reports
- Chris Hoare
Global EM Telcos & Japan DC exposure, future developments and valuati...
EM & Japanese Telcos have more DC capacity than those in other regions. In this short note, we look at the current and future Data Center (DC) capacity for the telcos in our coverage as well as the potential valuation for these assets, in an attempt to contextualise this exposure.
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q3 25 review: Stable; expect new KT CEO to be ann...
Both KT and LG Uplus did better at SKT’s expense, with the latter impacted by Q2’s outflow and 50% discount offered in August as a result of April’s cyberattack. The search for KT’s new CEO narrowed to 3 candidates – 2 internal and 1 external; we should expect to hear the appointment by March’s AGM. Although this creates some risk, KT remains one of our Top Picks in GEM Telcos for its exposure to Enterprise and value-up dynamic.
- Chris Hoare
Global EM Telcos & Towers Blow out Q3 results drive another great mon...
EM Telco earnings season was extremely strong, and with 8 of our 10 picks reporting this month, our picks rose 6.8% on average in November and are now up 80% YTD. With Singtel having strongly outperformed, Bharti we swap the latter in for the former; this note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space.
- Chris Hoare
Bharti Airtel (Buy, INR 2,750 from INR 2,180, +32%) All cylinders fir...
Bharti has always performed well in anticipation of price increases, which we think are likely in H1 next year. The company also looks set to be seeing accelerating growth in both Home, and Enterprise, while Airtel Africa continues to knock it out of the park, and capex is constrained. What’s not to like? PT to 2,750.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
KT Corp (Buy, KRW 105,000, +117%) Q3 25 Quick Take: Good progress mas...
KT printed a decent set of results; however, we think this was overshadowed by the search for its next CEO and news of the hacking incidents which have plagued the industry. Although the size of breach is on a much smaller scale compared to SK Telecom, ongoing investigations remain an overhang.
- Chris Hoare
KDDI (Buy, TP: ¥3,150, +28%) Q2 FY25 Quick Take: On track for a stron...
KDDI posted better trends following a modest Q1. Revenue was 1% ahead while EBIT inflected to growth. Management has also given more clarity on the EBIT growth going into 2H, expecting a 10% growth based on its unchanged guidance which is in line with consensus. Softbank Corp remains our preferred pick in Japan, followed by KDDI and NTT.
- Chris Hoare
LG Uplus (Buy, KRW 19,000, +27%) Q3 25 Quick Take: Better trends acro...
LG Uplus delivered a strong set of results as trends improved across the board. Service revenue topped expectations by 1%. The company recognised a one-off voluntary retirement cost which bodes well for future margins. Excluding the impact, underlying EBITDA would accelerate.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
Global EM Telcos & Towers Back to Black: NSR GEM Top-10 November ‘25 ...
Our portfolio of Top Picks was higher again in October, and now up 69% ytd. This month we make no changes to our top picks. This note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space.
- Chris Hoare
Global EM Telcos When does Digital drive a re-rating? Upgrade VEON, V...
We analyze how much revenue EM Telcos are generating from digital businesses, and therefore at what point they are likely to make the transition from being “Telcos with digital assets” to “Digital first”. We use this to predict when the market is likely to re-rate those exposed, and as a result make multiple upgrades across our GEM Telcos.
- Chris Hoare
SK Telecom (Buy, KRW 78,000, +48%) Q3 25 Quick Take: Dividend cut
Numbers were in-line with expectations, but shares fell slightly today due to the absence of dividends this quarter, implying a dividend cut for the year. Nevertheless, with the overhang on the data breach fine removed and recovery now in progress, we think SKT’s valuation is compelling for investors who can look past this year. We therefore stay Buyers with a KRW 78k price target.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
Global EM Telcos & Towers First down month, AMX into the Top-10 for T...
After 8 extremely strong months, September bucked the trend. 6 of our Top Picks saw profit taking with only Airtel Africa, Millicom, Telefonica Brasil and LILAC posting positive returns. This note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space. Having strongly outperformed we switch out Millicom for AMX which we now see as a cheaper, lower risk, way to play Latin American telcos.
- Pelham Smithers
PSA Strategy: Japan Stock Market Quarterly for 2025 Q4
For almost three years the Nikkei 225 has been tracking its performance from the 2003~5 bull market, albeit at levels some 3.3x higher In this report, Pelham Smithers discusses the similarities and asks three key questions: (1) Can we continue to track 2005 through the rest of the year; (2) Whatever happens in Q4, should we fear or be hopeful for 2026? And (3) Who are the upcoming winners and losers.
4689 Z HOLDINGS CORPORATION
7751 CANON INC.
6952 CASIO COMPUTER CO. LTD.
4519 CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL CO. LTD.
7762 CITIZEN WATCH CO LTD.
4751 CYBERAGENT INC.
4755 RAKUTEN INC.
9433 KDDI CORPORATION
5803 FUJIKURA LTD
4902 KONICA MINOLTA INC.
6752 PANASONIC CORPORATION
7752 RICOH COMPANY LTD.
6869 SYSMEX CORPORATION
5423 TOKYO STEEL MANUFACTURING CO. LTD.
8729 SONY FINANCIAL HOLDINGS INC.
7267 HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD.
7202 ISUZU MOTORS LIMITED
9616 KYORITSU MAINTENANCE CO. LTD.
6981 MURATA MANUFACTURING CO. LTD.
6723 RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
7974 NINTENDO CO. LTD.
6701 NEC CORP.
6594 NIDEC CORPORATION
7731 NIKON CORP.
2371 KAKAKU.COM INC.
6963 ROHM CO. LTD.
6753 SHARP CORPORATION
6762 TDK CORPORATION
4502 TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL CO. LTD.
6857 ADVANTEST CORP.
6976 TAIYO YUDEN CO. LTD.
4186 TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO. LTD.
8035 TOKYO ELECTRON LTD.
7261 MAZDA MOTOR CORP.
3774 INTERNET INITIATIVE JAPAN
3697 SHIFT
6857 JP ADVANEST
6460 JP SEGA SAMMY
4385 MERCARI INC.
36350 KOEI TECMO
45870 PEPTIDREAM INC
3491 JT GA TECHNOLOGIES
3630 JT DENSAN SYSTEM CO LTD (3630 JT)
4194 VISIONAL
4483 JMDC
WOLF WOLFSPEED INC
TSE: 2980 SRE HOLDINGS CORP
AST VISIONAL INC
5032 JT ASTREE CIE ASSURANCE & REASSURANCE
5253 JT ANYCOLOR INC
9616 JT COVER CORPORATION (5253 JT)
8473 JT KYORITSU MAINTENANCE (9616 JT)
215A SBI HOLDINGS [STRATEGIC BUSINESS INNOVATOR GROUP] (8473 JT)
285A JT TIMEE INC
KIOXIA CORPORATION (285A JT)
- Chris Hoare
- Lindsay Whipp
PSA IT Services: Japanese Banking Industry’s Investment in DX Deepens
The most recent quarterly earnings for the system integrators highlighted the sustained increase in spending by Japanese financial institutions over recent quarters, as they seek to improve products and services amid a shift in interest rates and the introduction of tax-exempt investment accounts, and as interest in digital currencies grows. Analyst Lindsay Whipp reviews some of the DX spending undertaken by Japan’s banking industry and highlights beneficiaries'.
4307 NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE LTD.
8306 MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INC.
8316 SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP INC.
9432 NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
3774 INTERNET INITIATIVE JAPAN
7182 JAPAN POST BANK CO. LTD.
3994 MONEY FORWARD
3626 JT TIS INC
8473 JT NTT LTD
9682 JT SBI HOLDINGS [STRATEGIC BUSINESS INNOVATOR GROUP] (8473 JT)
DTS CORP (9682 JT)
- Chris Hoare
Global EM Telcos & Towers Continuing strong: NSR GEM Top-10 September...
August was a rather eventful month for two of top picks as LILAC announced the Puerto Rican asset separation and Kyivstar, the Ukraine arm of VEON, successfully listed on the NASDAQ (see our initiation HERE). All of our top picks performed well again. This note also includes key news & other thoughts, to try to help investors generate alpha within the EM Telco space. We make our first change to the list, swapping TIM Brasil for Telefonica Brasil.
- Chris Hoare
- Chris Hoare
South Korean Telcos Q2 25 review: KT and LG U-Plus benefiting from SK...
SKT underperformed in Q2 due to April’s cyberattack. As SKT’s Customer Appreciation Package is expected to cost KRW500bn (US$360m) coupled with the associated churn, SKT is expected to take a heavier hit in the second half. The government’s AI campaign should be supportive for telcos’ Enterprise operations, and we expect to see stronger Enterprise revenues in H2 too. KT remains one of our Top Picks in GEM Telcos for its exposure to Enterprise and focus on cost and capex discipline.
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