Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: AEM Holdings: Another CEO and more

• AEM (AEM SP) announced a new CEO, Samer Kabbani, would take over with immediate effect.
• The previous CEO, Amy Leong, had only been in the job for about a year. The rapid change of CEO does not instill confidence going into 2Q25 results next week.
• New CEO’s frequently kitchen sink upon their appointment, will Samer continue this trend?

• Ecopro BM reported net profit of 34.3 billion won (up 397% YoY and TB YoY in 2Q25). Profits from its Indonesian investment also contributed to earnings, reaching 40.5 billion won.
• The European EV market started to turn around in 2Q 2025 driven by OEM new car launches and customer inventory normalization compared to the end of 2024.
• There are increasing signs of a positive turnaround at Ecopro BM. The company’s excellent results in 2Q 2025 are likely to result in higher earnings revisions by the consensus.

• Unicharm Indonesia looks very attractive on the basis os excess cash on its books and cash flow it generates. Trades at <1x EV?EBDITA
• Its number 1 diaper and feminine pads company which is facing earnings headwinds
• Any plans by the management to return cash, consumer demand recovery can lead to rerating in the stock.

• Tesla & Samsung just inked an eight year, $16.5 billion foundry deal set to run from July 24, 2025 through December 31, 2033.
• Had Intel snagged this deal, it would have been a lifesaver for the company. Not getting it likely triggered the updated “Risk Factors” section in their latest 10K.
• This isn’t Intel playing politics, there’s no point. It’s LBT laying it on the line for investors. Continued investment in 14A is no longer a given. It’s that simple…

• Luckin reported C2Q25 revenue 9%/11% higher than our est./cons., and non-GAAP OP 37%/17% higher than our est./cons., driven by the extra demand from food delivery platforms’ promotional campaigns. 
• As we now expect the food delivery war to persist, we raise Luckin’s C2H25 revenue/OP estimate by 6%/18% and raise the TP to US$45.
• Luckin, however, managed margin and expenses well to deliver the profit beat;

• Nextracker, a provider of advanced solar tracking systems, reported its financial performance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, showcasing both strengths and underlying challenges.
• The company achieved a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 20% to $864 million, buoyed by strong global demand and robust operational execution.
• Adjusted EBITDA similarly grew by 23% to $215 million, representing an EBITDA margin of 25%, a 100 basis point improvement from the prior year.

• Anil Ambani is being investigated by the ED for a massive INR 17,000 crore loan fraud case involving Reliance Group companies.
• The case centers on allegations of fund diversion and financial irregularities related to loans from a consortium of nearly 20 public and private banks.
• The investigation is being conducted under the PMLA, which involves even arrest and a parallel probe by SEBI into alleged fund diversion by Reliance Infrastructure.

• July 2025 saw significant buying by promoters and key management in 14 companies, signaling insider confidence across diverse sectors.
• Engineering, Pharmaceuticals, Consumer, Infrastructure, and Financials stood out with consistent insider purchases.
• Notable Companies:Shoppers Stop (SHOP IN),Anup Engineering (ANUP IN), D.B. Corp Ltd (DBCL IN) , La Opala Rg Ltd (LOG IN) , and Paisalo Digital (PAISALO IN) saw aggressive accumulation.

EOS Optic Systems has announced a landmark order. The group has been developing High Energy Laser Weapons (HELW) systems to expand on its traditional kinetic systems for a number of years. The €71.4m order provides a clear validation of the group’s strategy and technology as well as an income stream for the next three years.

• We stick with Hana Financial as our sole buy in Korean banks; even though it does not top our proprietary scorecard, it remains attractively valued and its returns are improving
• We downgrade Woori to a neutral from a buy, with Woori now trading at a PBV premium to Hana; historically, this has been an indicator of future poor share performance
• KB Financial ranks top in our scorecard; KB is one watch, but remains a neutral due to limited appeal in terms of valuation