In today’s briefing:
- Margin Call at 2nm: What TSMC’s Price Hike Means for the Chip Ecosystem
- Douzone Bizon Situation: TOB Setup Looks Weak; Risks Remain, but Still a Tactical Angle in Play
- Pine Labs IPO – RHP Updates and Thoughts on Valuation
- CMTX IPO Book Building Results Analysis
- Microsoft’s Q3 Earnings: How A Strategic AI Upgrade Could Trigger a Cloud Supercycle!
- Hong Kong Single Stock Options Weekly (Nov 03–07): Growing Split Between Old and New Economy Sectors
- WT Micro GDR Early Look – Not a Small One to Digest but Last Offering Did Well
- Meta Platforms Q3 Earnings: Why Advertisers Are Calling Advantage+ a Game Changer!
- Cognizant Technology Solutions: How Large-Deal Momentum & Talent Stabilization Are Supporting Revenue Trajectory?
- eBay Live Growth Explodes 5X – Can It Beat Amazon at Its Own Game?
Margin Call at 2nm: What TSMC’s Price Hike Means for the Chip Ecosystem
- TSMC’s advanced-node wafer costs are rising sharply, with 2nm pricing now 50% above 3nm and multi-year price hikes expected; margin pressures likely for fabless players like Qualcomm, MediaTek, and AMD.
- U.S. fab expansion eroding TSMC’s cost advantage; production reportedly 30–50% more expensive than in Taiwan. This opens the door for Intel and Samsung as geopolitical and cost dynamics shift.
- Presently, TSMC remains irreplaceable in yield and process leadership, but one key moat may no longer be unchallenged; foundry competition to reshape over the next three years.
Douzone Bizon Situation: TOB Setup Looks Weak; Risks Remain, but Still a Tactical Angle in Play
- EQT appears to be focused on IRR, prioritizing integration over equity; TOB looks low-return, rights issue chatter spooked markets today, so TOB-driven positioning isn’t realistic near term.
- EQT also faces risks: FSS cap raise approval and a relatively light 34.85% stake limiting exit flexibility. Still, there’s a tactical angle in play.
- EQT skipping TOB, but stealthy on-screen buys could spark a flow bounce; local market still eyes short-term setup trade on gradual stake-building.
Pine Labs IPO – RHP Updates and Thoughts on Valuation
- Pine Labs is now looking to raise up to US$450m in its upcoming India IPO.
- Pine Labs (PL) is a fintech firm focused on digitizing commerce through digital payments and issuing solutions for merchants, consumer brands and enterprises, and financial institutions.
- We have looked at the company’s past performance in our earlier notes. In this note we talk about the RHP updates and provide our thoughts on valuations.
CMTX IPO Book Building Results Analysis
- CMTX finalized its IPO price at 60,500, the high end of the IPO price range. The book building process saw participation from 2,423 institutions. Demand ratio was 756.19 to 1.
- Our base case valuation of CMTX is implied market cap of 1.0 trillion won or 106,847 won per share (65% higher than the IPO price).
- Given the excellent upside, we have a Positive View of this IPO. The 71.8% shares that are under lock-up periods is high and this suggests a very bullish sign.
Microsoft’s Q3 Earnings: How A Strategic AI Upgrade Could Trigger a Cloud Supercycle!
- Microsoft reported a robust financial performance for its fiscal year 2026 first quarter, underscoring its leadership in the burgeoning cloud and AI sectors.
- The company’s revenue reached $77.7 billion, an 18% increase from the previous year, driven significantly by Microsoft Cloud, which generated $49.1 billion, up 26% year-over-year.
- This growth was attributed to strong demand for Azure and AI-driven solutions, particularly through strategic partnerships like that with OpenAI.
Hong Kong Single Stock Options Weekly (Nov 03–07): Growing Split Between Old and New Economy Sectors
- Markets steadied in North America suggesting a firmer open for Hong Kong stock on Monday.
- Hong Kong market breadth improved notably, suggesting broader participation despite uneven performance across sectors.
- Option activity eased slightly, though Call demand remained steady relative to overall volume.
WT Micro GDR Early Look – Not a Small One to Digest but Last Offering Did Well
- WT Microelectronics (3036 TT) is looking to raise up to US$450m in its upcoming global depository receipts offering. The firm is also looking to raise another US$350m via convertible bonds.
- In mid Oct 2025, WT Micro announced its board’s resolution to issue between 65-90m common shares via a GDR offering.
- Similar to previous GDR listings, the deal is a long drawn out process with the firm required to jump through a number of board/shareholder/regulatory approval loops.
Meta Platforms Q3 Earnings: Why Advertisers Are Calling Advantage+ a Game Changer!
- Meta Platforms, Inc. recently reported its financial performance for the third quarter of 2025.
- The company showcased robust user engagement across its suite of applications, with 3.5 billion people using one or more Meta apps daily.
- Instagram reported an impressive 3 billion monthly active users, marking a significant milestone.
Cognizant Technology Solutions: How Large-Deal Momentum & Talent Stabilization Are Supporting Revenue Trajectory?
- Cognizant Technology Solutions recently reported their Q3 2025 results, showcasing significant performance that suggests both enhancements in their operational capabilities and efforts to position themselves within the burgeoning AI landscape.
- Revenue for the quarter reached $5.4 billion, reflecting a 6.5% increase year-over-year in constant currency.
- This growth marks the fifth consecutive quarter of organic revenue increase, highlighting the company’s robust performance across multiple sectors and geographies.
eBay Live Growth Explodes 5X – Can It Beat Amazon at Its Own Game?
- eBay’s third-quarter financial performance for 2025 highlighted a balance of strengths and areas for potential improvement.
- The company’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew by 8% year-over-year, amounting to $20.1 billion, and revenue increased by over 8% to $2.82 billion.
- Furthermore, non-GAAP earnings per share rose over 14% to $1.36.
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