Chinese Bubble Tea Stocks Rise as Food-Delivery Platforms Brew Up Discount War
Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial rose as much as 15% on Monday morning in Hong Kong before paring gains to 7.3%. Guming Holdings and Mixue Group were up 7.5% and 3.0%, respectively. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was last down 0.45%.
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Apple's $275 Billion China Bet Is Now A Major Risk
Apple sells more than 220 million iPhones a year. By most estimates, nine in ten are made in China. Many of the components in Apple products are made, sourced, and assembled in China. The tech giant reported robust earnings for the three months to June, but the future is cloudy. It has been for some time because of Apple's reliance on China and the increasing tension between China and the US. Tariffs are one manifestation of the growing geopolitical strife. Chief executive Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call that tariffs had already cost Apple $800 million in the previous quarter, and may add $1.1bn in costs to the next quarter. But it is not just the costs that tariffs will add to the Apple supply chain. Apple has nurtured Chinese companies whose products are now highly competitive with the tech giant. In the book Apple in China, the author Patrick McGee reports that Apple pledged in 2016 that over the following five years, it would invest more than $275 billion in China. That pledge was exceeded. The sophisticated supply chain Apple built in the country, with suppliers that Apple nurtured, is now being leveraged by Chinese companies, notably Huawei, to build sophisticated electronics products. Huawei's Mate XT is a more expensive phone with alluring features than the iPhone. Apple isn't expected to match these product capabilities until 2017. Apple has gone from leadership in design in this market, with the margins to match, to having serious competition. How could Apple have been so stupid? A fundamental concept of risk management is that you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Patrick McGee explains how this came to be in his outstanding book. McGee interviewed over 200 people, mostly Apple employees, to provide insights on this 'famously secretive company.' Apple's Historic Supply Chain Historically, Apple manufactured its own products across several regions. In 1983, Apple opened a highly automated plant in Fremont, California, to produce the first Macintosh computers. Apple established a presence in Europe with a plant in Cork, Ireland. This plant, which opened in 1980, later manufactured customized Macintosh computers for European markets. This is the historic way of hedging your bets and managing risk. Apple understood this principle. But as contract manufacturing emerged as an alternative to a company owning its own manufacturing plants, Apple experimented with this model and achieved positive outcomes. The theory behind contract manufacturing is that companies should focus on what they do best, their core competencies. In Apple's case, that was design. Initially, they were working with American firms and had plants in the US. But Taiwanese headquartered Foxconn proved to have better capabilities than its US rivals, and Foxconn won an increasing share of Apple's final assembly business. You can still practice effective risk management using contract manufacturers with plants in different regions of the world. Foxconn, at Apple's behest, did experiment with manufacturing in other regions of the world in addition to China. But Foxconn, a tremendously harsh taskmaster when it comes to their labor force, struggled to achieve the same level of quality, cost, and scalability anywhere but in their facilities in mainland China. Foxconn then committed to relying on production based in China. As Foxconn delivered better results than its competitors, they gained a larger and larger share of Apple's business. Apple's Strategy in Procurement Apple does not believe in win/win procurement or vested outsourcing. McGee points out that the iPhone accounts for fewer than 20% of smartphones sold globally, yet it garners more than 80% of industry profits. 'In no other market does a minority player command this kind of dominance.' 'Insofar as this statistic was discussed at all, it was chalked up to Apple's brand appeal.' This is not entirely true, says McGee. Apple was able to get suppliers to work for a pittance. As the design leader, suppliers came to believe that other electronics OEMs would copy the cutting-edge features in Apple phones and that they would be the leading contenders to win deals with Apple's competitors. These deals would command much higher margins. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn was the first to come to this conclusion. They bet big on this model. And they grew to be the world's largest contract manufacturer based on this bet. A Different Approach to Contract Manufacturing Companies can differentiate their products in different ways. Differentiation can be based on price, a broad set of product choices, service, or market-leading product capabilities. Being on the cutting edge of design is how Apple has always differentiated itself. This led to a fundamentally different kind of supply chain for Apple. Apple's electronics rivals sell a limited number of units across dozens of different models per year. The follow-the-leader strategy employed by these companies was based on using standardized parts with wider tolerances. 'But Apple was different,' McGee wrote. 'Apple's product portfolio remained radically simplified. Even by 2015, Apple was only releasing two new iPhones a year. They were hand crafting luxury phones but doing it in mass market quantities. In their search for suppliers, Apple gravitated toward quality, not price. To reach that quality, Apple had to come up with new processes to make the phones; but until Apple chose a new design these processes wouldn't exist. So it had to work far more intimately with suppliers.' This supplier intimacy model included designing and purchasing the equipment that the suppliers used. This is very different from standard contract manufacturing, where the contract manufacturer purports to have better manufacturing capabilities than the companies they work for, and their clients take a hands-off approach to managing production. 'Apple took extraordinary control over its suppliers to ensure it was getting the appropriate prices,' McGee explained. 'It demanded access to every detail about the suppliers' operating costs, from the wages of its workers and the cost of its dormitories to the bill of materials and expense of the machinery.' Apple also procured components on behalf of the suppliers. 'In fact, Apple often had a better sense of the supplier's operation costs than the supplier itself.' And as Foxconn concentrated on manufacturing in China, an industrial cluster of suppliers would grow up around these plants. Apple engineers would teach these suppliers, competing suppliers for different components, how to do quality manufacturing on a huge scale. China Subsidized Manufacturing in China Foxconn concentrated on manufacturing in China not just because of the low wages of the Chinese workers, but because the state subsidized and promoted export-led production in numerous ways. If you want to build a new factory in the US or Europe, obtaining the necessary building permits and complying with other regulations can take years. In China, authorities could make this happen in months. China would give Foxconn and some of the suppliers the land on which the factories would be built and then build the road infrastructure at no cost to Foxconn or their suppliers. Initially, China even bought new machine tools for companies like Foxconn. Local regions often lacked the necessary workers. China facilitated getting these workers from other, poorer regions of the nation. Are there rules about the number of hours workers are allowed to work, overtime, or environmental compliance? China prioritized building a sophisticated manufacturing base over the enforcement of these pesky regulations. Apple Has Been Captured by China McGee concludes that for Apple to extricate itself from production in China will be tremendously difficult. Suppliers with the requisite skills don't exist in other regions, and there is no guarantee that China will permit its indigenous suppliers to produce outside the country. The Chinese government can also make diversification painful. Beijing has deployed a number of tactics against other companies to make this point. Electricity suddenly becomes available for only a few hours a day. Raw materials can be stopped before they arrive at the factory. McGee concludes that there is no way Apple could diversify from China in any meaningful way within the next five years. 'It's just impossible.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Amazon CEO on Tariffs: ‘It's Impossible to Know What Will Happen'
The jury may be still out on the impact of tariffs on Amazon's business, but its customers kept spending throughout the second quarter. Rehashing some of the narrative from the company's first quarter earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that despite the tariffs, the e-commerce giant has not seen diminishing demand or meaningful price appreciation in the first half of the year. More from Sourcing Journal Study Shows American Fashion Firms Unilaterally Challenged by Trade Upheaval, Tariffs Resetting Asia's Apparel Map With a New World Sourcing Order Trump Announces Dozens of New Reciprocal Tariff Rates But Jassy left room for all outcomes for the remainder of the year. 'That could change in the second half,' Jassy said. 'There are a lot of things that we don't know.' Although Jassy said tariffs' effect on retail prices and consumption has often been 'wrong and misreported,' the CEO also acknowledged 'it's impossible to know what will happen,' particularly when it depletes pre-tariff inventory. Jassy was also wishy-washy on the ensuing costs from the tariffs, noting that the company is unsure at who's going to end up absorbing the higher expenses. He noted that with 2 million sellers on its marketplace, there is a range of differing strategies on whether to pass on the higher costs to consumers. The earnings call occurred hours before President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on several U.S. trade partners ahead of Friday's deadline to conjure up new trade agreements. Those tariff rates are expected to kick in Aug. 7. Higher tariffs on goods from China face an Aug. 12 deadline. More than 70 percent of Amazon sellers and brands say they source their products from China, according to a survey conducted last year by Amazon seller software platform Jungle Scout. The tariffs that have been embedded since April have not slowed down sales at the Big Tech firm. Amazon's second quarter showed strong growth, with net sales increasing 13 percent to $167.7 billion in the second quarter, up from $148 billion in the year-ago period. Net income increased to $18.2 billion in the second quarter, or $1.68 per diluted share, compared with $13.5 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in second quarter 2024. Jassy highlighted some wins across Amazon's logistics operation, particularly as the company continues to restructure its inbound fulfillment network of warehouses near major ports to cut ground transportation expenses. According to the CEO, Amazon increased the share of orders moving through direct lanes—where packages go straight from fulfillment to delivery without extra stops—by over 40 percent year-over-year. 'We've also reduced the average distance packages traveled by 12 percent and lowered handling touches per unit by nearly 15 percent,' Jassy said. 'We've made progress on order consolidation with more products positioned locally, we're able to pack more items into each box and send fewer packages per order. That has helped drive higher units per box and improved overall cost to serve.' On the delivery end, which includes the company's $4 billion commitment to expanding same-day services in 4,000 rural communities, Amazon delivered 30 percent more items same day or next day in the U.S. than during the same period of last year. The faster deliveries have helped push Amazon's third-party sellers to an all-time high of 62 percent of units sold in the quarter, according to Jassy. Amazon's recently unveiled generative AI model for its warehouse robotics, Deepfleet, also got some shine in the call. Jassy said the model improves robot travel efficiency by 10 percent. 'At our scale, it's a big deal. DeepFleet acts like a traffic management system to coordinate robots' movements to find optimal paths and reduce bottlenecks,' Jassy said. 'For customers, it means faster delivery times and lower costs.' Although the firm's second quarter was strong on the surface, investors were not too impressed with Amazon's overall results. Stock declined nearly 7 percent in after-hours trading Thursday, largely due to cash cow Amazon Web Services (AWS) underperforming competitors. Despite forecasting third-quarter sales ahead of Wall Street estimates, Amazon issued a soft operating profit guidance of $15.5 billion to $20.5 billion in the period ending in September, compared with an average analyst estimate of $19.4 billion. Sales are forecast to be $174 billion to $179.5 billion, the company said Thursday in a statement. Estimates, on average, were $173.2 billion. The third quarter will include statistics from Prime Day, which took place from July 8-11—the longest iteration of the event Amazon has held. Jassy said the four-day shopping extravaganza drove records across sales, number of items sold and number of Prime signups in the three weeks leading up to the event.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
3 Top Stocks to Buy With $1,000 in August
Key Points This tech leader is seeing growing demand for cloud services, yet its stock trades at just 14 times expected earnings. A well-known athleisure superstar looks like it's oversold, and value investors should take a look. This diversified apparel company could be at the start of a turnaround. 10 stocks we like better than Alibaba Group › The stock market has shown incredible resiliency in 2025. After shaking off the trade wars and uncertainty for the economy, the S&P 500 is sitting close to new all-time highs. As August, which is historically a weak month for the markets, approaches, there are solid companies trading at reasonable valuations that are worth buying. If you have $1,000 to commit to a long-term investment plan, read why three Motley Fool contributors like Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU), and VF Corp (NYSE: VFC) right now. An undervalued tech giant (Alibaba): Shares of Alibaba are starting to climb out of the slump they've been in for the past few years. This is a great time to consider starting an investment in the tech giant. An improving economy in China and strong demand for the company's cloud services are major catalysts that could potentially double the share price within five years. Alibaba's e-commerce marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall, are posting steady growth in 2025. The March-ending quarter showed these businesses growing customer management revenue by 12% year over year. This primarily comes from fees charged to third-party merchants that sell goods on these marketplaces, which creates very profitable revenue streams for Alibaba. Alibaba has multiple levers to grow revenue in its e-commerce business. It credited recent growth from several initiatives, including the integration of its Cainiao logistics in its e-commerce business, in addition to new software service fees that helped capture a higher percentage of revenue from merchant activities. Another catalyst supporting the stock's recovery is strong growth in Alibaba Cloud. Enterprises are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) services at a rapid rate. Alibaba said its AI-related product revenue has grown at a triple-digit rate for seven consecutive quarters. Its investments in AI are positioning the company for strong growth over the next decade. Despite positive trends across the company, investors can buy shares at just 13.5 times this year's consensus earnings estimate -- a genuine bargain. The stock could double if investors pay a higher multiple of earnings that is consistent with the average S&P 500 price-to-earnings multiple of 30. Wall Street appears to be in the process of rerating Alibaba shares right now, making it a timely buy for the month of August. Too cheap to ignore Jennifer Saibil (Lululemon): Lululemon has been having a very tough time over the past few years, and its stock is down around 45% in 2025 alone. However, at the current price, it looks like the market is overselling it, and it's trading at a bargain price. After many years of strong growth, that growth has decelerated sharply. There are several factors working against it, including pressure in discretionary spending and increasing competition. Lululemon helped create the athleisure movement, but there are low barriers to entry in its industry. In fact, in the premium athleisure space, customers are often looking for the next important and exclusive brand. On top of that, there have been worries about how Lululemon will be affected by tariffs. It's no wonder investors have been losing enthusiasm for the stock. The 2025 fiscal first quarter (ended May 4) did little to quell the pessimism. Sales increased 7% year over year in the quarter, but comparable sales (comps) were up only 1%. Even worse, they decreased 2% in the Americas region. Management maintained its guidance for a mid-single-digit increase in revenue for the full year, but it revised its guidance down for full-year earnings per share (EPS). However, there's reason for optimism. Lululemon stock trades at a P/E ratio of only 14, and at this price, it looks like a good value. Lululemon is highly profitable with an operating margin of 18.5%. That was down 1.1 percentage points from last year in the first quarter, mostly due to tariffs. However, it's still industry-leading, way above similar athletic wear and regular apparel companies. The tariffs situation could be improving as the Trump administration continues to make deals with other countries. And in terms of other countries, although the Americas market has been disappointing, Lululemon is doing very well in China, where sales increased 22% over last year in Q1. At the current price, it could finally be time to give Lululemon stock another shot, especially if you're looking for a value stock. A turnaround is afoot at VF Corp. Jeremy Bowman (VF Corp): With the broad market at an all-time high, it may be a good time for investors to look to beaten-down stocks that could be undervalued. VF Corp. looks like one of those stocks right now. The apparel brand manager, which owns brands like Vans, The North Face, Timberland, and Dickies, has been one of the worst-performing apparel stocks in the market over the last five years. The stock is down about 85% from its peak in 2021. Weakness at Vans, a dividend cut, and broader headwinds on consumer discretionary products all weighed on the stock, but VF Corp. showed signs of a turnaround in the fiscal Q1 earnings report on Wednesday. While overall revenue was flat, the company delivered solid growth at all of its core brands except Vans, which is going through a "channel rationalization," meaning management is reducing the number of distribution points. However, Timberland was up 11%, and The North Face was up 6%. Vans, on the other hand, was down 14%, but the overall business is healthier than it might look. If management can stabilize Vans and improve profitability, the company should be on good footing. Its adjusted operating loss was much better than expected in Q1, and management's guidance calls for full-year growth in adjusted operating income and free cash flow. VF Corp. now trades at a price-to-sales ratio of just 0.5. That gives the stock upside potential if it can achieve a profit margin of just 5%, which would equal a price-to-earnings ratio of just 10 at the current P/S ratio. For a company with a set of well-known premium brands, that should be achievable. If the turnaround continues to make progress, VF could double or triple from here. Should you invest $1,000 in Alibaba Group right now? Before you buy stock in Alibaba Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Alibaba Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $625,254!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,090,257!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,036% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lululemon Athletica Inc. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Top Stocks to Buy With $1,000 in August was originally published by The Motley Fool
