Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Over 15 years analysing Japanese and Asian stocks from a long/short perspective

I focus on cyclically driven sectors such as Gaming, Factory Automation and Autos

An eclectic background as a long-short analyst, upper management at a financial data startup through its listing, and as the founder of a team analysing big/alternative data, all of which supports independent and differentiated views... we hope

An appreciation for Mathematics drives the development of a "Micro-Quantamental" process which can provide a data-driven, historically-informed and semi-automated foundation upon which to layer more qualitative and judgemental analysis, thus improving investment decision-making speed and accuracy

Japan/Asia Long-Short

Sony (6758) - PS Vue Subscriptions 450,000 as of April - Report

Sony (6758) How Good, Really, Was Its "Blow-Out" June Quarter?

Another Takeaway from the IPhone X - Consumer Electronics Price Inflation

Sony - HQ Plays Down Expectations as Divisional Bosses Getting Excited

Sony (6758) Investor Day: Management, It's Time to Start Shedding Light on Potential Growth Drivers

Japanese and Asian equity long/short strategies

Uzabase

Specialising in Japanese and Asian equity long/short strategies with a focus on rigorous, but targeted quantitative analysis to temper evaluations of company strategy, potential and vision. At Uzabase, our team of analysts provides coverage of industry dynamics with a local Asian flavour on Speeda, our financial information platform. Going forward we are aiming to channel our focus toward thematic research on emerging industries and company research.

Equity Bottom-Up

Improving profitability across its segments and a general return of vim and vigor to its product lineup have helped drive <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/563" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:563:1">Sony Corp (6758 JP)</a> up 25.6% in the just over two months since 14 Apr. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/companies/322" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="companies:322">Pelham Smithers Associates</a> have provided good coverage of the stock in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/sony-hq-plays-down-expectations-as-divisional-bosses-getting-excited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:10411">Sony - HQ Plays Down Expectations as Divisional Bosses Getting Excited</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/sony-6758-investor-day-management-it-s-time-to-start-shedding-light-on-potential-growth-drivers" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:11038">Sony (6758) Investor Day: Management, It’s Time to Start Shedding Light on Potential Growth Drivers</a>, and to follow up, we visited the company to focus on growth drivers and new products. While we were unable to decipher anything particularly new for the growth drivers - CMOS image sensors and PS4 expansion continue to be the largest drivers, we did come away feeling that the originality and creativity that used to infuse the company's products was definitively back.With that in mind, we highlight four products/services that we found to be indicative of Sony's resurgence as a creative force in the world of electronics:<ul><li>The Xperia XZ Premium Flagship, with its Super Slomo 960 FPS Camera Mode</li><li>the Nuro, internet connection service provided by So-Net that is raising its already world-leading speed from 2Gbps to 10Gbps</li><li>The A1 series OLED TVs with speakerless acoustic surfaces and Sony's X1 Extreme 4K HDR processor</li></ul>These products all offer something cutting edge, exciting and fun, harkening back to the Sony of yesteryear which gave birth to the walkman. While none of the products individually is likely to have an outsize impact on earnings, we feel the key to Sony as a stock is its ability to generate truly head-turning hit products. While we can't claim that any of these products is likely to reach the iconic status of something like the walkman, they follow on from previous successes such as the PS4, PSVR, mirrorless cameras and we believe the originality/quality of their functions could reinvigorate Sony's brand and return the company to its previous status as a trend-setter.The journey to this point has been long, with former CEO Howard Stringer playing a largely unheralded role in identifying the company's key issues and beginning the long process of establishing a foundation for recovery. With the previous silo structure which was considered a critical flaw of the company no longer in evidence, Kazuo Hirai has done a remarkable job of not just streamlining operations and restoring profitability but also creating a culture which is encouraging creative collaboration. Indeed, with many of the products above displaying some measure of technological cross-breeding, we are of the impression that the potential synergies between Sony's many electronics and media businesses which had tantalised for so long are starting to be realised.

Improving profitability across its segments and a general return of vim and vigor to its product lineup have helped drive Sony Corp (6758 JP) up 25.6% in the just over two months since 14 Apr. Pelham Smithers Associates have provided good coverage of the stock in Sony - HQ Plays Down Expectations as Divisional Bosses Getting Excited and Sony (6758) Investor Day: Management, It’s Time to Start Shedding Light on Potential Growth Drivers, and to follow up, we visited the company to focus on growth drivers and new products. While we were unable to decipher anything particularly new for the growth drivers - CMOS image sensors and PS4 expansion continue to be the largest drivers, we did come away feeling that the originality and creativity that used to infuse the company's products was definitively back.With that in mind, we highlight four products/services that we found to be indicative of Sony's resurgence as a creative force in the world of electronics:The Xperia XZ Premium Flagship, with its Super Slomo 960 FPS Camera Modethe Nuro, internet connection service provided by So-Net that is raising its already world-leading speed from 2Gbps to 10GbpsThe A1 series OLED TVs with speakerless acoustic surfaces and Sony's X1 Extreme 4K HDR processorThese products all offer something cutting edge, exciting and fun, harkening back to the Sony of yesteryear which gave birth to the walkman. While none of the products individually is likely to have an outsize impact on earnings, we feel the key to Sony as a stock is its ability to generate truly head-turning hit products. While we can't claim that any of these products is likely to reach the iconic status of something like the walkman, they follow on from previous successes such as the PS4, PSVR, mirrorless cameras and we believe the originality/quality of their functions could reinvigorate Sony's brand and return the company to its previous status as a trend-setter.The journey to this point has been long, with former CEO Howard Stringer playing a largely unheralded role in identifying the company's key issues and beginning the long process of establishing a foundation for recovery. With the previous silo structure which was considered a critical flaw of the company no longer in evidence, Kazuo Hirai has done a remarkable job of not just streamlining operations and restoring profitability but also creating a culture which is encouraging creative collaboration. Indeed, with many of the products above displaying some measure of technological cross-breeding, we are of the impression that the potential synergies between Sony's many electronics and media businesses which had tantalised for so long are starting to be realised.

ソニーが復活：スーパースローモーション、アコースティックサーフェス、そして世界最速インターネット