The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
2044 GMT - The agreed merger of Mexican low-cost carriers Volaris and Viva Aerobus is likely to face regulatory obstacles, Citi analyst Filipe Nielsen says in a note. While the merger could greatly help Volaris recover profitability, "it's hard to see the deal being approved intact in our view," he says. "Antitrust approval could be challenging and create at least some remedy for the deal, especially considering potential pressure from other airlines (such as Aeromexico, the U.S. supermajors), airport operators, or even potential political-related setbacks." Volaris shares rise 14% on the Mexican stock exchange.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1824 GMT - Carnival's 4Q results and positive outlook are a "sigh of relief" for the cruise industry, according to Melius Research in a report. Carnival acknowledged oversupply in the Caribbean market, but its projections of yield growth bode well for cruise lines' ability to adapt, especially if they follow Carnival's example of disciplined revenue management. "The change from Carnival should drive confidence that when capacity swings (this is not an if) in certain markets the goal remains to maximize revenue, but with a crucial focus on maintaining price integrity," analysts Conor Cunningham and Patrick Coleman write, adding that overall demand in the travel industry is normalizing. Carnival climbs 9%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1812 GMT - FedEx is facing several headwinds heading into the back half of the fiscal year, posing a "tale of two halves" after momentum in the first half, JPMorgan analysts say in a note. The analysts point to cost headwinds related to accelerated hiring in the company's freight division, which continues to lose fundamental momentum, they say. Costs associated with the grounding of all MD-11 planes after a UPS cargo plane crash also pose an obstacle, even if they could be viewed as temporary, they say. "FedEx will ultimately need to replace or upgrade aircraft that cannot be retired through efficiency gains or network reorganizations," they say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1808 GMT - Lyft is most at risk of being disrupted by autonomous vehicles, Wedbush analysts say, downgrading the stock to underperform from neutral. The company is heavily exposed to the U.S. ridesharing market and has an undiversified offering mix, the analysts say. They think autonomous-vehicle operators will opt for more first-party distribution, which will make it hard for Lyft to carve out a specialized focus within autonomous driving. "We believe the market is underestimating the negative terminal value impact that AVs may have on Lyft's DCF [discounted cash flow] value," the analysts say. Lyft is off 2.5%, and up 50% year-to-date. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1752 GMT - FedEx's latest results offer an encouraging sign of progress in its Express business, Citi analysts say in a note. The company's better-than-expected earnings were driven by Express growth, helped by strong new wins with business-to-business clients and wallet share gains with existing customers, the analysts say. Those dynamics show the company "is making progress on its long-term revenue quality and margin improvement goals at Express," they say. However, they note the setup in the current quarter appears more challenging, as the company backed off its target for sequential earnings growth in each quarter of the year. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 20, 2025 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments