The PSA Japan Weekly Research Round-Up for the week ending 11 November 2022

Weekly Comment Summary
Imagine being bullish on world equities and also having to be overweight Japan. Pelham Smithers explores this thought.

PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews
• Presentations at: Money Forward (3994 JT), CyberAgent (4751 JT), ZOZO (3092 JT), Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063 JT), Nitto Denko (6988 JT), Hoya (7741 JT), Sekisui Chemical (4204 JT), Fanuc (6954 JT), HCM (6305 J), Denso (6902 JT), Aisin (7259 JT), Toyota Gosei (7282 JT)
Conference Calls with: Email Q&A with TIS Inc (3626 JT)
Presentations at: Sumitomo Bakelite (4203 JT), Showa Denko (4004 JT), KH Neochem (4189 JT), Shin-Etsu Polymer (7970 JT), Toray (3402 JT), Sumco (3436 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT), Mitsubishi Chemical Group (4188 JT), Sumitomo Seika (4008 JT), Nippon Shokubai (4114 JT), Asahi Kasei (3407 JT), Kuraray (3405 JT), Kaneka (4118 JT), Kureha (4023 JT), Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (4182 JT), Fujifilm Holdings (4901 JT), Nissha (7915 JT), Nissan Chemical (4021 JT), Megachips (6875 JT), Nikon (7731 JT), Nihon Kohden (6849 JT), Sun Frontier (8934 JT)
Small Meeting at: Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JT)

PSA Weekly Contents at a Glance
Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Sony (6758 JT) – Strong Resilience or Final Swansong?
2. Nissan (7201 JT) and Renault (RNO FP) Partnership: Tough Negotiations
Company / Sector / Thematic Comments
Technology: Consumer Electronics, Gaming
1. Mobile Game Sales Fall 13.2% YoY in Week to 30 Oct
2. God of War: Ragnarok Ups the Ante in Console Gaming
3. Square Enix (9684 JT): Eidos Sale Boosts FY22 2Q / Promising FY23 Pipeline
4. Nintendo (7974 JT) 2Q OP +18% YoY but No Change to Full Year Guidance
5. Bandai Namco (7832 JT): Raised FY22 OP Guidance Below Consensus
6. Nexon’s FY22 OP Target Misses Consensus
7. Other Consumer Elec / Gaming News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Technology: Industrial Electronics / Components / Semis & SPE / Precision
8. September Chip Shipments Better than Feared
9. Taiyo Yuden (6976 JT): FY22 OP Cut, Readacross to Murata (6981 JT)
10. Sysmex (6869 JT) 2Q FY22 OP +18% YoY
11. Nikon (7731 JT): 2Q OP -25% YoY but No Change to Full Year Guidance
12. Tokyo Electron 2Q OP +75% YoY but Full-Year OP Guidance Cut
13. Apple’s (AAPL US) Struggles Send Suppliers Lower
14. Ulvac 2Q OP +43% YoY Falls Short of Consensus, No Change to FY Target
15. RS Technologies (3445 JT) 3Q FY22 OP +73% but No Change to FYe
16. Big Move in SOX Lifts Semi-Related Plays / Government Pledges Next-Gen Funding
17. Other Tech-Related News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Chemicals / Materials
18. Chemical / Material-Related Results at a Glance
Autos
19. Auto Manufacturers Q2 Results Overview – Mixed
20. Yamaha Motor (7272 JT) Raises FY22 Guidance After Solid Q3 Results
21. Suzuki (7269 JT) Boosts FY22 Profit Guidance
22. Nissan (7201 JT) Beats Q2 Estimates, but Financial Services Weakening
23. Honda (7267 JT) FY22 Q2 Lifted by Strong Motorcycle Operations
24. Mazda (7261 JT) Earnings Recover in Q2
25. Subaru (7270 JT) Sold Off on Strong Yen but Mazda Got a Reprieve
Auto Parts / Machinery
26. Lacklustre COP 27 Could Boost HCM (6305 JT) / Komatsu (6301 JT) Shares
27. Daikin (6367 JT) Raises FY22 OP and DPS
28. Daifuku (6383 JT) Q2 OP Beat Leads to Lift in FY OP Guidance
29. GS Yuasa (6674 JT) Plugging Along
30. The Strong Yen, Daikin (6367 JT), Yaskawa (6506 JT) and Komatsu (6305 JT)
Internet / eCommerce
31. Istyle’s (3660 JT) FY23 Good Start
32. BASE Inc’s (4477 JT) Q3 Loss Smaller Than Expected
33. Trend Micro’s (4704 JT) OP Misses Consensus Estimates Again
34. Rakuten’s (4755 JT) Q3 Sales Beat, But Losses Wider Than Expected
Enterprise Software / IT Services
35. NTT Data (9613 JT) FY22 Q2 OP Misses Consensus While Sales Beat
36. Mixed Bag for ExaWizards’ (4259 JT) FY22 Q2 Results
37. TIS Inc (3626 JT) Optimistic About Japan DX Demand
38. IIJ (3774 JT) 2Q OP Beats Consensus but No Change to Full-Year Guidance
Telecom
39. NTT (9432 JT) 2Q Miss as Expected
40. SoftBank Group (9984 JT) 2Q FY22 Boosted by Sale of Alibaba Holdings
Pharma
41. Eisai (4523 JT) Reports 2Q Operating Loss but Keeps FY22e OP of ¥55bil
Miscellaneous
42. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye