China vs USA – War of numbers

US delistings now very unlikely. The impasse over audit inspections by US regulators of US-listed Chinese companies seems to have been resolved in a clear sign that China has more to lose from delisting Chinese companies than the USA does. The row over audit inspections has been going on for more than ten years with the USA requiring that companies...

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Nvidia FQ2 2023 – The hangover

Crypto gives Nvidia a big headache. Nvidia reported difficult results and soft guidance as the hangover from the crypto party continues to be a big headache. FQ2 2023 revenues / EPS were $6.7bn / $0.51 in line with revised guidance but well below its forecasts made three months ago (see here). As expected, the main culprit was Gaming where revenues...

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Summer break – Back August 29th

RFM has decided to exchange sunshine and warmth for the pouring rain, low clouds and greenery of Scotland. Normal service will resume on August 29th. 

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WeRide – Txai hailing

WeRide has a long way to go. WeRide is running a test service in the United Arab Emirates but despite a pretty high placing in the California DMV data, experiencing it makes it very clear that it still has a long way to go. WeRide is a Chinese autonomous driving start-up that has partnered with the Abu Dhabi Department of...

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Unity – Love triangle

Two is a company, three is a crowd. AppLovin, a marketing and monetisation toolkit for app developers has offered to acquire Unity in a deal that looks defensive as it fears both the impact of greater vertical integration and the digital advertising slowdown on its ability to compete. AppLovin has both a set of marketing tools and a suite of...

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Nvidia Q3 2022 – Crypto crunch

Exiting miners hammer Nvidia’s numbers Nvidia issued a warning on its Q3 2022 performance as the crypto crash and subsequent winter have hammered demand for graphics cards that are used for mining crypto currency. Q2 2022 revenue / gross margins will be $6.7bn / 43.7% (+/- 50bp) a very far cry from guidance of $8.10bn / 65.1% and consensus which...

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Autonomous Autos – Sleight of hand

Baidu’s vehicles are not really driverless. Baidu, like Waymo and Cruise, has received a license to operate “driverless” vehicles on Chinese roads but the reality is that just because there is no one in the driver’s seat does not mean that there is no driver. Baidu now has permission to operate vehicles with no humans in the vehicle in Wuhan...

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Alibaba FQ1 2022 – Bottom bumble

Recovery is completely tied to the economy. A depressing set of results met with relief by the market is a sign that all of the downside is priced into the stock paving the way for a steady, but probably slow recovery that is going to take some time. FQ1 2023 revenues / EPS were RMB205.6bn / RMB1.06 just ahead of...

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Lucid Motors Q2 2022 – a gross problem.

Negative gross margins must be fixed at all costs. Lucid Motors reported awful Q2 2022 results as it suffers from negative gross margins and remains unable to fulfil the demand that it has making the stock look even more overvalued than it already is. Q2 2022 revenues / EPS were $97.3m / LOSS$0.33 way below estimates of $157.1m / LOSS$0.41...

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Airbnb & Uber – Tale of two marketplaces.

Airbnb Q2 2022 – Great company, bad stock. Airbnb reported good results and cash flow but concerns around growth hit sentiment which has obviously prompted the company to announce a buyback to prop up the shares. Q2 2022 revenue / EPS were $2.1bn / $0.56 pretty much in line with guidance of $2.1bn / $0.43. Bookings rose by 25% to...

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