprise needs.
• Two Business Segments: Azeus Products and IT Services. These segments cater to a diverse clientele with tailored solutions that address specific operational and strategic needs of Azeus’s clients. Azeus Products account for the lion’s share of revenue, at 81% as shown below.
• Convene Flagship Product: Convene is a leading board governance solution for boardrooms and executives, offering secure document sharing, real-time collaboration, voting tools, analytics, and workflow automation to streamline decision-making. Its user-friendly interface and mobile compatibility make it popular among enterprises and governments. Azeus also offers additional Convene-branded products for specific use cases.

• TSMC hit a record high average fund allocation of 9.07% at the end of last year, yet EM funds switched to a sizeable underweight of -1.47% throughout the year.
• Active UCITS funds become forced sellers as weights hit 10%, with non-UCITS selling in to strength as weights rise on strong performance.
• EM Value funds maintain an overweight in Alibaba, the only Style group to do so. Alibaba is now the most widely held stock for Value funds alongside TSMC and Samsung.

• NVIDIA, the global leader in AI hardware, has recently faced unprecedented turbulence in the market, shedding nearly $600 billion in market capitalization in a single day—an event that has sent shockwaves through the tech and investment communities.
• The catalyst for this dramatic drop?
• DeepSeek, a relatively new Chinese AI startup that has stunned the industry by developing a highly efficient and cost-effective AI model, DeepSeek R1.

• Gan is diversifying its portfolio and investing in digital and audio formats to meet changing consumer preferences
• Bloomsbury is thriving as a publisher with a mix of popular fiction titles, academic books, and digital offerings
• Bloomsbury is maintaining its reputation as a leading publisher in the industry

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• RaaS has published an update on data analytics company Pureprofile (ASX:PPL) following its record Q2 and H1 results and guidance upgrade.
• Q2 revenue increased 30% to $15.3m, bringing H1 revenue to $29.2m, an increase of 22% on the previous corresponding period (pcp) and ahead of our forecast for $27.6m.
• Q2 EBITDA was a record $1.7m, up 79% on the pcp and bringing H1 EBITDA to $3.3m, a 38% increase on the pcp.

• Goertek Inc A (002241 CH) is looking to raise up to US$400m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The deal will be run by CICC, CSI, CMB and UBS.
• It is a world-leading provider of smart sensing interaction solutions.
• Anchored by its robust one-stop smart sensing interaction platform, the firm is dedicated to driving the transformation of next-generation smart sensing interactions in collaboration with global ecosystem partners.

• News that DeepSeek’s latest AI release appears to be superior to latest OpenAI’s ChatGPT in  most (if not all) of the benchmark tasks have apparently shaken markets today.
• DeepSeek may be able to beat its competitors (including other AI developed by other US companies like Meta Platforms (META US) ), using lower cost chips and less data.
• Tech companies like NVIDIA Corp (NVDA US) are falling hard (like -12%) in pre-market, and so are the US Indices. Let’s see where support for reversal rallies can be found.

• This reports addresses the alarmist wrong conclusions over DeepSeek, especially over GPU usage and costs
• This said, DeepSeek shows that Foundational models are commoditizing. Applications will be more resilient and profitable, ie customized with attached services
• We are just at the beginning of the AI revolution with language models. Physical models are next and massive Application deployment.  

• Information technology very strong with AAC Tech, Sunny Optical, Kingdee Int’l and Byd Elec all posting > 10% weekly gains.
• Gains were positive with helpful seasonals but not as widespread as last week with fewer singles stocks and Sectors participating in the rally.
• China Vanke has big increase in option trading, in particular Calls, with implied vols also rising. 

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) closed 2024 on a high note, driven by robust demand for AI-related chips and its cutting-edge 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer technology nodes.
• The world’s largest contract chipmaker reported a record fourth-quarter net profit of NT$374.68 billion (US$11.37 billion), marking a 57% year-over-year increase, alongside a 39% revenue jump to NT$868.46 billion.
• The company’s gross margin rose to 59%, supported by high demand for advanced nodes despite challenges like ramp-up costs for its overseas facilities in the U.S. and Japan.

• In the Company’s stated goal aiming to become the No.1 cloud integrator in Japan, the importance of its close relationship with Microsoft cannot be overstated.
• JBS became certified as a Microsoft Partner in 1995, and it was awarded Microsoft Japan Partner of the Year for the first time in 2007.
• JBS has been recognized as Microsoft Japan Partner of the Year for 12 consecutive years from 2013 – 2024, reflecting its business strategy to focus on cloud migration/integration during that period. 

• Texas Instruments recently presented their fourth-quarter earnings, offering insights into the performance and outlook of the company.
• The financial results indicate both challenges and opportunities for investors to consider.
• In the fourth quarter of 2024, Texas Instruments reported revenue of $4 billion, which marks a 3% sequential decrease and a 2% decline from the previous year.

• Allfunds is a European B2B fund platform founded in 2000 by CEO Juan Alcaraz, with strong organic revenue growth and EBITDA margins
• Despite facing challenges in the public markets, the company is poised to return to its historical growth trajectory
• With a client retention rate of 99.8% and significant market share, ALLFG offers a compelling growth opportunity yet to be fully reflected in its valuation

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• Hexaware Technologies (HEXW IN)is looking to raise about US$1.2bn in its upcoming India IPO.
• Hexaware is a global digital and technology services company with AI at its core, delivering innovative solutions that help customers in their digital transformation journey and subsequent operations.
• In this note, we look at the firm’s past performance.

• Startia Holdings, Inc. (hereafter, the Company) is a corporate group providing IT solutions mainly to SMEs.
• Its core businesses consist of its IT infrastructure segment and its digital marketing segment which provides the Cloud CIRCUS digital marketing tool as a SaaS offering.
• The IT infrastructure segment promotes “defensive DX” providing one-stop solutions and DX to IT-related issues for customer companies through merchandises such as office automation equipment and network services, while the digital marketing segment promotes “offensive DX” with the aim of helping them acquire new customers and expand sales. By conducting

• ParkerVision (PRKR) is seen as a potentially mispriced option with a significant investment opportunity
• The company’s patent infringement case against Qualcomm (QCOM) could result in a value of $8+ per share, which is 9 times the current price of $0.90
• The case, estimated to be worth $2.6 billion, is expected to go to trial in the first half of 2025, with favorable odds for a positive outcome justifying a small position in PRKR

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• More than 40 potential turnaround stocks will report Q3 results in the coming weeks. 
• The average spread between the lowest and highest street estimate for the stocks on our target list is a gaping 45%. This doesn’t mean what most people think it means.
• Rohm, Taiyo Yuden, Yamato, Hamamatsu, JFE, Tsuruha look nice, but we pass on Shiseido and Mazda.

• Smartphone 2024 small growth about +5% YoY. PC 2024 small unit growth +4%. Don’t expect much better in 2025 but the Silicon content will increase, both for processor and DRAM.
• Lots of cuts in 2025 Semiconductor Capex. TSMC is up but Samsung, UMC, Intel down. Japan Semi Equipment association has revised down 2025 growth from 10% to 5%.
• Cloud Capex booming. Microsoft announced US$80bn in FY25. Meta at US$60-65bn. TSMC to increase 5-3nm wafer price by 5-10%. The Ai segment of semiconductors is doing extremely well

• Apple (AAPL US) has been downtrending for the past 4 weeks, reaching deeply oversold levels on both our TIME and PRICE quantitative models. Our models are flashing a BUY signal.
• On January 30th Apple (AAPL US) will release its quarterly earnings: despite the stock’s current underperformance, most analysts remain optimistic about Apple’s future.
• Recently, US President’s Trump announced that Apple was planning a “massive investment” in the U.S. This was part of Trump’s initiative to accelerate major corporate investments in the country.

• I had a chance to speak to CompoSecure investor relations last week about its imminent spin-off (full notes below) of Resolute Holdings.
• The biggest takeaways are: 1) Resolute Holdings’ only M&A consulting client will be CompoSecure (I had initially thought it could/would focus on other clients).
• 2) The ultimate goal for Resolute is to be a high margin alternative asset manager. 3) Resolute is a taxable spin-off and so CMPO will not be “hyping” the spin-off given CMPO will have to pay taxes based on Resolute’s initiation valuation. 

• SailPoint, a pioneer and leader in identity industry with the best identity governance product, filed to go public in January.
• Thoma Bravo-backed technology company has a best-in-class product within a large market opportunity. They secure large enterprises and grow at scale.  
• SailPoint has completed its first IPO in 2017 and raised =$160M. Then, the company was reacquired by Thoma Bravo and now they plan to reportedly go public.