Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Dialogue. Axon & Coupang Update and more

• Axon reported strong Q2 earnings with 30% year-over-year growth and strong performance in both connected devices and software segments
• The company has been exceeding growth expectations, with 14 consecutive quarters of over 25% growth and 6 consecutive quarters of over 30% growth
• Axon has been focusing on leveraging AI technology to improve efficiency for police officers and drive growth in their software and services segment

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• Autodesk, a prominent player in the design and make software space, has demonstrated robust second-quarter performance for fiscal year 2026.
• The company exceeded expectations across several key financial metrics, including revenue, non-GAAP earnings per share, billings, non-GAAP operating margin, and free cash flow.
• Consequently, Autodesk has raised its guidance for the entire fiscal year, highlighting its optimistic outlook despite an uncertain geopolitical, macroeconomic, and policy environment.

• DICK’S Sporting Goods recently reported a strong performance in its second quarter of 2025, showcasing a 5% increase in comparable store sales, supported by growth in average ticket size and transactions.
• This builds upon the company’s past success, including a 4.5% comp increase in the previous year and a 2% increase in 2023.
• One of the notable highlights was the expansion of gross margins by over 30 basis points, underscoring effective inventory and pricing strategies.

• As geopolitical pressures and regulatory hurdles continue to stifle Nvidia’s ability to deliver its most powerful AI processors to Chinese buyers, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is rapidly stepping in to fill the void.
• The Chinese tech conglomerate has developed a new AI chip that is both more versatile and domestically manufactured—breaking its prior dependency on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
• This new chip, tailored for a broad range of AI inference tasks, is currently in testing and could offer Chinese enterprises a viable alternative to Nvidia’s downgraded H20 processor, which was specifically built for the Chinese market under export restrictions.

• Xiaomi reported C2Q25 top line, non-IFRS operating profit and IFRS net income (2.3%), (0.5%) and 41% vs. our estimates, and in-line, (14%) and 31% vs. consensus. 
• Xiaomi’s growth strategy is to replicate its brand success from smartphones to appliances and EV’s and from China to the rest of the world. 
• We raise TP from HK$56 to 61 and place Xiaomi into TOP BUY list.

• Affirm Holdings, Inc. delivered a robust performance in its fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, marking significant progress in several key areas.
• The company reported a record in key metrics, despite it not being the traditional peak quarter, indicating strong business momentum.
• Affirm’s growth is attributed to its continued focus on underwriting precision and consumer engagement, alongside significant contributions from its 0% APR products that are effectively attracting new customers and encouraging repeat usage.

• Aon plc, a global leader in insurance brokerage and consulting services, is undergoing strategic realignment that has reignited acquisition speculation.
• On September 3, 2025, the company confirmed it would divest the majority of its NFP wealth businesses—namely Wealthspire Advisors, Fiducient Advisors, and Newport Private Wealth—to private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for approximately $2.7 billion.
• The transaction, expected to close in late Q4, will yield around $2.2 billion in after-tax proceeds and remove $127 million in trailing twelve-month EBITDA from Aon’s books.

• We initiate coverage on Info Tech Systems (Info Tech) with a Buy recommendation and a DCF-based target price of SGD 1.17 (33% potential upside).
• Info Tech should generate revenue CAGR of 6.2% in FY25-28 and is likely to generate SGD 18 mn in EBITDA in FY25.
• Info Tech runs a Singapore-based SaaS business targeted at SMEs.

• Alibaba (BABA) reported C2Q25 top line, non-GAAP op. profit and GAAP net income (4.3%), (10%) and 7.7% vs. our est. and (2.2%), 20% and 9.5% vs. cons.. 
• As stated in our previous reports, we believe O2O e-commerce will constitute ~20% of China’s e-commerce and BABA will capture ~50%. 
• We maintain BABA’s TOP BUY classification and raise TP to US$181

• Having lost out to Trial in acquiring Seiyu, PPI’s new president last month announced an aggressive new strategy. 
• PPI will hugely expand through a roll out of a completely new chain of up to 300 supermarkets and the addition of 250 more Don Quijote stores.
• Don Quijote continues to outperform thanks to strong support from both locals looking for cheaper essentials and inbound tourists, as well as improving performance abroad.