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. 

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

PSA Today 8 Oct: Political headwinds / Unhelpful wage data / Podcast p...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Rakuten Bank (5838 JT), SBI Holdings (8473 JT), IHI (7013 JT), MHI (7011 JT), Tokyo Electron (8035 JT), Disco (6146 JT), NEC Corp (6701 JT), Mitsubishi Electric (6503 JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713 JT), Mitsubishi Materials (5711 JT), Mitsui Kinzoku (5706 JT), Toho Zinc (5707 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Subaru (7270 JT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Sega Sammy (...

Thao Nguyen
  • Thao Nguyen

PSA HR & Employment: Timee (215A JT) – A Revisit

The share price of Timee has fallen by over -34% since its FY25 (Oct yr-end) Q3 earnings release aftermarket on 11 Sep. In this report, Thao Nguyen reviews recent developments, provides revised forecasts while keeping her positive stance on the company's prospects unchanged.

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Media & Entertainment: Can Remakes Get Square Enix Through to King...

Pelham Smithers discusses the video game line-up for Square Enix and reviews the potential and/or risks that remakes can make to earnings – and the firm’s reputation if not done well.

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

PSA Today 7 Oct: Sharp eyes on Takaichi appointments, yen / Consider...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, William Nestuk and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD US), Disco (6146 JT), OpenAI (pvt) , Renesas (6723 JT), Tesla (TSLA US), Panasonic (6752 JT), Lasertec (6920 JT), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JT), NEC Corp (6701 JT), Socionext (6526 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Nikon (7731 JT), Alps Alpine (6770 JT), Ricoh (7752 JT), Toyota Industries (6201 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Konami (9766 JT), Sega Sammy (6460 JT), Square Enix (9684...

Pelham Smithers
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Japan Market Strategy: Market Implications from Takaichi's Suprise...

The Japanese stock market’s take on the surprise victory of Sanae Takaichi in the LDP Presidential race suggested that it wasn’t so much a repeat of the “Koizumi Boom” from 20 years ago, but rather a brand new “Takaichi Boom”, and we saw the Nikkei 225 jump +4.8% to just under 48,000. Pelham Smithers compares and contrasts the impact and flags “Takaichi Stocks”. Importantly, market valuations suggest further upside.

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...

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

PSA Today 8 Oct: Political headwinds / Unhelpful wage data / Podcast p...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, Joel Scheiman, Thao Nguyen and Hiroyuki Terada Tags: Rakuten Bank (5838 JT), SBI Holdings (8473 JT), IHI (7013 JT), MHI (7011 JT), Tokyo Electron (8035 JT), Disco (6146 JT), NEC Corp (6701 JT), Mitsubishi Electric (6503 JT), Fujikura (5803 JT), Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713 JT), Mitsubishi Materials (5711 JT), Mitsui Kinzoku (5706 JT), Toho Zinc (5707 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Subaru (7270 JT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Sega Sammy (...

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

PSA Today 7 Oct: Sharp eyes on Takaichi appointments, yen / Consider...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, Julie Boote, William Nestuk and Lindsay Whipp Tags: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD US), Disco (6146 JT), OpenAI (pvt) , Renesas (6723 JT), Tesla (TSLA US), Panasonic (6752 JT), Lasertec (6920 JT), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JT), NEC Corp (6701 JT), Socionext (6526 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), Nikon (7731 JT), Alps Alpine (6770 JT), Ricoh (7752 JT), Toyota Industries (6201 JT), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Konami (9766 JT), Sega Sammy (6460 JT), Square Enix (9684...

Julie Boote ... (+3)
  • Julie Boote
  • Pelham Smithers
  • William Nestuk

PSA Today 6 Oct: Japan hits 48,000; Takaichi's win sees defence, IC st...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers, William Nestuk and Julie Boote Tags: Japan Steel Works (5631 JT), MHI (7011 JT), KHI (7012 JT), IHI (7013 JT), NEC (6701 JT), Fujitsu (6702 JT), Advantest (6857 JT), Lasertec (6920 JT), Tokyo Electron (8035 JT), Socionext (6526 JT), Kajima (1812 JT), Taisei (1801 JT), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JT), Nvidia (NVDA US), Rakuten Bank (5838 JT), Mazda (7261 JT), Panasonic (6752 JT), Ford Motor (F US), Toyota Motor (7203 JT), Honda Motor (7267 JT), Tesl...

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

The PSA Research Round-Up for week to 3 October 2025

Weekly Comment Summary Unless something goes badly awry, a new LDP leader will start their job with the Nikkei 225 at an all-time high, begging the question “what next?” Pelham Smithers discusses. PSA Weekly Contents at a Glance Summaries of this Week’s Published Reports 1. Japan Stock Market Strategy for 2025 Q4 2. Recruit Holdings (6098 JT): Recent Sell-off Presents an Opportunity 3. Kioxia (285A JT) – The Technology Behind the Stock's Rally Company / Secto...

Julie Boote ... (+2)
  • Julie Boote
  • Pelham Smithers

PSA Today 2 Oct: Tech boosts Nikkei 225 / Kioxia, Nvidia and superfast...

PSA Today Japan Market Comment by Pelham Smithers and Julie Boote Tags: OpenAI (pvt), SpaceX (pvt), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), SK Hynix (000660 KS), AMD (AMD US), Disco (6146 JT), Intel (INTC US), Kokusai Electric (6525 JT), Towa Corp (6315 JT), MEC (4971 JT), Resonac (4004 JT), Sumco (3436 JT), Hoya (7741 JT), Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (4186 JT), Dexerials (4980 JT), Kioxia (285A JT), SanDisk (SNDK US), Nvidia (NVDA US), Daiichi Sankyo (4568 JT), TEPCO (9501 JT), SoftBank Group (9984 JT), Arm H...

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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