Daily Brief United States: Chagee Holdings, Apple , Ainos , Capri Holdings , Harley Davidson, American International Group, Devolver Digital, SES AI Corp, Levi Strauss & Co and more

• Chinese Tea Company is moving ahead with the IPO despite heavy Macro-Economic winds.
• The company is seeking up to $412m with a high-end pricing and already includes $205m worth of buying on the cover of the prospectus.
• There are. more questions than answers regarding this IPO due to the current uncertainty in the market. 

• Chagee Holdings (CHA US)  is looking to raise up to US$411m in its upcoming US IPO.
• It is a leading premium tea drinks brand, serving healthy and delicious freshly-made tea drinks.
• We have looked at the company’s past performance and provided our initial thoughts on valuations. In this note, we talk about the IPO pricing.

• Apple Inc. is facing one of the most turbulent moments in its recent history.
• Over the past week, the company has lost over $700 billion in market capitalization, relinquished its crown as the most valuable U.S. company to Microsoft, and seen its shares plummet by 23% across four trading sessions.
• The sell-off comes on the back of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, with President Donald Trump introducing a 125% tariff on Chinese imports—directly impacting Apple’s China-dependent supply chain.

• AI Nose for healthcare, industrials, and robotics. Ainos is digitizing smell with AI Nose to capture airborne chemical signatures, using AI-powered processes to immediately classify and identify scents in any environment.
• Initially focused on healthcare, Ainos is developing a women’s health test, Ainos Flora with AI Nose, in addition to an elderly care project with Japanese partners to assist caregivers in monitoring seniors.
• Ainos recently entered partnerships with ugo and ASE, expanding AI Nose development to robotics and industrial applications.

• Capri Holdings’ sale of Versace to Prada removes a structurally weak asset, shifting its balance sheet from net debt to net cash, simplifying its brand portfolio for sharper strategic focus.
• Post-Transaction, Capri trades at just 4.4x EBITDA despite becoming a leaner, debt-free luxury group with two globally recognized brands — a setup primed for significant multiple expansion and investor re-rating.
• A sum-of-the-parts valuation excluding Versace suggests Capri’s fair value is $30–33 per share, offering investors over 100% upside as the company pivots from portfolio fixer-upper to focused luxury contender.

• Harley-Davidson is navigating a critical crossroads as it searches for a new CEO to replace Jochen Zeitz, who recently announced plans to retire after five years at the helm.
• This leadership transition comes at a precarious time for the iconic motorcycle brand, which is grappling with a sustained decline in sales, intensifying macroeconomic pressures, and the looming threat of retaliatory tariffs—particularly from the European Union.
• In 2024, global retail sales dropped by 7%, with international sales falling a steep 13%, reflecting a broader downturn in discretionary spending.

• American Airlines is navigating a complex and turbulent operating environment as macroeconomic pressures, declining consumer confidence, and reduced corporate travel weigh heavily on the airline industry.
• While the broader sector has been battered by a steep drop in airline stock valuations—American Airlines itself has declined 24% in the past month alone—American has nonetheless posted a strong financial performance in recent quarters.
• In Q4, the carrier reported an adjusted pretax profit of $808 million and EPS of $0.86, beating guidance and contributing to a full-year adjusted pretax profit of $1.8 billion.

Devolver Digital’s H1 FY24 results saw a return to adjusted EBITDA profitability as the company and its peers adjusted to post-pandemic market conditions. The H224 results continued that trend and, with a higher proportion of royalty-free first-party intellectual property (IP) and higher-margin front catalogue products set for release this year, 2025 profits should be able to grow further. The Switch 2 release is another potential welcome boost for 2025, suggesting that consensus forecasts are relatively well underpinned in an otherwise challenging gaming market.

• SES announced on Tuesday that its 1Q25 revenue would be $5-5.8 million, in line with prior guidance (see our summary note from last quarter).
• At that time, the company said that FY25 revenue would be $15- 25 million.
• In it 1Q25 preview, SES sighted the same revenue streams it had previously called out: materials. discovery for EV batteries, sales of its 2170 Li-ion cells into the drone space, and the beginning of the commercialization of its technology for BESS for data centers.

• Levi Strauss & Co. reported strong first-quarter fiscal 2025 results, exhibiting growth across key financial metrics amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment.
• The company’s strategic shift towards a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model has begun to bear fruit, as evidenced by a 9% increase in organic net revenue, primarily driven by a 12% rise in DTC sales.
• These results showcase the impact of successful new store openings, positive comparable growth, and robust e-commerce performance.