CSE SP
AI data-centre electrification, record backlog conversion, and strategic-review optionality
KEY INSIGHTS #1
AI data-centre power infrastructure is becoming the main structural growth engine.
CSE is increasingly exposed to the second-order beneficiaries of AI capex rather than GPUs themselves. Data-centre infrastructure already contributed around 14% of group revenue in 2025, while Amazon’s warrant arrangement is tied to up to US$1.5B of qualifying purchases of CSE products and services through November 2030. More recently, CSE secured a US$49.8M, or S$64.3M, contract to design and manufacture power distribution centres for the Cheyenne Power Hub in the US, with execution across 2026–27. The win validates CSE’s position in critical electrical infrastructure and creates potential follow-on opportunities as hyperscalers continue expanding US power capacity.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Strategic review creates additional upside beyond the operating recovery.
CSE has continued to update investors that its strategic review remains ongoing, providing potential optionality around capital allocation, corporate structure or other value-unlocking measures. At the same time, the operational catalyst pipeline remains strong, with brokers expecting further large hyperscaler electrification awards and the recently secured Cheyenne project adding to FY27 visibility. With the shares around S$1.18–1.20 versus recent analyst targets ranging from roughly S$1.56 to S$1.95, the current valuation offers an attractive setup if 2H26 margins recover while the strategic review produces a tangible outcome.
PCPG SP
GPU pricing power, AI-server optionality, and margin normalization
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Tight GPU and graphics-memory supply is supporting ASPs even as unit volumes remain constrained.
The current memory shortage is creating an unusual earnings setup for graphics-card manufacturers. In 1H26, PC Partner’s own-brand graphics-card revenue fell 9.2% to HK$4.46B as shipment volume declined 18.4%, but average selling prices increased 10.7%. More importantly, ODM/OEM graphics-card revenue jumped 73.9% to HK$1.48B despite a 38.4% volume decline because ASP increased 181%. Group revenue therefore still rose 1.5% YoY to HK$6.45B, while gross margin expanded sharply to 16.5% from 10.5%. PC Partner has previously indicated that higher graphics-memory prices should continue supporting VGA pricing until supply improves, creating a near-term buffer against lower unit output.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
AI servers provide a credible second growth engine beyond consumer GPUs.
PC Partner is transitioning from primarily an add-in-board GPU manufacturer toward higher-value enterprise compute. At NVIDIA GTC 2026, the group showcased a 4U NVIDIA MGX server using RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs and ConnectX-8 networking, alongside a 6U eight-GPU server targeted at on-premise AI and digital-twin workloads. The 4U platform supports up to eight GPUs with 96GB of GDDR7 memory per card. Management has also indicated that 6U systems have already started shipping, while the MGX 4U server is expected to become available from September. Initial volumes are unlikely to transform group earnings immediately, particularly where systems are sold as lower-margin barebones, but successful qualification with system integrators and data centres could materially expand PC Partner’s addressable market beyond gaming GPUs.
9992 HK
IP diversification, overseas normalization, and buyback support
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Designer toys are shifting from a China collectible trend into a broader global IP consumption category.
Pop Mart’s 1H26 revenue increased 23.8% YoY to RMB17.17B, demonstrating that demand remains structurally above pre-LABUBU levels despite a sharp slowdown from 2025’s exceptional growth. More importantly, revenue is broadening beyond a single viral character: six IPs generated more than RMB1B each during the half, including THE MONSTERS at RMB4.45B, Stars at RMB2.65B, CRYBABY at RMB1.63B, DIMOO at RMB1.62B, SKULLPANDA at RMB1.55B and HIRONO at RMB1.01B. A deeper multi-IP portfolio reduces reliance on LABUBU alone and gives Pop Mart greater potential to evolve toward a Disney-style IP monetisation model rather than remaining a conventional toy retailer.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Overseas weakness looks more like channel normalization than a collapse in brand demand.
The key 1H26 disappointment was international revenue, which fell 9.1% as online traffic normalized from unusually strong 2025 levels and overseas operating margins were pressured by store openings and weaker scale leverage. However, offline overseas stores remained comparatively healthy, while management is shifting from aggressive store rollout toward stricter site selection and localized supply. Pop Mart has also added manufacturing partners in Mexico, Cambodia and Indonesia, which should shorten replenishment cycles and reduce reliance on air freight. If inventory normalization continues through 2H26, overseas margins could recover without requiring aggressive discounting that would damage IP scarcity and brand equity.
1208 HK
Copper scarcity, record cash generation, and Khoemacau growth optionality
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Copper market tightness remains supportive, with AI and grid investment reinforcing structural demand.
Copper prices are trading near record levels as physical inventories outside the US tighten, concentrate availability remains constrained and potential US tariffs distort global trade flows. At the same time, electricity-grid upgrades, renewable deployment and AI data-centre buildouts continue to support structural copper demand. MMG is a direct beneficiary through Las Bambas and its expanding African copper portfolio. 1H26 marked MMG’s highest first-half copper production since 2018, while Las Bambas alone produced 210,195 tonnes of copper concentrate. With copper around US$14,000/t, the sensitivity of earnings and free cash flow to elevated pricing remains substantial.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Khoemacau is evolving into a materially larger copper platform.
MMG’s Botswana operation offers the clearest medium-term production kicker. Khoemacau is targeting annual copper capacity of around 130,000 tonnes by 2028 versus 42,120 tonnes produced in 2025, with longer-term potential approaching 200,000 tonnes. The August discovery of the nearby Kgwebe deposit adds approximately 1.4Mt of contained copper and 90Moz of silver to Khoemacau’s Mineral Resources, strengthening the case for further mine-life and throughput expansion. If copper prices remain elevated while Khoemacau ramps as planned, MMG can transition from a primarily Las Bambas-driven story into a more diversified high-growth copper producer.
DHR US
Life-sciences recovery play with recurring bioprocessing and diagnostics exposure
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Bioprocessing recovery and Masimo broaden recurring growth.
Danaher’s life-sciences businesses are recovering, with 2Q26 revenue rising 5.5% YoY to US$6.3bn and bioprocessing orders growing mid-teens, indicating improving demand even as project timing affected reported revenue. The acquisition of Masimo adds advanced sensor technology and AI-enabled patient monitoring to Danaher’s diagnostics portfolio, broadening its exposure beyond bioprocessing while strengthening recurring consumables and clinical diagnostics revenue.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Biotech innovation and capacity investment support new life-sciences upcycle.
The biotech industry is moving back toward higher R&D and manufacturing activity as biologics, cell and gene therapies, personalised medicine and mRNA-based treatments expand. The first successful large-scale Phase III mRNA cancer-vaccine trial provides another validation point for next-generation biologics, which should increase long-term demand for the bioprocessing equipment, consumables, analytical tools and diagnostics supplied by Danaher as therapies move from discovery into clinical development and commercial production.
TWST US
DNA synthesis platform leveraged to AI-driven biotech discovery
KEY INSIGHTS #1
DNA synthesis is scaling with improving margins.
Twist is benefiting from rising demand across DNA synthesis, protein solutions and NGS, with 3Q26 revenue up 23% YoY to US$118.4mn, marking its 14th consecutive quarter of sequential growth. DNA Synthesis and Protein Solutions revenue grew 39% YoY to US$56.6mn, while gross margin improved to 52.8%, showing that higher utilisation and product mix are supporting both growth and operating leverage.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
AI drug discovery and personalised medicine increase demand for synthetic DNA.
AI-enabled drug discovery is accelerating the design of proteins, antibodies and therapeutic candidates, increasing the number of biological sequences that need to be physically synthesised and tested. The recent Phase III success of Moderna and Merck’s personalised mRNA cancer vaccine also highlights the broader shift toward genomics-driven and personalised therapies, where sequencing, mutation identification and rapid DNA synthesis become increasingly important research tools.
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