GMT EIGHT - Financial Report

Lululemon(Q4 revenue and profit exceeded expectations, performance guidance is disappointing, US market outlook is worrying.)

After the U.S. stock market closed on Thursday, the yoga brand Lululemon Athletica (LULU.US) announced its performance for the fourth quarter of the 2024 fiscal year ending on February 2, 2025. The data showed that the company's Q4 revenue was $3.6 billion, a 13% year-on-year increase, beating market expectations; diluted earnings per share were $6.14, also exceeding market expectations. However, Lululemon released disappointing annual guidance and expressed concerns about U.S. consumer spending, causing the stock to plummet after-hours. Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald stated that due to political conflicts and high inflation caused by the GEO Group Inc, U.S. consumers are cutting back on spending and visiting stores less frequently. As trade tensions between the U.S. and other countries continue to escalate, the Vancouver-based company is trying to revive slowing sales. McDonald said in a phone conference with analysts, "We are in a dynamic macro environment that is causing consumers to be cautious, and we have seen significant impacts on foot traffic across the industry." Lululemon expects its revenue for the 2025 fiscal year to be between $11.15 billion and $11.30 billion, lower than Wall Street analysts' expectations. The revenue guidance for Q1 of the 2025 fiscal year is also below market expectations. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Poonam Goyal stated that this forecast "signals a significant slowdown over the past several quarters." McDonald is working to increase demand by expanding product categories and entering new categories such as golf, tennis, and running gear. The company has been responding to evolving fashion trends, attempting to cater to shoppers who prefer loose styles rather than the brand's signature tight-fitting clothing. Lululemon management stated that tariffs imposed by President Trump on China and Mexico will have a slight impact on profit margins. Regulatory filings show that Lululemon's products are mainly produced in Asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. Competitor NIKE, Inc. Class B also mentioned macro trends in their forecast last week, warning that their revenue and profitability will further decline due to "political dynamics of GEO Group Inc, new tariffs, unstable foreign exchange rates, and tax regulations." Jefferies Financial Group Inc. analyst Randal Konik pointed out that another potentially concerning signal for Lululemon investors is the mountains of unsold inventory. Global inventory levels have increased by 9% compared to the same period last year. Three years ago, McDonald set a long-term strategic plan to double Lululemon's sales by 2026, reaching $12.5 billion. The company is sticking to its target for next year, but increased competition has slowed growth, especially in North America. In the fourth quarter ending on February 2, comparable sales in the Americas for Lululemon remained flat. International businesses performed better, with a 22% increase in sales. The Chinese market is a key growth engine for Lululemon, with a 39% increase in revenue in the fourth quarter. According to Morgan Stanley data, the brand became the third largest foreign sports apparel brand in the Chinese market last year. As of writing, Lululemon is down 10.11% after-hours, at $307.0.

28/03/2025

Canaan Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (CAN.US) net losses narrowed by 39.7% in 2024. Q1 revenue guidance falls short of expectations.

Canaan Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (CAN.US) announced its unaudited financial performance for the three months and twelve months ending December 31, 2024, before the US stock market opens on Wednesday. The financial report data shows that Canaan Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A's Q4 cryptocurrency mining revenue was approximately $15.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 312.5%. They mined 186 bitcoins with an average revenue of $82,174 per bitcoin. The total revenue for Q4 reached $88 million, exceeding the $80 million target, with a year-on-year growth of 80.9%. Canaan Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A's total sales computing power for Q4 was about 9.1 million TH/s, a year-on-year increase of 65.9%. The net loss for Q4 narrowed to $92.9 million, a 33.2% improvement from the $139 million loss in the same period in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA under the NON-GAAP guidelines achieved a profit of $19.3 million, a significant improvement from the $69.4 million loss in the same period in 2023. For the full year of 2024, Canaan Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A's total revenue was approximately $269.3 million, a 27.4% increase from $211.5 million in 2023; total sales computing power was around 26 million TH/s, a 32.6% increase from 19.6 million TH/s in 2023; cryptocurrency mining revenue for the full year was about $44 million, a 29.6% increase from $34 million in 2023; the net loss for the full year narrowed by 39.7% to a loss of $249.8 million; and the adjusted EBITDA loss under NON-GAAP guidelines narrowed by about 73.9% to a loss of $71.5 million. Looking ahead, for the fiscal year 2025, the company's management maintains its revenue target, expecting total revenue to be between $900 million and $1.1 billion, while the market generally expects $725.13 million. For the first quarter of 2025, the company expects total revenue to be approximately $75 million, while the market expectation is around $96.1 million. For the second quarter of 2025, the company expects total revenue to be between $120 million and $150 million, with the midpoint of the guidance being below the market expectation of $147.66 million.

26/03/2025

Jinko Solar (JKS.US) Q4 revenue of 2.83 billion USD, shipment growth of 2.1%

On March 26 (Wednesday) before the US stock market opened, Jinko Solar (JKS.US) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024. The financial report shows that Jinko Solar's Q4 revenue was $2.83 billion; shipments were 26,462 megawatts, an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter, Jinko Solar's shipments were 26,462 megawatts, including 25,221 megawatts of CECEP Solar Energy modules and 1,241 megawatts of cells and silicon wafers. By the end of the fourth quarter, Jinko Solar became the world's first CECEP Solar Energy module manufacturer with a total delivery volume exceeding 300 GW. For the full year of 2024, total revenue was $12.64 billion, and adjusted net profit was $78.3 million. Total shipments for the year were 99,596 megawatts, an increase of 19.2% compared to the previous year, including 92,873 megawatts of CECEP Solar Energy modules and 6,723 megawatts of cells and silicon wafers. As of December 31, 2024, Jinko Solar had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of 27.74 billion yuan ($3.8 billion), compared to 19.07 billion yuan as of December 31, 2023. Jinko Solar expects component shipments to be between 16.0 GW and 18.0 GW in the first quarter of 2025, and between 85.0 GW and 100.0 GW for the full year of 2025. The company expects annual production capacities to reach 120.0 GW for monocrystalline silicon wafers, 95.0 GW for CECEP Solar Energy cells, and 130.0 GW for CECEP Solar Energy modules by the end of 2025.

26/03/2025

CSI Solar Co., Ltd. CECEP Solar Energy (CSIQ.US) Q4 revenue decreased by 11% year-on-year, while component shipments increased by 1% year-on-year.

CSI Solar Co., Ltd. CECEP Solar Energy (CSIQ.US) announced its performance for the fourth quarter of 2024. The financial report shows that the company's net revenue for Q4 was $1.5 billion, a decrease of 11% compared to the same period last year. The company's net profit attributable to the company was $34 million, compared to a net loss of $1 million in the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.48, compared to a loss of $0.02 per share in the same period last year. Gross profit was $217 million, a 2% increase compared to the previous year. The gross profit margin was 14.3%, up from 12.5% in the same period last year. The total component shipments confirmed as revenue for the fourth quarter were 8.2 GW, an increase of 1% compared to the previous year. The fourth quarter e-STORAGE single-quarter shipments reached a record high of 2.2 GWh; as of December 31, 2024, the e-STORAGE pipeline business has expanded to a record 79 GWh, including $3.2 billion in signed contracts. For the full year, CSI Solar CECEP Solar Energy's component shipments reached 31.1 GW, and energy storage shipments were 6.6 GWh, an increase of over 500%. Recurrent Energy 1.3 GWp CECEP Solar Energy projects have commenced commercial operations, setting a historic record. Looking ahead, the company expects total revenue for the first quarter of 2025 to be between $1 billion and $1.2 billion, with a gross margin between 9% and 11%. CSI Solar confirms that the total component shipments confirmed as revenue are expected to be between 6.4 GW and 6.7 GW, including approximately 400 MW from the company's own projects. The company's battery storage total shipments are expected to be around 800 MWh, including approximately 150 MWh from the company's own projects. For the full year 2025, the company reiterates its forecast for total component shipments for CSI Solar to be between 30 GW and 35 GW, including approximately 1 GW from the company's projects. CSI Solar's battery storage shipments are expected to be between 11 GWh and 13 GWh, including 1 GWh for the company's own projects. Revenue is expected to be between $7.3 billion and $8.3 billion.

25/03/2025

In the second half of 2024, Viomi Technology Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A (VIOT.US) had a revenue of 1.2824 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.8%.

On March 25 (Tuesday) before the US stock market opened, Viomi Technology Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A (VIOT.US) announced its performance for the second half of 2024. The financial report shows that Viomi Technology Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A's revenue for the second half of the year was 1.2824 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.8%; net profit was 56.8 million yuan, compared to a net loss of 32 million in the same period last year; diluted earnings per ADS was 0.83 yuan, compared to a loss of 0.43 yuan per ADS in the same period last year. Gross profit for the second half of the year was 289.5 million yuan, compared to 294.5 million yuan in the same period in 2023. The gross profit margin was 22.6%, compared to 32.8% in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to changes in the product structure during the transition period, leading to an increase in revenue contribution from low-margin products. In August 2024, Viomi Technology Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A completed a strategic restructuring, divesting the company's IoT@Home product portfolio, excluding range hoods, gas stoves, and water heaters. The CEO of Viomi Technology Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A said, "In August, we successfully completed our business restructuring, allowing us to focus more on core home water solutions. This strategic shift has driven our strong performance in 2024, with annual net revenue reaching 2.1 billion yuan and total operating revenue totaling 156.3 million yuan, both exceeding our previous expectations. Revenue from home water systems increased by 39.0% year-on-year, significantly driving the expansion of our overall business." For the full year of 2024, the company's revenue was 2.119 billion yuan (approximately 290 million US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 29.3%, falling short of market expectations. Net profit was 62.3 million yuan (approximately 8.5 million US dollars), compared to a net loss of 89.3 million yuan in 2023.

25/03/2025

Strong demand for packaged meat products, Smithfield Foods (SFD.US) expects both sales and profits to increase in fiscal year 2025.

Thanks to the strong demand for packaged meat from grocery stores and the benefits of cost-cutting measures, global pork production giant Smithfield Foods (SFD.US) predicts that sales and adjusted operating profits will increase by 2025. Financial reports show that Smithfield Foods had revenue of $3.95 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 1.0% year-on-year decrease, exceeding expectations by $510 million. Smithfield expects full-year net sales to grow in the low to mid single-digit percentage range, compared to a 3.4% decline in the 2024 fiscal year. As consumers seek to make more nutritious meals at home, the company will also benefit from focusing on packaged meat products rather than pork production businesses. The sales of the packaged meat division accounted for nearly 59% of the company's total sales, with a 2.2% year-on-year growth in sales in the fourth quarter of last year. The department had an operating profit of $313 million in the fourth quarter; the operating profit margin was 12.7%. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter were 54 cents, compared to a loss of 25 cents in the same period last year. Operating profit was $335 million; adjusted operating profit was $315 million, higher than the $230 million in the same period last year; operating profit margin was 8.5%, and adjusted operating profit margin was 8.0%. As of December 29, 2024, the company had $3.245 billion in available current assets, including $943 million in cash and cash equivalents, as well as $2.303 billion in available funds under committed credit lines. The company expects adjusted operating profit for the 2025 fiscal year to be between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion, with the midpoint higher than the 12-month report of $1.12 billion as of December 29, 2024.

25/03/2025

Pony.ai (PONY.US) generated a revenue of 548 million yuan in 2024, maintaining its lead in the L4 level of autonomous driving race.

On March 25th, Beijing time, Pony.ai (PONY.US) disclosed its financial report for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. The company's revenue in 2024 reached a new high of 548 million yuan (75.03 million USD), a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, with fourth quarter revenue reaching 259 million yuan (35.50 million USD). Pony.ai's revenue in 2022 and 2023 were 472 million yuan and 510 million yuan respectively, showing continuous growth for three consecutive years, making it the largest L4 autonomous driving company in China in terms of revenue. As the "world's first Robotaxi stock", Pony.ai is expanding its core business of autonomous driving ride-hailing services (Robotaxi), with revenue from this service reaching 53.28 million yuan (7.30 million USD) in 2024. Due to the expansion of paid Robotaxi services in first-tier cities in China, passenger fees have increased significantly. With the deployment of the seventh generation of Robotaxi vehicles this year, the company expects this growth trend to continue and even accelerate. Pony.ai co-founder and CEO, James Peng, stated that driven by mature technology and sufficient funding, the company is accelerating the commercialization of autonomous driving. He emphasized that Pony.ai adheres to the business strategy of "prioritizing Robotaxi business, Chinese market, and first-tier cities". In 2024, the company will continue to expand its deployment of autonomous driving services in first-tier cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to establish a strong operational capability and seek more market opportunities globally. In 2024, Pony.ai accelerated the research and development of the seventh generation Robotaxi solution and vehicle models, with adjusted annual R&D expenses totaling 1.006 billion yuan (137.8 million USD), a 14% increase year-on-year. The cost of the seventh generation vehicle-grade autonomous driving system solution has significantly decreased compared to the previous generation, with a 70% reduction. Through collaboration with Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR, BAIC New Energy, and GAC Aian, three seventh-generation Robotaxi cooperation models will be launched this year. Pony.ai co-founder and CTO, Tiancheng Lou, stated that their self-developed "PonyWorld + Virtual Driver" is a key technology for the large-scale deployment of fully autonomous driving. "PonyWorld" constructs a highly realistic training environment and behavior assessment system, generating over 10 billion miles of autonomous driving data weekly. The "Virtual Driver" system continuously self-evolves within the world model, surpassing human-level driving performance under lower computational power and mass-produced hardware, especially making breakthrough progress in coping with extremely low probability scenarios. Data shows that the safety index of the "Virtual Driver" has increased by 16 times, with corresponding improvements in comfort and traffic efficiency. By the end of 2024, Pony.ai held a total of 6.023 billion yuan (825 million USD) in cash and cash equivalents and long-short-term financial investments, a year-on-year growth of 39.4%, providing strong financial support for the development of autonomous driving at scale. In addition to increasing R&D investment, one-time equity incentive expenses for employees were included in the operating expenses in the fourth quarter according to accounting standards, leading to an adjusted annual operating expense of 1.24 billion yuan (169.9 million USD) and an adjusted net loss of 1.121 billion yuan (153.6 million USD). Since its listing in the fourth quarter, Pony.ai has continued to advance its operations in China. In key cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, its Robotaxi charging services have expanded to cover urban areas and key airports and train stations, becoming the first company to obtain full regulatory approval for autonomous Robotaxi operation in all categories in four first-tier cities. In the Robotruck sector, Pony.ai initiated the country's first unmanned truck caravan and freight service trial on the Jingjin-Tang expressway in January this year. On the other hand, Pony.ai deepened cooperation along the industrial value chain and formed a joint force with upstream and downstream partners to promote the large-scale application of autonomous driving. In November and December of 2024, Pony.ai collaborated with BAIC New Energy and GAC Aian to develop L4 Robotaxi models. In August and October of 2024, Pony.ai's Robotaxi connected with Alipay, Amap app, and mini-programs through cooperation to offer users more choices for tech-savvy travel. In March 2025, Pony.ai announced a joint operation of autonomous driving travel with ComfortDelGro, which boasts a network of over 29,000 taxis globally, in Guangzhou. Pony.ai's CFO, Haojun Wang, highlighted that the company will focus on efficient investment and optimized output, ensuring alignment of resources to accelerate the company's business deployment strategy.

25/03/2025

Pony.us, a company specializing in smart transportation, achieved a revenue of 548 million yuan in 2024, marking a steady growth for three consecutive years.

On March 25, Pony.ai (PONY.US) released its fourth quarter and full year financial report for 2024. The company's total revenue for 2024 reached 548 million yuan, an increase of 4.3% year-on-year; revenue from autonomous driving services was 53.28 million yuan, with a significant growth in passenger fares; adjusted R&D expenses increased by 14% year-on-year, reaching 1.006 billion yuan, mainly used for the development of the seventh generation Robotaxi. As of December 31, 2024, the total amount of cash equivalents and long-term and short-term financial investments reached 6.023 billion yuan. Pony.ai emphasizes its business strategy of "Robotaxi business first, China market first, first-tier cities first", and in the fourth quarter, the company reached Robotaxi mass production partnerships with GAC Aian and BAIC New Energy, with quarterly revenue reaching 2.59 billion yuan.

25/03/2025

Financial Report Outlook | Continued weak spending from low-income consumers may lead to a "double kill" in revenue and profit for Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR.US) in Q4.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR.US) will announce its fourth quarter financial report before the market opens on March 26th, Eastern Time, with both revenue and profit expected to decline. Wall Street analysts predict the company's revenue to be $8.23 billion, a 4.7% decrease year-on-year, and earnings per share to be $2.18, a 14.5% decrease year-on-year. In the past 30 days, analysts have lowered their general expectations for the company's earnings per share for this quarter by 1.2% to the current level. Financial analyst Jim Cramer stated that he does not expect the company to deliver outstanding performance, as the company has not been providing consumers with the value they desire. Market trends leading up to Dollar Tree, Inc.'s report release are worth paying attention to. Zacks forecasts that the company's performance in the fourth quarter will continue to reflect the pressures from weak demand for non-essential consumer goods, due to a weakening trend in spending by lower-income consumers. In addition, the company has been facing unfavorable impacts from inflation pressures, rising interest rates, and adverse effects from foreign exchange rates that continue to hinder its growth. For some time, the company has been experiencing high sales, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses due to rising operational costs. It is expected that these factors will damage the company's revenue and profits in the fourth quarter. In the previous quarterly earnings conference call, management had anticipated that total net sales would be between $8.1 billion and $8.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) may fall between $2.10 and $2.30. Looking at the positive side, it is expected that Dollar Tree, Inc. will continue to make progress in its restructuring and expansion plans, thanks to steady store openings and improvements in distribution centers, which may somewhat offset revenue pressures. Dollar Tree, Inc. has been making good progress in optimizing its store portfolio through openings, renovations, rebranding, and closures. Besides general earnings and revenue expectations, Wall Street analysts usually monitor and forecast specific metrics for Dollar Tree, Inc. as average expectations to evaluate the company's performance in the current quarter. Analysts generally believe that total net sales will reach $8.26 billion. This expectation represents a 4.4% year-on-year decrease. Analysts' comprehensive assessment shows that net sales for Dollar Tree, Inc. may reach $4.96 billion, which is consistent with the same period last year. Analysts predict that net sales for Family Dollar will reach $3.29 billion, indicating a 10.3% year-on-year decrease. According to analysts' comprehensive assessment, "other income" is expected to reach $7 million, representing a 0.1% decline compared to the same period last year. For the fourth quarter, management had expected single-digit low growth in comparable store sales for both the enterprise and Dollar Tree, Inc. and Family Dollar segments. The Zacks model predicts a 1.8% year-on-year increase in comparable store sales for the enterprise in the fourth quarter, with Dollar Tree, Inc. brand comparable store sales up by 1.7% and Family Dollar comparable store sales up by 1.9%. Analysts' general expectation for Dollar Tree, Inc.'s comparable store sales is 1.2%. This expectation is in contrast to the 6.3% data from the same period last year. Analysts predict a 1.3% comparable store sales for the enterprise. This expectation differs from the 3% figure from the same period last year. Moreover, analysts estimate that the total number of stores will reach 16,622. In comparison, the company reported 16,774 stores for the same period last year. The average forecast of analysts shows that the year-end store count for Dollar Tree, Inc. is 8,877. In comparison, the company reported 8,415 stores for the same period last year. Analysts' evaluation indicates that Family Dollar's year-end store count will reach 7,709 stores. This expectation contrasts with the 8,359 store count from the same period last year. Analysts expect 50 new store openings for Dollar Tree, Inc. This expectation represents a decrease compared to the 146 new store openings from the same period last year. According to analysts' comprehensive assessment, it is predicted that there will be 21 Family Dollar store closures. In comparison, the company reported 59 store closures for the same period last year.

24/03/2025

Financial Report Outlook | Q4 Revenue and Profit Expected to Double, Can this Help Lululemon (LULU.US) Stock Price Stop Falling and Rebound?

Lululemon Athletica (LULU.US) will announce its fourth quarter earnings on March 27th (Thursday) Eastern Time. Analysts expect Lululemon's Q4 revenue to be $3.59 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase, slightly higher than the high end of the company's guidance range, a strong growth largely attributed to the extra week in the quarter; adjusted earnings per share are expected to reach $5.86, an 11% increase year-over-year. Q4 earnings are coming! What themes are worth paying attention to? Lululemon has consistently outperformed market expectations on profits, so independent research company DM Martins Research founder Daniel Martins believes that the fourth quarter performance will not have a big impact on this investment theme. Instead, this report will focus on several key topics, with the most important possibly being the outlook for the fiscal year 2025. Lululemon has committed to achieving $12.5 billion in revenue by 2026. This year's guidance may help boost confidence in this goal, but could also raise questions. Comparable store sales are also of interest. Currently, Lululemon's number of stores has increased by nearly 10%, which helps boost its revenue. However, with comparable store sales in the Americas declining by 2%, with the performance in the US market possibly worse, investors may hope for better news on sales in larger, more mature markets. Investors will also be focused on how the macroeconomic environment is affecting Lululemon's operations, both on the procurement side and on the demand side. It is reported that Lululemon's supply chain is spread across many countries, especially in Asia. Thus, Martins expects that the trade war will not have a significant impact on the company's supply chain. However, there is enough evidence to suggest that consumers may be more cautious about discretionary spending recently. The 2025 performance guidance should reflect the management team's view of the current macroeconomic situation, with Martins suggesting the guidance may be conservative. Transition from growth stock to value stock In terms of stock performance, over the past 12 to 18 months, Lululemon's stock price has followed the long-term earnings growth expectations. This clearly indicates that the stock is still being driven by the company's growth prospects, which have recently been tested. After dropping by 25% last year, Lululemon's stock price has fallen by 16% so far this year. At this time last year, long-term earnings growth expectations were over 20%, but have nearly halved. The forward price-earnings ratio has also decreased from around 25 times to the current 19.5 times. Martins believes that Lululemon is in a transition phase from a growth stock to a value stock. This is not good news for Lululemon investors. The market seems to have the same expectations for Lululemon as it did during the company's peak. However, given the company's current size and signs of maturity in its key geographic markets, the expectation of sustained profit growth of 20% to 30% is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Once the valuation drops enough to attract value investors, the narrative may change. Martins is concerned that the stock may face further downside risk until it begins to look more like a value stock.

24/03/2025

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