The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1842 ET [Dow Jones]--Forsyth Barr lays out two reasons why it's pleased with Synlait Milk's sale of its North Island assets to health care company Abbott for NZ$307 million. The deal removes risk to Synlait's balance sheet. Forsyth Barr estimates Synlait will be net cash in FY 2026. Secondly, the transaction eliminates material losses, given the North Island assets had a NZ$20 million drag on Ebit in FY 2025. "It has served as a sharp lesson in the value of disciplined capital allocation," analyst Matt Montgomerie says. "We are glad this journey is over." Forsyth Barr upgrades Synlait to neutral, from underperform. Synlait is unchanged at NZ$0.835 today. (david.winning@wsj.com)
1741 ET - Cracker Barrel emphasized tradition in its latest announcement about changes to its marketing team, as the restaurant chain aims to recover from criticism that its now-reversed logo change was out of line with its old-school reputation. Chief Executive Julie Masino said the company intends to "build on Cracker Barrel's legacy and honor the traditions that make this brand so special." Cracker Barrel made some promotions from within and brought back Thomas Yun, who left in 2024 and has helped develop menu items for the company. Yun is replacing Matthew Banton, who joined the company about a year ago as vice president of marketing. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1727 ET - Cracker Barrel's shake-up of its marketing team raises further questions about the direction of its multi-million-dollar brand strategy. The restaurant chain made some additions and cuts to its leadership team, which it said would streamline operations and reduce management layers. Cracker Barrel has previously said it planned to spend $600 million to $700 million over the course of three years on transforming its image, a plan that included the ill-fated logo change. Customer traffic has also dropped since mid-August, which analysts say could be costly to the chain as it tries to win diners back. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1717 ET - Cracker Barrel has cut ties with the consultancy that advised its controversial logo change, which it reversed following pushback from social media and the White House. The restaurant chain says it ended its engagement with Prophet, the strategic and growth consulting company involved in the brand refresh. Cracker Barrel said in March it had appointed Prophet to help with restaurant redesigns, brand marketing campaigns and brand communication. Cracker Barrel is not only keeping its old logo, but also pausing remodeling plans inside its restaurants, after receiving criticism, including from President Trump. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1604 ET - U.S. stocks extend their tentative run higher as the government shutdown runs into a second day. Treasury Secretary Bessent warns the shutdown could be "a hit to growth." Materials stocks lead the gainers as the WSJ reports that President Trump is considering $10 billion or more in aid to U.S. farmers to help the economic fallout from his tariffs. Energy stocks fall the most as oil prices slide over worries about increased production from OPEC countries. DJIA gains 78 points, or 0.2%, to 46519, the S&P 500 adds 0.1% to 6715 and the Nasdaq rises 0.4% to 22844, all records. (patrick.sullivan@wsj.com)
1410 ET - Canada Packers first day as a publicly listed company wasn't so well received. The pork producer, recently spun out of Canada's Maple Leaf Foods, is off nearly 8% at C$17.95. Maple Leaf retains a 16% stake in the business, and has preferential pork supply agreements in place to receive what it needs for its own meat packaging business, which includes brands like Schneiders hot dogs and Greenfield Natural Meat. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1354 ET - Now that OpenAI has reached a $500 billion valuation, analysts see a few different avenues for the company to keep growing. UBS says OpenAI is likely to introduce more consumer AI agents on its ChatGPT platform, similar to the partnerships with Etsy and Shopify it announced earlier this week. That could include a travel booking agent, the analysts say. There is also a potential for an AI browser launch, posing competition to Google Chrome. The analysts say they wouldn't be surprised to see OpenAI also enhance its coding tools and other new features for creative AI and ChatGPT for business uses. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1334 ET - Countries around the world seek to expand their infrastructure while making it more sustainable, but priorities can be different depending on the region, says Thierry Déau, CEO at Meridiam. The French infrastructure-investment firm recently closed its latest North America-focused fund with over $1.8 billion. "In Africa, access to affordable energy is a critical issue, and drives much of our [deal] pipeline," Déau says. "In Europe, we are seeing opportunities for rail investment due to higher urban density." Meanwhile, most projects Meridiam looks to back in the U.S. are related to road and air travel, he says. "The need for improved transportation in the U.S. certainly remains front and center," Déau adds. "Simple upgrades of roads and airports requires billions of dollars." (luis.garcia@wsj.com; @lhvgarcia)
1256 ET - DraftKings' earnings could be pressured by new competition from prediction markets, Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Pizzella says. Prediction markets operator Kalshi's new same-game parlay feature creates new competition in a high-margin business for online sports betting platforms, Pizzella says. Sports-betting platforms currently realize about 60% gross gaming revenue from high-margin parlays, he says. Kalshi could also offer lower-priced parlays, which would make them an even bigger competitive threat to DraftKings and FanDuel, he says. DraftKings stock has dropped 17% since Kalshi launched its parlay product during Monday Night Football, while FanDuel parent Flutter has shed 12%. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1247 ET - President Trump's new tariffs on timber and lumber and kitchen cabinets and vanities could add $720 of additional cost to an average home, say UBS analysts. That brings the total tariff impact on average home construction cost to $8,900. The estimate does not include the impact of additional tariffs on upholstered wood products. But public homebuilders are well positioned with significant bargaining leverage to push those costs onto suppliers. The top 16 public builders controlled 47% of new construction as of the fourth quarter of last year, giving them the leverage to distribute costs across the housing supply chain. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1235 ET - DraftKing's 3Q is looking challenging, Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey says, reducing the stock's price target and third-quarter estimates. The business is pressured by unfavorable sports outcomes and elevated promotional expenses, which Hickey expects will bring 3Q results well below prior estimates. The rise of prediction markets has also shaken investor confidence, resulting in a drop in value this week, though Hickey sees those concerns as overstated. "We believe these factors will likely have a sustained near-term impact on valuation, even as our long-term thesis remains intact," he says. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1218 ET - Oil prices fall in evening trade, extending a four-day decline streak, with Brent crude down 1.5% at $64.36 a barrel and WTI sliding 1.6% to $60.77 a barrel. "The bigger swing factor remains supply policy," says Pepperstone's Felipe Barragan. "Markets are still digesting reports that OPEC+ could accelerate its scheduled increases--in size and timing--into November." Weekly U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles data didn't help, pointing to weaker demand in the world's largest oil consumer. Further losses are capped by concerns of Russian supply disruptions after news that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence support for long-range strikes against Moscow's energy infrastructure, and reports that the Group of Seven nations' finance ministers said they will take steps to increase pressure on the Kremlin. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 02, 2025 18:46 ET (22:46 GMT)
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