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. 

PSA Today 23 Dec: Up on Wall Street, M&A / Games / SPE / Chemicals – N...

PSA Today 23 Dec – Nikkei 225 +1.19% | ¥$156.59 * Tokyo shares rise on Wall Street gains, auto sector M&A * Video games industry round-up * Japan Nov SPE Billings +35% YoY * Chemical Makers Address the ‘2024 Problem’

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+8)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen
  • William Nestuk

The PSA Weekly Research Round up for the Week to 20 December 2024

Weekly Comment Summary The founder of Nihon Falcom, Masayuki Kato passed away on 15 Dec. While his company never hit the heights promised, he is still a hero among some gamers for inventing the PC-based action RPG. However, his legacy is not entirely positive and, as Pelham Smithers explains, it is an interesting warning of the problems of a certain type of Japanese style management. PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews • Visited: Park24 (4666 JT), Intermestic (262A JT), Tokyo Ohka Kogyo ...

Julie Boote
  • Julie Boote

PSA Consumer Discretionary / Tires & Rubber: Bridgestone (5108 JT) – M...

Tags: Bridgestone (5108 JT), Michelin (ML FP), Continental (CON GR), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Goodyear (GT US) While tough conditions remain in the global tire market, Analyst Julie Boote reviews Bridgestone’s strategy and earnings outlook to conclude that the firm is proving successful in boosting profitability. The company needs to widen its restructuring efforts and increase its premium tire sales in order to further lift margins in FY25.

Nia Dokova
  • Nia Dokova

PSA Pharmaceuticals: Chugai's (4519 JT) Year of Highs

With it likely that Chugai will come in ahead of its FY24 full year revenue guidance, analyst Nia Dokova sees this as a potential catalyst for the stock. The recent -15% decline from its 28 Oct high provides an opportunity to accumulate shares of one of the few pharma plays in Japan with no patent cliff issues.

Lindsay Whipp ... (+2)
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 20 Dec: Lower as MoF verbally weighs in on yen / Nationwide ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Sumitomo Realty (8830 JT), Hino Motors (7205 JT), Subaru (7270 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Kadokawa (9468 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT), iSpace (9348 JT), Astroscale (186A JT), Cybozu (4776 JT), Kioxia (285A JT) Main Points  Tokyo shares slide as MoF verbally weighs in on yen  Japan Nationwide CPI jumps to +2.9% YoY in November  Cybozu price increa...

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...

PSA Today 23 Dec: Up on Wall Street, M&A / Games / SPE / Chemicals – N...

PSA Today 23 Dec – Nikkei 225 +1.19% | ¥$156.59 * Tokyo shares rise on Wall Street gains, auto sector M&A * Video games industry round-up * Japan Nov SPE Billings +35% YoY * Chemical Makers Address the ‘2024 Problem’

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+8)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Joel Scheiman
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers
  • Thao Nguyen
  • William Nestuk

The PSA Weekly Research Round up for the Week to 20 December 2024

Weekly Comment Summary The founder of Nihon Falcom, Masayuki Kato passed away on 15 Dec. While his company never hit the heights promised, he is still a hero among some gamers for inventing the PC-based action RPG. However, his legacy is not entirely positive and, as Pelham Smithers explains, it is an interesting warning of the problems of a certain type of Japanese style management. PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews • Visited: Park24 (4666 JT), Intermestic (262A JT), Tokyo Ohka Kogyo ...

Lindsay Whipp ... (+2)
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 20 Dec: Lower as MoF verbally weighs in on yen / Nationwide ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Sumitomo Realty (8830 JT), Hino Motors (7205 JT), Subaru (7270 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Kadokawa (9468 JT), Bandai Namco (7832 JT), iSpace (9348 JT), Astroscale (186A JT), Cybozu (4776 JT), Kioxia (285A JT) Main Points  Tokyo shares slide as MoF verbally weighs in on yen  Japan Nationwide CPI jumps to +2.9% YoY in November  Cybozu price increa...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+4)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Julie Boote
  • Nia Dokova
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 19 Dec: Recovery from early sell-off / BoJ leaves rates unch...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Hiroyuki Terada and Nia Dokova Tags: IHI (7011 JT), KHI (7012 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Honda Motor (7267 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Mazda (7261 JT), Micron (MU US), Socionext (6526 JT), SoftBank Group (9984 JT), ARM Holdings (ARM US), Lasertec (6920 JT), Disco (6146 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Fuji Media Holdings (4676 JT), Rakuten (4755 JT), Amazon (AMZN US), Sony (6758 JT), Apple (AAPL US), Samsung Elect...

Hiroyuki Terada ... (+4)
  • Hiroyuki Terada
  • Julie Boote
  • Lindsay Whipp
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 18 Dec: Slide ahead of central bank meet / Honda and Nissan ...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Lindsay Whipp and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Honda Motor (7267 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Mazda (7261 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Kasai Kogyo (7256 JT), Nissan Shatai (7222 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Disco (6146 JT), Ebara (6361 JT), Sumco (3436 JT), MEC (4971 JT), DeNA (2432 JT), Nintendo (7974 JT), Sony (6758 JT), Sanrio (8136 JT), Rakuten (4755 JT), Phyz (9325 JT), Amazon (AMZN US), KHI (7012 JT) Kuramoto ...

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...

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch