DBS SP
Wealth-led earnings resilience, AI productivity, and capital returns
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Wealth management has become the primary earnings engine, reducing reliance on NIM.
DBS is no longer purely a “higher rates” story. Wealth management, treasury customer sales and transaction banking are driving a larger share of earnings. In 1Q26, the bank reported record total income of S$5.95B and record wealth fees of S$907M, supported by S$10B of net new money inflows. This improves earnings quality and makes DBS less dependent on interest-rate movements than regional peers.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
AI is becoming a measurable profit driver rather than just a technology investment.
DBS expects AI initiatives to generate over S$1B of annual economic impact by 2027, up from around S$750M in 2025. AI is already being deployed across customer service, software development, fraud detection, risk management and internal productivity. Unlike many banks that discuss AI in qualitative terms, DBS is providing quantified financial targets, giving investors another medium-term earnings growth driver beyond loan expansion.
STE SP
Defence exports accelerate, aerospace compounds, and record backlog de-risks growth
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Global defence rearmament is turning international orders into a second growth engine.
ST Engineering secured S$2.4B of Defence & Public Security contracts in 1Q26, including a roughly S$470M Qatar military-vehicle MRO programme, a S$600M subcontract for eight Kuwaiti missile gun boats, and international ammunition orders. The significance is geographic diversification: international defence wins can supplement Singapore’s stable domestic base and support stronger margins as proprietary platforms and lifecycle services scale.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Commercial Aerospace remains the structural compounder, not merely a passenger-recovery trade.
Commercial Aerospace contributed S$1.7B of new contracts in 1Q26. The segment benefits from structurally constrained global maintenance capacity, ageing aircraft fleets and airlines retaining aircraft longer as new-aircraft deliveries remain constrained. ST Engineering’s airframe, component, engine-nacelle and passenger-to-freighter capabilities provide recurring aftermarket exposure with better visibility than original-equipment manufacturing alone.
0700 HK
AI monetisation inflection, advertising flywheel, and gaming resilience
KEY INSIGHTS #1
AI is now lifting every business, not creating a new one.
Tencent is one of the few global internet companies where AI is already improving the economics of its core businesses. Management highlighted AI-enhanced advertising, cloud services, enterprise software and WeChat ecosystem products as the primary investment focus. Rather than building a separate AI revenue stream, Tencent is embedding AI into products that already generate hundreds of billions of RMB annually. This creates a much clearer monetisation pathway than many AI peers. Advertising remains one of the biggest beneficiaries as recommendation algorithms and AI-generated creative continue to improve advertiser ROI.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Gaming is stronger than the market appreciates.
Gaming remains Tencent’s largest profit engine. Domestic gaming has benefited from evergreen franchises such as Honor of Kings together with improving monetisation from newer titles, while international games continue expanding through Supercell, Riot Games and other global studios. Unlike most publishers, Tencent combines premium PC titles, mobile gaming and global IP ownership, making earnings significantly more diversified. Gaming cash flows continue funding AI investment without materially weakening profitability.
9988 HK
Cloud acceleration meets an earnings trough as AI monetisation overtakes quick-commerce burn
KEY INSIGHTS #1
AI cloud is graduating from narrative to measurable revenue.
Alibaba Cloud’s March-quarter revenue increased 38% YoY to RMB41.63B, accelerating from 36% in the preceding quarter. AI-related products represented approximately 30% of external cloud revenue and maintained triple-digit growth for the eleventh consecutive quarter. Management expects AI-related products to contribute more than half of external cloud revenue in roughly one year.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Current earnings are deliberately depressed, creating operating leverage if investment intensity peaks.
March-quarter revenue rose only 3% YoY to RMB243.38B, but increased approximately 11% on a like-for-like basis after excluding disposed businesses. Adjusted EBITA fell 84% YoY, while adjusted earnings per ADS dropped to RMB0.62 as Alibaba accelerated spending on AI infrastructure, user acquisition and quick commerce. The market is already treating FY2027 as an investment trough rather than a normal earnings year. Management prioritises market share and growth over near-term margins, but expects cloud margins to improve over the next one to two quarters and quick-commerce unit economics to turn positive by the end of FY2027.
DASH US
Local-commerce platform expanding beyond restaurant delivery
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Broader verticals and logistics innovation deepen platform value.
DoorDash is evolving from a food-delivery app into a broader local-commerce platform spanning groceries, convenience goods and retail. Its direct Shopify integration allows eligible U.S. brick-and-mortar merchants to synchronise products and inventory with DoorDash, while DashPass supports order frequency and customer retention. DoorDash Air’s FAA Part 135 certification also creates longer-term potential to improve delivery speed and unit economics on suitable routes, although commercial deployment will remain gradual.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
Convenience spending remains resilient despite consumer uncertainty.
Consumers continue to prioritise convenience for meals, groceries and daily essentials, supporting recurring delivery demand even in an uncertain spending environment. This helped DoorDash’s 2Q26 Marketplace GOV rise 36% YoY to US$33.08bn, while adjusted EBITDA increased 40% to US$914mn, demonstrating that category expansion and greater platform scale can support both growth and improving profitability.
CB US
Direct underwriting beneficiary of the AI data-centre construction cycle
KEY INSIGHTS #1
Broad underwriting capabilities create an end-to-end offering.
Chubb is one of the few global insurers able to cover data centres throughout their lifecycle, spanning builders’ risk, property, engineering, marine, surety, liability, professional lines, cyber, utilities and energy infrastructure. Its balance-sheet capacity and technical underwriting expertise provide an advantage as projects become larger and more complex; this discipline was reflected in 2Q26 core operating income of US$2.84bn, up 14.6% YoY, and a strong 83.8% P&C combined ratio.
KEY INSIGHTS #2
AI infrastructure expands the commercial insurance premium pool.
The AI data-centre boom is creating new demand beyond physical property insurance, including construction delays, equipment damage, power interruption, cyberattacks, supply-chain disruption and operational downtime. As insurable values rise toward US$20bn-US$30bn per location, Chubb can benefit from higher specialty premium volumes and a growing invested-asset base, although disciplined risk selection remains essential given concentration and aggregation risks.
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