Pelham Smithers Associates Ltd

Founded in 2009, Pelham Smithers Associates (PSA) provides market intelligence on Asian technology, focusing in particular on Japan. The industries covered by our team of specialists are: consumer electronics, telecomms, pharmaceuticals, internet, electronic parts and materials, automotive technology, retail and capital goods. 

PSA produces both company and sector reports. The focus of PSA’s research is to identify winners and losers as new technologies impact the top and bottom lines of corporations. Critical to our research is the clear explanation of how these new technologies work and how they impact companies and industries. 

The founding partners have worked closely together for twenty years and the team has more than doubled in size since 2012. 

Julie Boote
  • Julie Boote

PSA Tire & Rubber: Bridgestone (5108 JT) Opportunities and Risks for F...

Bridgestone is facing another challenging year, with rising competition from Asian imports, higher expenses and increasing raw material prices. At the same time, the tire maker is successfully expanding its high-margin product line-up and starting to benefit from restructuring measures taken in the last few years. Analyst Julie Boote evaluates key factors determining the profit outlook, and how markets might react to the latest developments.

Joel Scheiman ... (+4)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 24 Mar: Market lower despite property stock interest / Video...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Nia Dokova and Julie Boote Tags: Sumitomo Realty (8830 JT), Mitsui Fudosan (8801 JT), Konami (9766 JT), CyberAgent (4751 JT), Oracle Japan (4716 JT), Finatext Holdings (4419 JT), Seven & I (3382 JT), Couche-Tard (ATD CN), Taiyo Holdings (4626 JT), Yamaichi Electronic (6941 JT), Itoham Yonekyu (2296 JT), Itfor Inc (4743 JT), Iwai Cosmo (8707 JT), Miroku Information Service (9928 JT), Monex Group (8698 JT), Nishi-Nippon Railroad (9...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+5)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA Today 21 Mar: Winning streak extended by banks / Feb CPI / US Feb ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Nintendo (7974 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT) DeNA (2432 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Mercari (4385 JT), GMO Payment (3769 JT), BASE Inc (4477 JT), Melco Holdings (6676 JT), Kakaku (2371 JT), Capcom (9697 JT), Take Two (TTWO US), Embracer (EMBRACB SS), Microsoft (MSFT US), Sega Sammy (6460 JT), Valve (pvt), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Hon Hai (2317 TT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Tesla (TSL...

Thao Nguyen
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA Broadline Retail: Mercari (4385 JT) – Empowering Ecosystem

PSA Broadline Retail: Mercari (4385 JT) – Empowering Ecosystem with New Services Mercari is Japan's largest marketplace app, and is expanding with new services in fintech, payments, and on-demand jobs, etc., trading on attractive valuations.

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+7)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA Today 19 Mar: Contrarian drift / Where tech interest is focused / ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen, Lindsay Whipp, Hiroyuki Terada and Nia Dokova Tags: Nvidia (NVDA US), Toyota (7203 JT), Nidec (6594 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Disco (6146 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), Tokyo Electron (8035 JT), MHI (7011 JT), Mitsubishi Corp (8058 JT), JX Advanced Metals (5016 JT), KHI (7012 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT) Capcom (9697 JT), Konami (9766 JT), Square Enix (9684 JT), Sony (675...

Julie Boote
  • Julie Boote

Trump Set to Pull out of Free Trade Agreement with Korea – Unfair fo...

President Trump threatens to raise pulling out of the Free Trade Agreement with Korea, KORUS, when he discusses the issue with his advisers next week. This follows complaints by Mr Trump earlier this year when he noted that American automakers struggle to sell cars in Korea, while Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors seem to be having an easy ride in the US.In our view, there is little to complain about, if you look at the trade data and sales developments in detail: Both countries now offer free entry...

Julie Boote
  • Julie Boote

PSA Autos: Time to Panic about China EV Sales Quota? – Automakers Ho...

The German newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Tuesday August 29th that China’s regulators will soon release some final, softened rules regarding 2018 sales quotas for electric vehicles (EVs). The currently-known draft outlines that OEMs have to generate ‘green credits’ equivalent to 8% of their total auto sales in 2018 (10% in 2019, 12% in 2020). For instance, an automaker selling 1mil cars a year in China would need to generate 80,000 credits; credit points are highe...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Global Strategy: Have We Passed Peak FANG?

The stock market loves a collective. Ever since the "Nifty 50" in the early '70s, groups of winners have been bandied together. In the 1990s, we had the "dot coms", stocks that were supposedly winners from Web 1.0. As that was going on, Japan had its own "Nifty 50" of blue chip export names. In the 2000s, we had the Four Horsemen, a group that has morphed, a decade later, into FANG. One of the first signs of difficulty with a collective is when the market can't decide on the components. With a l...

Joel Scheiman
  • Joel Scheiman

Fujifilm Holdings (4901) FY17 Q1 Results Meeting – Cameras Push Earn...

Key Points Fujifilm explained at its earnings meeting that the Imaging and Information Segments combined beat its guidance thanks to strong momentum for cameras but made no changes to its guidance. Documents (Fuji Xerox) again appeared to disappoint, although management noted that Q1 results were only slightly below internal targets. Management appears confident that conditions will improve by H2, boosted in part by its supply of more than ten new office product models this year to the newly...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today Aug 14th: Strong Yen/June GDP +1.0% QoQ, +4.0% Annualized/To...

Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, William Nestuk and Thao Nguyen Nikkei ¥19,537.10 (-¥192.64 / -0.98%); Topix ¥1,599.06 (-¥18.19 / -1.12%); ¥/$109.56Tags: Daifuku (6383), Yaskawa (6506), Toshiba (6502), Western Digital (WDC US), SK Hynix (000660 KS), Hon Hai (2317 TT), Sony (6758), Recruit Holdings (6098), Trend Micro (4704), istyle (3660), Avex (7860), Ferrotec (6890)Strong yen sends market lower after holidayNew highs for Yaskawa and Daifuku – again June GDP up 1.0% QoQ, 4.0% annual...

Joel Scheiman ... (+4)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 24 Mar: Market lower despite property stock interest / Video...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Nia Dokova and Julie Boote Tags: Sumitomo Realty (8830 JT), Mitsui Fudosan (8801 JT), Konami (9766 JT), CyberAgent (4751 JT), Oracle Japan (4716 JT), Finatext Holdings (4419 JT), Seven & I (3382 JT), Couche-Tard (ATD CN), Taiyo Holdings (4626 JT), Yamaichi Electronic (6941 JT), Itoham Yonekyu (2296 JT), Itfor Inc (4743 JT), Iwai Cosmo (8707 JT), Miroku Information Service (9928 JT), Monex Group (8698 JT), Nishi-Nippon Railroad (9...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+5)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA Today 21 Mar: Winning streak extended by banks / Feb CPI / US Feb ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Nintendo (7974 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT) DeNA (2432 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Mercari (4385 JT), GMO Payment (3769 JT), BASE Inc (4477 JT), Melco Holdings (6676 JT), Kakaku (2371 JT), Capcom (9697 JT), Take Two (TTWO US), Embracer (EMBRACB SS), Microsoft (MSFT US), Sega Sammy (6460 JT), Valve (pvt), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Hon Hai (2317 TT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Tesla (TSL...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+7)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA Today 19 Mar: Contrarian drift / Where tech interest is focused / ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen, Lindsay Whipp, Hiroyuki Terada and Nia Dokova Tags: Nvidia (NVDA US), Toyota (7203 JT), Nidec (6594 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Disco (6146 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), Tokyo Electron (8035 JT), MHI (7011 JT), Mitsubishi Corp (8058 JT), JX Advanced Metals (5016 JT), KHI (7012 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT) Capcom (9697 JT), Konami (9766 JT), Square Enix (9684 JT), Sony (675...

Joel Scheiman ... (+5)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA Today 18 Mar: Positive headway made / Will Nintendo's next console...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen and Nia Dokova Tags: Toyota (7203 JT), Honda (7267 JT), Resona Holdings (8308 JT), Tokio Marine Holdings (8766 JT), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A US), Mitsubishi (8058 JT), Marubeni (8002 JT), Nvidia (NVDA US), Intel (INTC US), Renesas (6723 JT), Socionext (6526 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Tokyo Seimitsu (7729 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Gift Holdings (9279 JT), Zenkoku Ho...

Julie Boote ... (+4)
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 17 Mar: Positive news both domestically and abroad / Video g...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, William Nestuk and Lindsay Whipp Tags: MHI (7011 JT), KHI (7012 JT), IHI (7013 JT), Mitsubishi Electric (6503 JT), Japan Steel Works (5631 JT), Ryoyu Systems (4685 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Renesas (6723 JT), Alt Inc (260A JT), SRE Holdings (2980 JT), PKSHA (3993 JT), Smaregi (4431 JT), Pole to Win Holdings (3657 JT), Macbee Planet (7095 JT), Recruit (6098 JT), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A US), Mitsui & Co (8031 JT), Mitsubishi Corp (805...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

The PSA Must Read Weekly Research Round-Up (week to Aug 10)

Inside the PSA Japan Weekly Research Round-Up you have:The Weekly Comment by Pelham Smithers (available upon request):Ahead of August 14th’s expected GDP number, we discuss Japan’s inflation story. Reports / Flash Notes Published This Week: Headlines at a Glance (full reports available upon request):1. Japanese Politics – Abe’s Waning Popularity 2. Internet: Rakuten (4755) Q2 FY17 – A Decent Quarter but the Risk of Profit Volatility is High 3. Industrial Machinery: IHI (7013) – Still Engine-Driv...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today Aug 10th - Long week-end ahead/Toshiba files accounts/China'...

Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote, William Nestuk and Thao Nguyen Nikkei ¥19,729.74 (-¥8.97 / -0.05%); Topix ¥1,617.25 (-¥0.65 / -0.04%); ¥/$109.95Tags: Shiseido (4911), Mitsui Mining & Smelting (5706), Japan Display (6740), W-Scope (6619), Yaskawa (6506), Daifuku (6383), Toshiba (6502), Western Digital (WDC US), SK Hynix (000660 KS), Honda (7267), Toyota (7203), Nissan (7201), Mazda (7261), Aisin Seiki (7259), Denso (6902), Koito (7276), IHI (7013), DeNA (2432)...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today Aug 9: North Korea/Olympus disenchantment/SoftBank questions...

PSA Today Aug 9: Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, William Nestuk and Thao Nguyen  Nikkei ¥19,738.71 (-¥257.30 / -1.32%); Topix ¥1,617.90 (-¥17.42 / -1.07%); ¥/$109.98 Tags: Olympus (7733), SoftBank (9984), Sprint (S US), T-Mobile US (TMUS US), Charter Communications (CHTR US), Dish Network (DISH US), Gumi (3903), Square Enix (9684), Honda (7267), Suzuki (7269), Yamaha Motors (7272), Harley Davidson (HOG US), Daifuku (6383), Yaskawa (6506), Nabtesco (6268), SMC (6273), IHI (7...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

Japanese Politics – Abe’s Waning Popularity

In October 2012, just as Shinzo Abe was stepping up to the plate as the new leader of the then opposition party, the LDP, a relatively unknown former cabinet minister, Fumio Kishida, took over as head of the Koga faction. While factions are a feature of any political party, they were hard-coded into the LDP by the multi-seat constituency system, whereby you could run up to five candidates per district, with a view to winning up to five seats. As a consequence, while seemingly aligned in the Diet...

Julie Boote
  • Julie Boote

US Auto Sales June – The Japanese Big 3 Outperform

Key Points   US auto sales fall 3% YoY in June, with light truck sales up 4.1% YoY and passenger car sales down 13.2% YoY SAAR 16.51 mil, lowest since Apr 2005 Lower replacement demand, lower fleet sales, higher interest rates and increasing competition from cheaper second-hand cars continued to weigh on the auto market Incentives by the Japanese are higher than the Detroit 3   Toyota (7201) sales +2.1%, Honda (7267) +0.8%, Nissan (7201) +2.0% vs the Detroit 3 (which are all down)   Sub...

Julie Boote
  • Julie Boote

Honda (7267) FY17 Outlook – Relative Position to Improve under Chall...

Key Points  Honda produced strong results in FY16; partly due to the reversal of Takata (7312)-related recall expenses, but also on high production cost savings and positive volume contributions.   Honda’s FY17 guidance was below market consensus, on the back of cautious currency assumptions, expectations for sharply rising raw material prices, and deteriorating sales conditions in the US.  Although we agree that the market environment is becoming more challenging for automakers in general,...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

Strategy: As the Nikkei Threatens to Break Out – What Stocks to Focu...

So far in 2017, Japanese equities have been involved in something of a tug-of-war. The oscillation in the yen / dollar has impacted on market direction; yet with each oscillation, there has been a steady creep forward; Topix is currently up 3.5% year-to-date in yen terms, and 5.0% in dollar terms.   That the market is up despite: The dollar having started the year at 117.55 and is actually down slightly as of March 10th, to 115.39, and The fact that foreigners have sold US$5bil of Japanese...

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