The 720: Rio Tinto upgrade, Korea Memory, Guming, STAN, Taiwan CCL, Yageo, Keyence, Hitachi, Krafton, EDU, FOMC, Meta, Microsoft

Research evidence excerpt

The 720: Rio Tinto upgrade, Korea Memory, Guming, STAN, Taiwan CCL, Yageo, Keyence, Hitachi, Krafton, EDU, FOMC, Meta, Microsoft

et pricing, and we continue to favor FX carry

strategies funded by low-yielders. In equities, we stay Overweight Korea, Taiwan, China

A-shares, Brazil, South Africa, and Hungary, expecting a broadening of gains in the

second half led by cyclical laggards, while favoring long-end rates in India and South

Africa. Andrew Tilton

Guming – 1H26 preview: factoring in slower store additions, yet resilient margins – Buy

(on CL). Ahead of 1H26 results, we lower our 2026-28E adjusted core net profit by

6%-13% and cut our 12m TP to HK$31, reflecting a reduced store addition forecast of

2,000 in 2026E, faster delivery subsidy normalization, and higher financing costs.

Despite the slower expansion pace, we forecast 30% yoy sales growth and 43% adjusted

core net profit growth in 1H26, driven by last year’s rapid network expansion and solid

margins from continuous operating leverage. We believe the near-term negative

same-store sales growth and slower opening outlook are already priced in, and we see

meaningful room for long-term store expansion and category diversification to support

resilient performance. Michelle Cheng

China Grid Tech – Power Transformer Export Tracker. We highlight that China’s June total

power transformer export value grew 47% yoy, driven by a 172% yoy surge in exports to

the US alongside strong demand from the Middle East and Americas. We expect the US

power transformer demand-supply gap to persist through 2028, leaving ample room for

Chinese suppliers to capture market share given their significantly shorter delivery lead

times of 24-36 weeks compared to the global average of 128 weeks. Within the sector,