In today’s briefing:
- KT Corp: Excellent 2Q 2025 Earnings Driven by Market Share Gain and Improving AI/Cloud Businesses
- Taiwan Tech Weekly: Foxconn US$1bn USA Robotics Push; Samsung Doubles Down on US Fabs; Intel Crisis
- TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): Board Meeting Resolutions; 2nm Technology Information Leakage Issue.
- GRAB Holdings Riding A 19% GMV Surge – Can Its Super App Ecosystem Keep Momentum Alive?
- Indian Banks: Stick with Baroda and UBI on the Buy List, Downgrading Canara
- Kalyan Jewellers: Deleveraging “Pause,” Capital Absorption Rising, Contrasting Capital Allocation
- Nanya July Revenue Soars 31% MoM As Micron Revises Current Quarter Guide Up >5%
- Tencent Music (TME): 2Q25, Concert Revenue Booming, Margin Hitting Historical High
- [ACMR(ACMR US, BUY, TP US$30) Review]: 2Q25 Review: Missing Two Quarters but We Still Love It
- [Zai LAB (ZLAB US, BUY, TP US$40) Review]: Past Is Holding ZLAB Back but Future Is What Matters
KT Corp: Excellent 2Q 2025 Earnings Driven by Market Share Gain and Improving AI/Cloud Businesses
- The most important reason for KT’s excellent results in 2Q 2025 was due to the major hacking incident at SK Telecom in May 2025.
- The company’s growing AI business and successful real estate sales also contributed to the company’s improving results in 2Q 2025.
- KT is likely to benefit from higher profits and returns on capital in the next couple of years as the penetration of 5G service surpasses more than 80%.
Taiwan Tech Weekly: Foxconn US$1bn USA Robotics Push; Samsung Doubles Down on US Fabs; Intel Crisis
- Foxconn Tech invests US$1bn in U.S. robotics, AI, and smart manufacturing over 10 years, expanding into service robotics via RoboTemi stake.
- Samsung to surpass US$50bn in U.S. chip investments, adding US$7bn for advanced packaging to compete with TSMC and capture AI/HPC integration opportunities.
- Intel faces leadership crisis as CEO Lip Bu Tan’s strategy is criticized; U.S. policy and competitive pressures may accelerate market gains for TSMC and Samsung.
TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): Board Meeting Resolutions; 2nm Technology Information Leakage Issue.
- Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – ADR (TSM US) disclosed Board of Directors meeting resolutions today.
- Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – ADR (TSM US) 2nm technology manufacturing information leakage issue.
- Currently, only TSMC, Samsung, and Intel have achieved trial production at the 2nm node.
GRAB Holdings Riding A 19% GMV Surge – Can Its Super App Ecosystem Keep Momentum Alive?
- Grab Holdings’ second-quarter 2025 earnings reflected a mix of strong operational progress and notable challenges, painting a nuanced picture for investors evaluating the company’s prospects.
- The quarter showcased impressive momentum in user engagement, with group Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) continuing to rise and on-demand Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) posting 21% year-on-year growth in US dollar terms and 18% in constant currency.
- This growth underscores the platform’s increasing utilization and the loyalty of its user base.
Indian Banks: Stick with Baroda and UBI on the Buy List, Downgrading Canara
- We take profits on our Canara Bank buy recommendation, due to adverse credit quality trends, and we stick with our two high conviction buy names UBI and Bank of Baroda
- UBI ranks top in our proprietary scorecard, replacing Canara Bank; UBI has high earnings and dividend yields; it ranks highly on NPL coverage and it has a well-controlled write-off ratio
- Baroda remains our core value pick; it has attractive valuations and potential to expand returns which we expect to emerge over the medium term, especially given its control of write-offs
Kalyan Jewellers: Deleveraging “Pause,” Capital Absorption Rising, Contrasting Capital Allocation
- Management has paused its previously articulated plan to reduce debt by INR 300–400 crore.
- The pause defers balance‑sheet de‑risking and redirects internal cash toward a lean‑credit procurement pilot and a new regional‑brand roll‑out (inventory‑heavy upfront), raising working‑capital intensity just as gross‑margin mix is shifting.
- Near‑term FCF could compress despite strong topline; margin delivery needs to outpace capital absorption to sustain the rerating. Market reaction (‑9% on the day) shows low tolerance for capital‑allocation ambiguity.
Nanya July Revenue Soars 31% MoM As Micron Revises Current Quarter Guide Up >5%
- Nanya last week announced that revenues for the month of July amounted to NT$5.3 billion, an increase of 31.4% MoM, and an increase of 95% YoY,
- Micron this week revised upwards its guidance for the current quarter with a roughly $500 million increase in revenue, attributable primarily price increases for DDR5
- Customisation of Micron’s HBM4E base logic die is transforming their key customer relationships from commodity vendor to strategic ASIC design-like partner. That’s good for Micron…
Tencent Music (TME): 2Q25, Concert Revenue Booming, Margin Hitting Historical High
- In 2Q25, non-subscriber music revenue surged by 47% YoY and total revenue grew by 18% YoY.
- The operating margin hit the historical high since TME’s IPO.
- We believe the stock has an upside of 9% and a price target of US$27.60 for the year end 2025.
[ACMR(ACMR US, BUY, TP US$30) Review]: 2Q25 Review: Missing Two Quarters but We Still Love It
- ACMR reported C2Q25 top line, non-GAAP operating profit and GAAP net income (14%), (35%) and (17%) vs. our estimate, and (3.9%), (16%) and (9.9%) vs. consensus.
- However, company maintained full year revenue guidance of US$850-950 unchanged and raised long term revenue target by 33% to US$4bn;
- We keep rating and TP unchanged. ACMR is one of our TOP BUY’s.
[Zai LAB (ZLAB US, BUY, TP US$40) Review]: Past Is Holding ZLAB Back but Future Is What Matters
- Zai Lab reported C2Q15 top line, non-GAAP operating loss and GAAP net loss 1.5% above, 31% narrower and 38% narrower than our estimate, and 12% below,
- We cut ZEJULA’s peak sales by 12% due to sustained competition. We are also concerned on the slow ramp up of AUGTYRO, which will likely persist.
- However, ZLAB has several catalysts ahead, including Bemarituzumab, KarXT, and ZL1310. We keep TP unchanged and maintain BUY.
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