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. 

Joel Scheiman ... (+5)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 31 July: Rates stand pat, results perk up / Macro round-up /...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, William Nestuk and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Kyocera (6971 JT), Astellas (4503 JT), Panasonic (6752 JT), Disco (6146 JT), Screen Holdings (7735 JT), Daiichi Sankyo (4568 JT), JCR Pharmaceuticals (4552 JT), Sanwa Holdings (5929 JT), Yamato Kogyo (5444 JT), Anritsu (6754 JT), Wacom (6727 JT), Capcom (9697 JT), ARE Holdings (5857 JT), Nippon Sanso (4091 JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), Furukawa Electric (5801 JT), SEI (5802 JT), SBI ...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+6)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 30 July: BOJ rate decision tomo / Q1s for Capcom, tech names...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote, William Nestuk, Thao Nguyen and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Shimano (7309 JT), Keyence (6861 JT), NEC Corp (6701 JT), NRI (4307 JT), Fujitsu (6702 JT), TIS (3626 JT), Hitachi (6501 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Corning (GLW US), Fujikura (5803 JT), Sumitomo Pharma (4506 JT), Capcom (9697 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Tencent (700 HK), Take Two (TTWO US), Anritsu (6754 JT), Panasonic (6752 JT), Fujitsu (6702 JT), Kyocera (6971 JT),...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+6)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 29 July: A slide / Bank of Japan in July / Chugai, A's D and...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote, William Nestuk, Lindsay Whipp and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Taiyo Yuden (6976 JT), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JT), Mazda (7261 JT), Shimizu (1803 JT), Taisei (1801 JT), Kajima (1812 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Lasertec (6920 JT), Tokuyama (4043 JT), Sumco (3436 JT), Nitto Denko (6988 JT), Screen Holdings (7735 JT), Ebara (6361 JT), Furukawa Electric (5801 JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), SBI Holdings (8473 JT), Nomura Research Instit...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Media & Entertainment: Have Video Games Got Too Expensive?

Burdened by higher costs, video game publishers are looking to raise prices. However, PSA’s gaming analyst Pelham Smithers points out that they are facing pushback, and may have to rethink.

Joel Scheiman ... (+4)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 28 July: Political jitters, weak earnings / Ishiba / Video g...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Aozora Bank (8304 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Sharp (6753 JT), Konica Minolta (4902 JT), Screen (7735 JT), Intel (INTC US), Advantest (6857 JT), Renesas (6723 JT), Fanuc (6954 JT), Yaskawa (6506 JT), Misumi (9962 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT), Euglena (2931 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Microsoft (MSFT US), Bandai Namco (7832 JT), Kadokawa (9468 JT), Koei Tecmo (3635 JT), Kio...

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 ... (+5)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 31 July: Rates stand pat, results perk up / Macro round-up /...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, William Nestuk and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Kyocera (6971 JT), Astellas (4503 JT), Panasonic (6752 JT), Disco (6146 JT), Screen Holdings (7735 JT), Daiichi Sankyo (4568 JT), JCR Pharmaceuticals (4552 JT), Sanwa Holdings (5929 JT), Yamato Kogyo (5444 JT), Anritsu (6754 JT), Wacom (6727 JT), Capcom (9697 JT), ARE Holdings (5857 JT), Nippon Sanso (4091 JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), Furukawa Electric (5801 JT), SEI (5802 JT), SBI ...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+6)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 30 July: BOJ rate decision tomo / Q1s for Capcom, tech names...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote, William Nestuk, Thao Nguyen and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Shimano (7309 JT), Keyence (6861 JT), NEC Corp (6701 JT), NRI (4307 JT), Fujitsu (6702 JT), TIS (3626 JT), Hitachi (6501 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Corning (GLW US), Fujikura (5803 JT), Sumitomo Pharma (4506 JT), Capcom (9697 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Tencent (700 HK), Take Two (TTWO US), Anritsu (6754 JT), Panasonic (6752 JT), Fujitsu (6702 JT), Kyocera (6971 JT),...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+6)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 29 July: A slide / Bank of Japan in July / Chugai, A's D and...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote, William Nestuk, Lindsay Whipp and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Taiyo Yuden (6976 JT), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JT), Mazda (7261 JT), Shimizu (1803 JT), Taisei (1801 JT), Kajima (1812 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Lasertec (6920 JT), Tokuyama (4043 JT), Sumco (3436 JT), Nitto Denko (6988 JT), Screen Holdings (7735 JT), Ebara (6361 JT), Furukawa Electric (5801 JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), SBI Holdings (8473 JT), Nomura Research Instit...

Joel Scheiman ... (+4)
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 28 July: Political jitters, weak earnings / Ishiba / Video g...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Joel Scheiman, Julie Boote and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Aozora Bank (8304 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Sharp (6753 JT), Konica Minolta (4902 JT), Screen (7735 JT), Intel (INTC US), Advantest (6857 JT), Renesas (6723 JT), Fanuc (6954 JT), Yaskawa (6506 JT), Misumi (9962 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT), Euglena (2931 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Microsoft (MSFT US), Bandai Namco (7832 JT), Kadokawa (9468 JT), Koei Tecmo (3635 JT), Kio...

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

The PSA Research Round-Up for the Week to 25 July 2025

Weekly Comment Summary Burdened by higher costs, video game publishers are looking to raise prices, but they are facing pushback, and may have to rethink. Pelham Smithers explains why. PSA Weekly Contents at a Glance Reports / Flash Notes Summaries 1. Insource (6200 JT) – Short-Term Burden But Longer-Term Growth Drivers in Place Add title 2. Koshidaka (2157 JT) – Aggressive Cost Control & Acceleration of New Store Openings Company / Sector / Thematic Comments Technol...

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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