As the fall consumer tech season gets underway, smart glasses, with many components made in China, are becoming an emerging category. The glasses are a simpler version of Apple’s pricey Vision Pro, not to mention the high-end technology required for virtual reality headsets. Snap has launched augmented reality glasses; Meta is expected to do so at its own event starting on September 25th. Get attention. He said that second-generation smart glasses sold more than 1 million pairs in the first half of this year, while the first-generation sold 300,000 pairs between September 2021 and February 2023, he said. discontinued) has struggled to gain widespread acceptance beyond a niche audience. “We think an inflection point may be coming, triggered by the coming surge of AI assistants/agents,” he said, noting that one of the Hong Kong-listed HSBC Buy-rated picks riding on this trend is Sunny Optical. The analyst said: “Another reason why we are optimistic about Sunny is its leading technology in the field of wearable device optics, and we believe it will benefit from higher-than-expected demand for Ray-Ban smart glasses in the next two years.” “In our view, Under the base case, we estimate that Sunny’s smart glasses (non-smartphone camera modules) shipments will reach 2 million units and 5 million units respectively in 2024-25 (content value is approximately US$8-10), with other OEMs such as Xiaomi,” the HSBC report said. Sunny Optical is a Chinese supplier of products ranging from automobiles to microscopes. According to investors, the company also has factories in Vietnam and India. Low profile Sonny otherwise kept a low profile. However, CMB International analysts said in August that first-half fiscal year revenue in Europe and the United States grew by 32% and 15% respectively, “which means… strong sales from European automakers and Apple/Meta VR in the United States.” According to According to promotional materials, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which cost about US$300, allow users to take photos, edit short videos, listen to music and interact with Meta’s artificial intelligence features. The optical company’s non-smartphone camera module shipments surged about 61% for the full year through July, which HSBC attributed to “booming sales” of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. HSBC set a target price for Sunny Optical at HK$58.90 (US$7.56), an increase of approximately 30% from Friday’s closing price. The bank upgraded Sunny to a buy rating in late August. Still, Sunny Optical remains sensitive to the fiercely competitive smartphone and automotive markets. JPMorgan analysts were less optimistic in mid-August after Sunny Optical held its first-half earnings conference call. “While we also believe that the worst for Sunny Optical’s fundamentals is over and the recovery is on track, we maintain a neutral rating,” JPMorgan said, citing slower growth in high-end smartphone products than peers and automotive Business growth was also lower. JP Morgan’s target price is HK$55. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
