Alpha Coverage #88
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This Week’s Alpha Coverage: YouTube Playlist.
Editor’s Pick:
[News] Google rises as tech giant unveils 'mind-boggling' quantum computing chip
The chip, known as Willow, is capable of handling complex calculations in a span of five minutes, while the world’s most powerful supercomputers would need 10 septillion years, the tech giant said in a study published in Nature.
"Our results present device performance that, if scaled, could realize the operational requirements of large scale fault-tolerant quantum algorithms," Google researchers wrote in the study's abstract.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
RDDT 0.00%↑ GOOG 0.00%↑ GOOGL 0.00%↑
[News] Reddit rises after releasing test of AI-powered search tool
"With Reddit Answers, redditors can ask questions and receive answers using a new, AI-powered conversational interface," the company said in a blog post today. "Once a question is asked, curated summaries of relevant conversations and details across Reddit will appear, including links to related communities and posts. Redditors can easily read relevant snippets and answers inline from real redditors, jump into the full conversations, and go deeper in their search with their own or suggested follow-up questions."
Reddit Answers is being released as a test version today to a limited number of users in the U.S. It is only available in English in its current form, but will eventually be expanded with more languages and locations.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
MSFT 0.00%↑ #OpenAI #Sora
[News] OpenAI launches Sora, AI-powered video creator
OpenAI launched Sora, an artificial intelligence-powered video generator that can create videos with as little as a few words of text.
"This is going live today in most of the world, except for Europe and the U.K.," Altman added. "It might be a while before we can operate it there."
Users start on the Explore page, which is a feed of videos shared by the community. A box at the bottom of each video explains how it was created. Videos can be created via a line of text or using an image to kickstart the project.
There is also a more advanced tool called Storyboard. The creator can arrange a series of cards, with each card describing a specific scene. Storyboard then melds these instructions together into a video.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
AAPL 0.00%↑ #OpenAI #ChatGPT
[News] Apple iOS 18.2 drops, integrates ChatGPT in second wave of Apple Intelligence
The update builds on Apple Intelligence features of the iPhone, iPad and Mac, as the Cupertino-based company takes a more private approach to AI with its on-device capabilities.
The update also advances the Microsoft-backed (MSFT) mega startup OpenAI as ChatGPT is now integrated into Siri and Writing Tools.
The update is available today in most regions around the world when a device and Siri are set to English for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK or the US. Apple Intelligence feature are slated to roll out in the EU in April 2025.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
AAPL 0.00%↑ AVGO 0.00%↑ TSM 0.00%↑
[News] Apple working with Broadcom to develop in-house AI server chips: report
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is working with Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) to develop the company's first in-house server chip exclusively designed for artificial intelligence, The Information reported.
The chip, known internally as Baltra, could be ready for mass production by 2026, the news outlet reported, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. The new AI chip could be used for inferencing.
The chip will be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and likely use its 3 nanometer process, The Information added, citing sources.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
[News] Archer Aviation unveils new strategic partnership as part of its defense program
Archer Aviation (NYSE:ACHR) announced on Thursday that it entered a strategic partnership with Anduril to develop a next-generation aircraft for defense applications.
The first product from the partnership is expected to be a hybrid-propulsion, vertical-take-off-and landing aircraft that will target a potential program of record from the United States Department of Defense.
The company said its efforts on the project will be part of its new Archer Defense program. To support the initiative and for other general corporate purposes, Archer (ACHR) raised $430 million in additional equity capital today, with participation from Stellantis (STLA), United Airlines (UAL), and new institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 12, 2024
[News] Joby Aviation advances its goal of launching operations in South Korea
Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) announced on Friday that it completed a series of flight tests in Korea as part of the K-UAM Grand Challenge, which is part of the nation's initiative to support the commercialization of air taxis in the Korean market.
Over the course of a week, Joby (JOBY) successfully completed a range of missions demonstrating various flight profiles and conditions, including fully wing-borne flight. The company also demonstrated its capability to collaborate on aircraft operations with potential Korean partners ahead of future commercialization in the country.
Korea is the third country in which Joby (JOBY) has received an airworthiness certification for demonstration and flight testing, following similar approvals in the United States and Japan.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
News, Facts, Analyst & Market Commentary - Short Reads:
Ballard Power to supply 8 MW of fuel cell engines for California passenger rail
Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) +2.4% pre-market Monday after saying it signed a multi-year supply agreement with train builder Stadler US to supply 8 MW of fuel cell engines to power trains for the California Department of Transportation; financial terms were not disclosed.
Ballard Power (BLDP) said it will supply FCmove-HD+ engines to be integrated into Stadler's line of zero-emission passenger trains, the FLIRT H2.
The order supports Caltrans' purchase of 10 FLIRT H2 trains, with an option for an additional 19 trains, to strengthen California's zero-emission passenger rail capabilities.
Ballard Power (BLDP) already had integrated its fuel cell engines into the FLIRT H2, which became the first Federal Railroad Administration compliant hydrogen fuel cell powered passenger train demonstrated in the U.S.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
META 0.00%↑ GOOG 0.00%↑ #TikTok #ByteDance
[Newsletter Exclusive] ByteDance, TikTok appeal court ruling that upheld forced sale in US
Tiktok and its Chinese-based parent company ByteDance (BDNCE) on Monday asked an appeals court to put a temporary block on a law that would force the sale of the video-sharing app while it seeks a U.S. Supreme Court review.
The companies filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, saying that the app would be shut down for its 170M monthly domestic users.
A federal court on Thursday upheld the impending ban, rejecting ByteDance’s argument that the ban was unconstitutional.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
Vertex reports positive long-term data for Casgevy
The data showed 93% of treated patients, or 39 out of 42, with sickle cell disease who were at least 16 months of follow-up were free from vaso-occlusive crises, or VOCs, for at least 12 consecutive months. The mean duration of VOC-free was 30.9 months, with a maximum of 59.6 months, according to a statement.
For patients with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, or TDT, 98% of patients, or 53 out of 54, who were at least 16 months of follow-up achieved transfusion-independence for at least 12 consecutive months with a weighted average hemoglobin of at least 9 g/dL. The mean duration of transfusion independence was 34.5 months, with a maximum of 64.1 months.
Vertex (VRTX) said that over 45 authorized treatment centers have been activated around the world to support the delivery of Casgevy, with more than 40 patients having had a first cell collection.
Casgevy was developed with CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP).
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Intuit and Amazon expand partnership
Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) and Amazon (AMZN) announced on Monday, a multi-year strategic partnership to help Amazon sellers manage their finances, stay compliant, access capital, and grow their business.
By leveraging Intuit’s AI-driven platform, millions of Amazon sellers will be able to discover and access Intuit’s platform, benefiting from financial insights like profitability, cash flow, and estimated tax liabilities to fuel their growth.
QuickBooks will become Amazon’s preferred partner for financial management solutions integrated directly in Amazon Seller Central, the Amazon site where sellers manage their businesses.
Intuit and Amazon will start rolling out these capabilities in mid-2025. The companies will initially focus on delivering capabilities for sellers in the U.S., with international availability to follow.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 09, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] U.S. finalizes $6.1B+ Chips Act funding with Micron
The Boise, Idaho-based company had announced a preliminary memorandum of terms with the Department in April for up to ~$6.14B in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.
The $6.165B award finalized today will support the construction of two fabs in Clay, New York, and one fab in Boise, Idaho as part of Micron’s (MU) total $125B investment across both states over the next two decades.
The Department will disburse the funds based on Micron’s completion of project milestones.
“These investments will help the U.S. grow its share of advanced memory manufacturing from nearly 0% today to 10% over the next decade,” Vice President Kamala Harris said.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 10, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Marvell announces breakthrough in custom high-bandwidth memory
Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) made several announcements late on Wednesday, including a break through in custom high-bandwidth memory that's used in artificial intelligence processors.
Marvell said its new AI accelerator architecture, or XPU, will allow for 25% more compute power and 33% greater memory, while also allowing for improved power efficiency. The company is working with Micron (MU), Samsung and SK hynix on custom HBM processors for the accelerators.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 10, 2024
Rocket Lab pushes ahead with suborbital hypersonic technology initiative for the Department of Defense
Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) announced late on Tuesday that it successfully launched a suborbital mission in November to test hypersonic technology for the Department of Defense.
Hypersonic technology refers to vehicles and systems capable of traveling at speeds exceeding Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound12. These systems operate in a unique aerodynamic regime characterized by extreme temperatures, thin shock layers, and complex air flows.
Rocket Lab's (RKLB) test platform showcased a new suite of cutting-edge technologies optimized for hypersonic technology tests with vastly increased payloads. The company also designed, manufactured, assembled, and integrated the experimental hypersonic instrumentation which was launched on this mission, but on a highly accelerated timeline.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 10, 2024
Redwire secures $45 million contract from Air Force Research Laboratory
Redwire (NYSE:RDW) has secured a $45M five-year cost-plus-fixed-fee contract that will be incrementally funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory for the development, and testing of prototype software and hardware for mission critical technologies.
The contract will support the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate’s efforts to equip the joint warfighter with a spectrum of agile, effective, resilient, and affordable space mission capabilities.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 10, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Lilly to sell Zepbound through telehealth platform Ro
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) plans to streamline patient access to its weight-loss drug Zepbound by offering single-dose vials through telehealth platform Ro.
The vials will be made available through an integration with Lilly’s (LLY) LillyDirect self-pay pharmacy channel. The drugs will be prescribed by a Ro-affiliated healthcare provider, according to a Ro statement.
News of the Ro partnership appeared to weigh on Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), with shares sliding 5% in morning trading. Hims (HIMS) has been offering a compounded version of Zepbound, also known as tirzepatide, through its telehealth website.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
Google launches Gemini 2, heating up rivalry with OpenAI
The U.S. tech giant is also launching a new feature called Deep Research, which uses advanced reasoning and long context capabilities to act as a research assistant, exploring complex topics and compiling reports on users' behalf. It will be available to Gemini Advanced subscribers from today.
Google noted that Gemini 2.0 is built on custom hardware like Trillium, its sixth-generation Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs. TPUs powered 100% of Gemini 2.0 training and inference.
Starting today, the Trillium chip will be generally available to customers, according to the company.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Enphase Energy announces initial shipments of IQ8X and IQ8 commercial Microinverters
Enphase Energy (ENPH) announced initial shipments of IQ8X microinverters and IQ8P-3P commercial microinverters supplied from manufacturing facilities in the United States with higher domestic content than previous models.
Enphase IQ8 microinverters supplied from manufacturing facilities in the United States have been added to the California Energy Commission’s Solar Equipment Lists, which include equipment that meets established national safety and performance standards.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Google requests FTC to break up Microsoft-OpenAI's cloud deal - report
Microsoft's competitors in the cloud server space, such as Google, also want to host OpenAI's large language models, or LLMs, so that their cloud customers do not need to access Microsoft's servers to get access to the ChatGPT-maker's technology, the report noted.
Companies that buy OpenAI's technology via Microsoft may have to see additional charges if they do not already use Microsoft's servers to carry out their operations, the report added.
Google and other rivals have highlighted that these new costs will impact customers, the report noted.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] ReNew Energy gets shareholder offer to go private for $7.07/share
ReNew Energy (NASDAQ:RNW) closed +17.6% in Wednesday's trading after some of its biggest shareholders offered to take the company private for $7.07/share, representing an 11.5% premium to the stock's closing price on December 10.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and ReNew (RNW) founder, Chairman and CEO Sumant Sinha, said they formed a consortium to acquire the company's entire issued and to be issued share capital not already owned by the group.
The offer values the Indian clean energy generator at $2.82B, according to Reuters.
The consortium said the proposal would provide ReNew's (RNW) shareholders with "immediate liquidity not available in the public markets."
ReNew (RNW) operates 10.3 GW of solar, wind, hydro and hybrid projects across India.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
GOOG 0.00%↑ #SSNLF
Google, Samsung show off mixed reality headset dev kit to take on Apple, Meta
The headset uses the Android XR (extended reality) operating system, which was showcased and unveiled at a developer event in New York. The new headset is part of Samsung's Project Moohan initiative, intended to further diversify its consumer electronics.
Qualcomm (QCOM) said its Snapdragon Spaces XR platform will power the device.
Google added that Sony (SONY) and other companies will use the Android XR operating system for their respective headsets.
Pricing of the new Google-Samsung headset is yet to be determined.
The first products based on the Project Moohan (Korean for "infinite") platform will launch early next year, Google and Samsung said.
In addition, the two companies teased that smart glasses will be a part of the project, though they did not offer a time frame for the product.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 12, 2024
Broadcom Non-GAAP EPS of $1.42 beats by $0.03, revenue of $14.06B in-line
"Semiconductor revenue was a record $30.1B driven by AI revenue of $12.2B. AI revenue, which grew 220% year-on-year, was driven by our leading AI XPUs and Ethernet networking portfolio," Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 12, 2024
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 12, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Meta launches AI model Motivo for humanoid agents; mind reasoning program for machine learning
Meta Motivo is trained with a novel algorithm that uses an unlabeled dataset of motions to ground unsupervised reinforcement learning towards learning human-like behaviors. The AI model can solve a range of whole-body control tasks, including motion tracking and goal pose reaching, without any additional training or planning.
Meta believes that in the future, this research could pave the way for fully embodied agents in the Metaverse, leading to more lifelike non-player characters, or NPCs, democratization of character animation, and new types of immersive experiences.
Large Concept Model: Meta also unveiled what it called a "fundamentally different training paradigm for language modeling." The company noted that the core idea of the Large Concept Model, or LCM, is to decouple reasoning from language representation, and was inspired by how humans can plan high-level thoughts to communicate.
As an example, the company said that when giving a presentation several times, a presenter always has the same ideas they want to convey (materialized by their slides projected on screen), but their exact choice of words may vary from one time to the other.
"Guided by that principle, the LCM is a significant departure from a typical LLM. Rather than predicting the next token, the LCM is trained to predict the next concept or high-level idea, represented by a full sentence in a multimodal and multilingual embedding space," said Meta.
The company added that the LCM outperforms or matches recent LLMs in the pure generative task of summarization, and is more computationally efficient as input context grows, among other things.
Meta Explore Theory-of-Mind: To achieve advanced machine intelligence, the company has introduced Meta Explore Theory-of-Mind. It is a program-guided adversarial data generation for theory of mind reasoning. It enables the generation of diverse, challenging, and scalable Theory-of-Mind reasoning data for training and evaluation, according to the company.
Adversarial data are inputs to machine learning models, which a programmer has purposely designed to cause the model to make a mistake.
The company noted that Explore Theory-of-Mind generates reliable stories that push the limits of large language models, or LLMs, making it ideal for evaluating frontier models or fine-tuning data.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
Apple to start assembling India-made AirPods by early 2025 - report
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will start manufacturing its AirPods in India for the first time from early next year, Bloomberg News reported, advancing its push to diversify beyond China.
A unit of Foxconn Technology (OTCPK:FXCOF) — which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision (OTCPK:HNHAF) (OTCPK:HNHPF) — will begin assembling AirPods at a new factory in the Indian state of Telangana around the first quarter of 2025, the report added, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The factory is already manufacturing AirPods on a trial basis, and production will increase quickly, the report added.
The earphones would become the second main Apple product to be assembled in India, after the iPhones.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
Taiwan Semiconductor rises as Japanese plant set to mass produce soon: report
Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) shares rose 4.5% on Friday as the company's first fab plant in Japan will start mass-producing chips by the end of the year, Nikkei reported.
Yuichi Horita, the president of a local operating unit for Taiwan Semi, told attendees at the recent Semicon Japan event that the plant in the Kumamoto prefecture had achieved "the same quality as plants in Taiwan," the Japanese news outlet added.
The facility will initially supply logic semiconductors to Sony Group and Denso.
TSMC plans to bring a second plant online in Kumamoto in 2027.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
Link to Nikkei News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
#VWDRY
Vestas scores 1.1 GW wind turbine order for project offshore Scotland
Vestas Wind (OTCPK:VWDRY) said Friday it won an unconditional order for the 1.1 GW Inch Cape Offshore Wind project in the Scottish North Sea from Inch Cape Offshore Ltd., confirming a conditional deal announced in September; financial terms were not disclosed.
Vestas (OTCPK:VWDRY) said it will supply 72 of its V236-15.0 MW model wind turbines as well as a 10-year service contract followed by an operational support agreement.
Installation of the wind turbines is planned to begin in 2026, with completion of the project anticipated in 2027.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
[Newsletter Exclusive] Tesla adds new autonomous driving feature in China as robotaxi vision progresses
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) launched an autonomous driving feature in China on Friday for vehicles with paid enhanced autopilot and full self-driving.
The "Actually Smart Summon" allows vehicles to autonomously drive from parking lots to a nearby location within the driver's vision.
The electric vehicle giant is adding the feature through over-the-air software updates.
Early in the year, Tesla (TSLA) said that it would roll out its full self-driving driver assistance software in Europe and China in the first quarter of 2025 after it secured regulatory approvals.
Tesla plans to launch an "unsupervised" version of its Full Self-Driving software in Texas and California in 2025. The Austin-based company expects to begin production of its fully autonomous Robotaxi "before 2027," likely in 2026.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
Tesla stock rises on report of Trump team looking to scrap autonomous crash reporting
The Trump transition team wants the incoming administration to drop a standing general order requiring carmakers to report crashes involving automated-driving systems, Reuters reported today, citing a document the news outlet has seen.
Tesla (TSLA) reportedly has the highest number of crashes reported to federal safety regulators under the order.
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 13, 2024
Opinion Pieces - Facts & Opinions - Long Reads:
Micron Is On A Mission To Penetrate The HBM Market - Buy It
Demand for HBM chips has soared in the age of AI, with applications fanning a vast array of end markets, particularly in the GPUs used to power AI workloads. HBM is part of the DRAM memory portfolio but has become popular in AI data center deployments, is currently in its fifth generation of iteration, HBM3e, and is expected to account for 10% of total DRAM bit output in 2025, according to TrendForce. In 2024, HBM chips accounted for ~5% of DRAM bit output.
Twelve months after last year's Q4 call, Micron has actually expanded its market share by 260 bp, the most by any DRAM manufacturer has done per another report, and this has happened due to a superior performance in Micron's server DRAM and HBM3e shipments. That also led to the company finishing their FY24 with a strong finish, per the Idaho-based company's Q4 results.
Link to Seeking Alpha Opinion Piece - Dec. 10, 2024
Nextracker And Array Technologies: Both Look Promising, But One Is Clearly Best-In-Class
In short, both companies seem equally well deployed in terms of their technologies, which are patent protected. These technological innovations should sustain their market dominance into the future, and both have deployed an increasing amount of R&D expenses to foster more innovation.
While there are lots of similarities between the two companies, one important differentiator is in their technology specialization. Solar-tracking systems can be single axis or dual axis.
Both of Nextracker's systems (NX Horizon and NX Gemini) are single axis.
Array has three systems, one of which is STI Norland's patented dual-row STI H250 system. Both it and Array's OmniTrack system (multi-row, for variable terrain) are single axis, but it has also sold its DuraTrack system (its multi-row, dual axis core product) since 2015. The fact that Array offers the options of a dual-axis system - alongside an option for dual-row or multi-row - places it at an advantage for those developers that want to invest in a more efficient system, despite the higher upfront cost and added complexity.
Going forward, despite representing a smaller proportion of installations today, Credence Research suggests that dual-axis trackers are 'projected to witness the highest CAGR' going forward, due to 'the increasing demand for high power consumption and performance which is advanced'. Until Nextracker can develop and commercialize a dual-track system, this shift - if it materializes - would benefit Array over its rival, but it could be years before this advantage plays out meaningfully.
Nextracker has a significantly larger global spread of its revenue mix - rest-of-world revenue of 20.6% versus just 9.7% for Array - which likely positions the former in a better position should either the US or Brazil experience any negative pricing pressure.
Clearly, diversification is a benefit, and Nextracker's efforts to expand its footprint in India by inaugurating the county's first Center for Solar Excellence in Hyderabad - spanning thirteen acres, including a lab, installation test field, and training facilities - is an exciting development.
I perceive a key issue for both companies is their lack of a durable competitive advantage. Those looking to employ solar-tracking systems have a host of options available, and the market is becoming increasingly competitive.
In a more recent analysis of the global market share by Wood Mackenzie (below), both Nextracker and Array appear to have lost market share to some upstarts in the US - notably GameChange and PVH - and China, specifically TrinaTracker and ArcTech. Solar Steel from Spain has also enjoyed a growing market share, all of whom have "eaten the lunches" of Nextracker and Array, whose combined global market share has dropped to 39%. The global market has become increasingly fragmented.
What gives me confidence, however, is the significant growth enjoyed by the solar energy industry to date and its future prospects, and there is certainly room for many winners to emerge from its advancement.
Estimates suggest that tracking systems are now being incorporated in most new utility-scale projects. In 2022, for example, a record 94% of all such projects in the US incorporated tracking systems, most of these using trackers from either Array or Nextracker.
I would expect both Array and Nextracker to benefit from this growth, alongside industry partners including panel manufacturers like Enphase (ENPH) and First Solar (FSLR), solar subscription companies like Sunrun (RUN), renewable energy investors like Hannon Armstrong (HASI), utility companies with a large focus on solar like NextEra Energy (NEE) and Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP), and those providing electric balance of systems (EBOS) solutions for solar installations, like Shoals (SHLS).
Nextracker made $2.8 billion in revenue over the last 12 months, compared to Array's $982 million. Up until the middle of 2023, their revenue growth was comparable, but since then, over the next six quarters, Array's quarterly revenue has halved while Nextracker's has increased by 32%.
This slower growth has earned Array a 3-year revenue CAGR of just 6.46% compared to Nextracker at 29.52%, which is a marked difference. Both have maintained comparable gross profit margins over 30%, but Array has considerably higher operating expenses in relation to revenue.
This has resulted in much lower net profit margins.
Link to Seeking Alpha Opinion Piece - Dec. 10, 2024
Amprius Technologies: New Business Model Looks Good For The CEO
AMPX has had a significant change in direction in 2024. The SiCore product announced in January has become the focus of management and has moved the company to an asset light contract manufacturing business model. The SiCore product IP is owned by a Chinese company, formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Amprius, and now a separate company having been spun out prior to coming to the market. The CEO of Amprius is also the CEO of the Chinese company and the legacy owners of Amprius own the Chinese operation, which now controls the IP deemed to be of most use.
Revenue is growing quickly but as a licensed product being contract manufactured by existing Li Ion manufacturers it will inevitably be a fairly low margin product and AMPX only have the right to sell the product in Mexico, the US and Canada.
The product seems best suited to the Asian market where light electric vehicles are a bigger market. The CEO's other company will likely be a far bigger winner than AMPX.
The SiMaxx product, which is very difficult to manufacture, should have the 2MW line completed soon, more or less as promised, but the GW scale site appears to be on the back burner for the time being.
Link to Seeking Alpha Opinion Piece - Dec. 12, 2024
Charts & Technicals:
Adobe in charts: Revenue from Digital Media maintains single-digit sequential growth in FQ4
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 11, 2024
Broadcom in charts: Revenue from semiconductor solutions rises by 12% in FQ4
Link to Seeking Alpha News Article - Dec. 12, 2024
Disclosure: We own positions in some/all of the tickers mentioned in this article.
