In today’s briefing:
- LG Corp Plans to Buy 250 Billion Won of LG Chem and LG Electronics + 2 Major LG Group IPOs in 2025
- BYD (1211 HK): Vehicle Deliveries Up by 40% in 2024
- JPM – Exceptional Core Income Strength, ALM Is Excellent, HFD for US Banks Supports Outlook
- Coway: Doubling Total Shareholder Returns to 40% of Consolidated Net Income
- AutoZone Inc.: A Tale Of Supply Chain Optimization and Tariff Management! – Major Drivers
- Sarla Performance Fibers – India’s Prominent Player in Man Made Textile Yarn – Key Growth Drivers
- Kaken Pharmaceutical (4521 JP): Johnson Deal Is Good For Future, But For Now Bleak H2 Ahead
- Tech Supply Chain Tracker (07-Jan-2025): ASML CEO visits TSMC next week.
- Why Does JSW Energy’s Battery Foray Go into Deep Trouble?
- Nike’s Shocking Struggles: Will CEO Elliott Hill’s Turnaround Strategy Work?
LG Corp Plans to Buy 250 Billion Won of LG Chem and LG Electronics + 2 Major LG Group IPOs in 2025
- On 6 January, LG Corp announced that it plans to purchase 250 billion won worth of LG Electronics and LG Chem from 6 January to 7 March 2025.
- The share buybacks would represent 1.5% and 0.7% of LG Chem and LG Electronics’ market cap, respectively.
- Our base case NAV valuation analysis of LG Corp suggests implied NAV of 14.7 trillion won or NAV per share of 93,430 won, which is 25% higher than current price.
BYD (1211 HK): Vehicle Deliveries Up by 40% in 2024
- BYD’s deliveries grew by 51% YoY in December 2024 and 41% in the year 2024.
- The Brazil event will slow down overseas expansion, but overseas deliveries account for only 10% of total vehicles.
- We believe the stock has an upside of 39% and a price target of HK$356 for the next twelve months.
JPM – Exceptional Core Income Strength, ALM Is Excellent, HFD for US Banks Supports Outlook
- There are few large US banks where quarterly net interest income is more than 1.6x higher now on average than in late FY19 and early FY20
- JPM demonstrates some of the best asset-liability management (ALM) of any major bank in the US
- Other risks and parts of the business appear to be very well managed too, including credit risk and operating costs
Coway: Doubling Total Shareholder Returns to 40% of Consolidated Net Income
- Coway announced a significantly higher total shareholder return plan, nearly doubling total shareholder returns of consolidated net income from current 20% to about 40% in the next three years.
- Coway has low valuation multiples. It is currently trading at EV/EBITDA of 4.1x, P/E of 8.1x, and P/B of 1.4x based on 2025 consensus earnings estimates.
- We believe that the combination of improved shareholder returns and low valuation multiples are likely to lead to outperformance of Coway versus the market in the next 6-12 months.
AutoZone Inc.: A Tale Of Supply Chain Optimization and Tariff Management! – Major Drivers
- AutoZone’s first quarter results for 2025 present a mixed bag of outcomes shaped by challenging economic conditions and strategic focus on growth initiatives, both domestically and internationally.
- The overall sales for the quarter grew by 2.1% year-over-year, reaching $4.3 billion, with a marginal improvement in overall same-store sales, up by 1.8%.
- Within the U.S., the company experienced subdued growth in domestic same-store sales at 0.3% and a 3.2% rise in commercial sales.
Sarla Performance Fibers – India’s Prominent Player in Man Made Textile Yarn – Key Growth Drivers
- Sarla Performance Fibers Limited is engaged in the manufacturing and export of high-performance polyester and nylon yarns.
- Increasing capacity utilisation towards higher value-added products, such as Nylon 6 & 66 and high-tenacity yarn, is expected to boost revenue and improve operating margin.
- A valuation re-rating is also possible if the return metrics (RoE, RoCE) improve as the utilisation level rise.
Kaken Pharmaceutical (4521 JP): Johnson Deal Is Good For Future, But For Now Bleak H2 Ahead
- Kaken Pharmaceutical (4521 JP) enters into a license agreement with J&J for the global development, manufacturing, and commercialization of a STAT6 program, which is being developed by Kaken.
- Kaken will advance KP-723 to the completion of Phase I clinical trials, after which J&J will take over. Kaken will receive an upfront payment of $30M from J&J.
- The deal is a boost for future revenue flow but offers no near-term respite for revenue loss from NHI drug price revision and generic competition for top selling products.
Tech Supply Chain Tracker (07-Jan-2025): ASML CEO visits TSMC next week.
- ASML CEO and delegation to visit TSMC, showcasing collaboration in semiconductor industry
- US adds 13 firms, majority Chinese, to entity list amid ongoing tensions
- Samsung Display to unveil 18.1-inch foldable OLED panel at CES 2025, showcasing advancements in display technology
Why Does JSW Energy’s Battery Foray Go into Deep Trouble?
- JSW Energy faces a significant regulatory setback with the rejection of its proposed tariff for a 500 MW/1000 MWh Battery Energy Storage System project by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
- This decision highlights the vulnerability of renewable energy ventures to regulatory changes, potentially leading to project delays, tariff renegotiations, and broader market uncertainty, which could impact India’s renewable energy goals.
- The impact of this could be multiple ripple effects including project delays, financial loss, viability concerns of battery storage business.
Nike’s Shocking Struggles: Will CEO Elliott Hill’s Turnaround Strategy Work?
- Nike Inc. is at a pivotal moment as new CEO Elliott Hill endeavors to reverse a persistent sales slump and restore the company’s dominance in the highly competitive sportswear market.
- Hill, who returned to Nike after a three-decade career with the company, has pledged to refocus on sports-centric innovation and strengthen the brand’s core offerings.
- However, his task is compounded by significant missteps from his predecessor, John Donahoe, and mounting competitive threats that threaten Nike’s market position.
💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
Sign Up for Free
The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network
- ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
- ✓ Personalised Alerts
- ✓ Custom Watchlists
- ✓ Company Data and News
- ✓ Events & Webinars
