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    John Roy

    Research Analyst at Water Tower Research LLC

    John Roy is a Managing Director, Technology Equity Research Analyst at Water Tower Research LLC, specializing in the coverage of fintech, blockchain, payments, and digital assets companies. He provides research and analysis on firms such as Bakkt Holdings, GreenBox POS, NetCents Technology, and MoneyLion, with a long-standing record of actionable investment insights for institutional investors. Roy's career began in 2000, and he previously held senior analyst roles at Janney Montgomery Scott, Aegis Capital, and Merrill Lynch before joining Water Tower Research in early 2021. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63, 86, and 87 licenses, is recognized for comprehensive sector expertise, and has been ranked on platforms like TipRanks with a historical success rate above 60% and average annualized returns exceeding benchmark indices.

    John Roy's questions to Gorilla Technology Group (GRRR) leadership

    John Roy's questions to Gorilla Technology Group (GRRR) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    John Roy from Water Tower Research inquired about the volatility in gross margins and when they might stabilize, and also asked for an update on the company's efforts in the U.S., particularly with its partner Aecom.

    Answer

    CFO Bruce Bauer explained that H1 gross margins were lower due to a higher mix of hardware deliveries, but he reaffirmed the full-year target of 40% as the mix shifts back towards software and services. CEO Jay Chandan added that the company's strategic shift to multi-year recurring revenue contracts will lead to more predictable and stable margins over time. Regarding U.S. efforts, Mr. Chandan confirmed the ongoing partnership with Aecom and also highlighted collaborations with Cisco, HPE, and NVIDIA, as well as the One Amazon project's U.S. tokenization strategy.

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    John Roy's questions to Gorilla Technology Group (GRRR) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    John Roy of Water Tower Research LLC asked for clarification on gross margin volatility and when it might stabilize, and also inquired about the company's U.S. efforts, particularly its relationship with Aecom.

    Answer

    Bruce Bower, CFO, explained that H1 gross margin was lower due to a higher hardware mix but reiterated the full-year 40% target based on the expected H2 mix, noting that full-year margins should stabilize over time. Jay Chandan, Chairman & CEO, added that the company is shifting to multi-year contracts to create more predictable revenue. Regarding U.S. efforts, Jay confirmed the ongoing work with Aecom and also highlighted relationships with Cisco, HPE, and NVIDIA.

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    John Roy's questions to Gorilla Technology Group (GRRR) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Inquired about the company's strategy to sustain its high growth rate and asked for details on the composition of the current backlog for 2025 and 2026.

    Answer

    The company detailed a six-part strategy for growth, including converting pipeline, securing long-term contracts, new partnerships, financial discipline, market visibility, and a strategic acquisition in Thailand. The 2025 backlog is $93M (mostly existing clients) and the 2026 backlog is $70M (mix of new and existing clients).

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    John Roy's questions to Gorilla Technology Group (GRRR) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    John Roy asked about the definitive steps Gorilla Technology is taking to sustain its high growth rate and requested more color on the composition of its current sales pipeline and backlog.

    Answer

    CEO Jay Chandan outlined a six-pronged strategy for sustained growth, focusing on converting its pipeline, executing multi-year contracts, entering new markets with new partners, maintaining financial discipline, increasing market visibility, and pursuing a strategic acquisition in Thailand. CFO Bruce Bower clarified the 2025 backlog is $93M, primarily from existing contracts, while the 2026 backlog currently stands at $70M from a mix of existing and new clients.

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    John Roy's questions to Gorilla Technology Group (GRRR) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    John Roy from Water Tower Research asked about the definitive steps Gorilla Technology is taking to sustain its high growth rate and requested more details on the composition of its current pipeline and backlog.

    Answer

    CEO Jay Chandan outlined a six-part strategy for sustained growth, including converting the pipeline, securing multi-year contracts, entering new markets, maintaining financial discipline, increasing market visibility, and pursuing a strategic acquisition in Thailand. CFO Bruce Bower specified that the 2025 backlog is $93 million, primarily from existing contracts, while the 2026 backlog currently stands at $70 million from a mix of existing and new clients.

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    John Roy's questions to SurgePays (SURG) leadership

    John Roy's questions to SurgePays (SURG) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    John Roy from Water Tower Research LLC inquired about the primary drivers of the accelerating Lifeline activations and how Surgepays balances its strategic priorities and resource allocation between the Lifeline and LinkUp wireless businesses.

    Answer

    President & CEO Brian Cox explained that growth is driven by focusing on high-margin states with profitability similar to the former ACP program. He stated that the company prioritizes the 'known' and predictable revenue from Lifeline to achieve cash flow positivity quickly, viewing the market adoption for the prepaid LinkUp service as more of a 'grind' that requires a different, longer-term approach.

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    John Roy's questions to SES AI (SES) leadership

    John Roy's questions to SES AI (SES) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    John Roy of Water Tower Research LLC inquired about the general feedback from enterprise users of Molecular Universe, what new features they are requesting, and the timeline and potential features for the next software release, such as cost and manufacturability inputs.

    Answer

    Qichao Hu, Founder, Chairman & CEO, responded that users are less focused on new features and more on leveraging the platform's accuracy to solve extremely difficult problems that human scientists have been unable to resolve. The primary test is its ability to deliver solutions beyond human capability. Hu projected the next version of Molecular Universe would be released around September or October, and it will include more accurate cell-level data to enhance prediction accuracy. He also confirmed that manufacturability considerations are being integrated into the system.

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    John Roy's questions to FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM (FIBK) leadership

    John Roy's questions to FIRST INTERSTATE BANCSYSTEM (FIBK) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    John Roy, on for Jared Shaw, asked CEO Jim Reuter about any positive or negative surprises with the bank's technology platform given his background. He also inquired about the loan yield outlook for 2025 and the bank's exposure to the senior living sector following the downgrade of two related credits.

    Answer

    CEO Jim Reuter responded that surprises have been positive, highlighting the quality of the team and the growth markets. He noted the bank's technology stack has all the necessary tools and can be better leveraged with a focus on organic growth. Deputy CFO David Redmon added that loan yields are expected to move modestly higher through 2025, excluding rate impacts. Mr. Reuter clarified that the bank does not view senior living as a 'vertical' and that the recent downgrades were credit-specific, not industry-related.

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    John Roy's questions to FiscalNote Holdings (NOTE) leadership

    John Roy's questions to FiscalNote Holdings (NOTE) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    John Roy from Water Tower Research asked for color on the competitive landscape for FiscalNote's identified growth opportunities, questioning whether these were greenfield markets or if established players were already present.

    Answer

    President and COO Joshua Resnik clarified that the growth opportunities, particularly in international, are focused on better leveraging FiscalNote's existing proprietary global data sets and content. He explained the strategy is to drive deeper engagement and upsell with the current customer base through improved product experiences, rather than entering entirely new competitive arenas.

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    John Roy's questions to Crexendo (CXDO) leadership

    John Roy's questions to Crexendo (CXDO) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    John Roy asked about the potential size of the market opportunity created by Microsoft's platform changes and requested a summary of Crexendo's main investment priorities for the upcoming year.

    Answer

    CEO Jeffrey Korn described the Microsoft opportunity as very large, positioning Crexendo as a leading alternative. CRO Jon Brinton noted it is a long-tail opportunity with end-of-life dates extending to 2029. Korn identified three key investment priorities: 1) continued investment in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) for agility, 2) implementation of a new Oracle accounting system for scalability, and 3) a renewed focus on pursuing substantial acquisitions, supported by the company's strong cash position.

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