Xiaomi making the most of the crisis 21 May 2020 Rolling out a 5G model during China's lockdown paid off for the online-savvy handset maker. First-quarter sales increased 14% from a year earlier, to $7 bln. Serious setbacks for rival Huawei and virus-powered interest in home gadgets should help sustain the impressive growth.
TSMC’s U.S. reshoring initiative looks wafer-thin 15 May 2020 The Taiwanese chipmaker unveiled plans for a $12 bln factory in Arizona. It will produce a tiny fraction of what Asian plants do with a small workforce and investment spread over nine years. It only goes to show just how hard it will be to move high-tech manufacturing to America.
Samsung defies corporate governance logic 14 Feb 2020 The South Korean tech titan’s chairman has quit just months after heir Jay Y. Lee left the board. Even with yet another leadership crisis, Samsung stock trades at a record high and its valuation keeps soaring. As questions about growth mount, shareholders may regret the optimism.
Sony on the road to reclaiming its electronic mojo 4 Feb 2020 Quarterly operating profit fell 20%, to $2.8 bln, but exceeded expectations. Its image sensors used in iPhones helped and boss Kenichiro Yoshida is now eyeing autonomous cars. Wise investment could put the inventor of the Walkman and Trinitron TV back in the tech driver’s seat.
Consumer wallets are top risk to chip titan TSMC 14 Jan 2020 A heady valuation multiple for Taiwan's $295 bln supplier to Apple, Huawei and others reflects its relentless march on rivals. Rising retail prices for ever-fancier smartphones, though, may curb demand. That’s possibly the biggest risk for the tech supply chain’s sturdiest player.
Apple needs CEO charm more than Facebook 30 Oct 2019 Tim Cook has Washington and even Beijing on side, while Mark Zuckerberg can barely speak without annoying someone in power – and Facebook is blocked in China. Yet since D.C. pressure ratcheted up a year ago, Zuckerberg’s stock has performed better. Diplomacy only goes so far.
Tesla’s China strategy is upside-down 25 Oct 2019 Elon Musk says his Shanghai factory is almost ready, after third-quarter profit surprised on the upside. It will produce more affordable designs, aiming for some 150,000 Model 3 units a year. But China’s mass market is soft. Musk risks overpromising and underdelivering again.
Samsung’s smoother outlook papers over deep cracks 4 Oct 2019 Quarterly guidance from the world's top chipmaker next week may raise hopes of a recovery. The cheer is unlikely to last, though, given trade tensions and a slowing economy in China. Worse, a leadership vacuum leaves $263 bln Samsung vulnerable to falling behind new technologies.
Japan dims hopes of a Samsung memory chip rebound 31 Jul 2019 Shares of the $260 bln tech giant slid after the company warned of poor visibility into the impact of Tokyo's export curbs. South Korea’s escalating dispute with its neighbour threatens supply chains. It now throws into doubt Samsung's confidence that chip prices will recover.
Sony reaps accidental rewards from unruly sprawl 30 Jul 2019 Sales of chips offset falling video-game revenue at the Japanese group, pushing its quarterly operating profit up 18%. Even so, there's little strategic value keeping the two divisions together. Sony's music and movies arms, though, make for a better kind of conglomerate.
Cisco’s latest deal is an optical illusion 9 Jul 2019 The networking giant is paying $2.8 bln for Acacia, one of its suppliers. Booming bandwidth use is driving demand for its high-speed optical components, but a lofty 46% premium virtually guarantees subpar returns. It’s an odd choice when software is driving Cisco’s margin growth.
Japan’s testy trade row strikes at Samsung 5 Jul 2019 Tokyo is curbing exports of tech materials to South Korea over a wartime spat. Hardest hit may be the $260 bln handset maker, which expects second-quarter operating profit to fall by 56% amid U.S.-China tensions. If supply chains keep getting disrupted, so too should valuations.
Nexon suitors must clear three tough levels to win 3 Jul 2019 Plans to sell control of the $13 bln maker of “MapleStory” and other video games have stalled, but may yet be revived. Bidders like KKR will have to get past a messy corporate structure. Then there’s South Korean nationalism to slay. And the last big challenge is China's Tencent.
Japan Display could use a solid AppleCare plan 1 Jul 2019 The iPhone-screen maker is getting a $100 mln lifeline from its most important customer as part of a messy bailout. It’s a rare sort of investment for Apple, but it has few alternative suppliers for the item. The imprimatur also should help Japan Display shore up other backers.
Japan Display gives rescuers more bargaining chips 15 May 2019 The troubled Apple supplier announced worse-than-expected results and is also planning layoffs. Last-minute financial hiccups helped Foxconn get a better deal for Sharp. The Chinese-Taiwanese group readying a $730 mln capital injection has been handed an excuse to haggle harder.
Samsung may stay true to its bleak words 30 Apr 2019 The South Korean chipmaker’s quarterly operating profit fell a whopping 60 pct, weighed down by lower prices. Shares are up a fifth this year, however, on an anticipated rebound. Samsung’s abundant use of “weak” and “slow” suggest it could take longer than expected.
Sony missteps arm activists with breakup bombs 26 Apr 2019 The $60 bln electronics giant forecasts a big drop in annual operating profit as PlayStation sales slow. Smartphone losses are mounting, too. After the return of Dan Loeb’s Third Point, the weak outlook is one more spur for boss Kenichiro Yoshida to separate disparate businesses.
Apple supplier’s rescue leaves Japan red-faced 15 Apr 2019 An investor group is buying two thirds of Japan Display for $714 mln, an embarrassingly low price for a former national champion. The company will fall into foreign hands, some of them Chinese, which could raise red flags. Managers have little choice but to pray the deal closes.
Loeb’s Sony sequel has makings of a blockbuster 8 Apr 2019 The activist behind Third Point is building a stake in Sony and getting the Japanese group to sell its movie studio could be part of the plan, Reuters reported. The media landscape has changed since Dan Loeb last tried to break Sony up. The idea looks ready for prime time.
Two big clouds eclipse Samsung’s silver lining 3 Apr 2019 South Korea's $270 bln chipmaker already flagged a dismal first quarter because of a glut. Fewer competitors mean supply cuts could more readily lift prices. But Samsung investors may be underestimating the risks of both stockpiled inventory and weaker demand from new industries.