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.
1412 ET - Knight-Swift Transportation delivered a disappointing 4Q driven by weakness across the board, analysts at Morgan Stanley say. The trucking company's EPS missed Wall Street expectations after an anticipated seasonal demand lift came too late to help the quarter's performance. Still, the analysts say management seemed encouraged by late-December momentum in the truckload business and trends sequentially better in less-than-truckload. In the meantime, Knight-Swift is focused on shrinking structural costs, which the analysts say should expand the company's 2026 margins whether demand materializes or not. (amira.mckee@wsj.com)
1129 ET - Elon Musk gave bold predictions for progress in artificial-intelligence during a conversation with BlackRock's Larry Fink at Davos. "The rate at which AI is progressing, I think we might have AI that is smarter than any human by the end of this year, and I would say no later than next year," Musk says. "Probably by 2030 or 2031, call it five years from now, AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1124 ET - It'll be a big two years for Elon Musk and his robots. The Tesla CEO says during a conversation with BlackRock's Larry Fink at Davos, that he expects his company's robotaxi service will be widespread across the U.S. by the end of this year, adding that he hopes to see full-self-driving approval in Europe and possibly China next month. Looking ahead, Musk says he expects to begin selling humanoid robots to the public by the end of 2027. "That's when we are confident that it's very high reliability, very high safety, and the range of functionality is also very high," he says. "You can basically ask it to do anything you'd like."(elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1120 ET - Elon Musk says the cost of artificial-intelligence is "plummeting" year after year, adding that the current bottleneck from widely scaled AI is power generation. "I think the limiting factor for AI deployment is fundamentally electrical power," he says, during a conversation with BlackRock's Larry Fink at Davos, noting that chip production is rapidly outpacing energy production. "Maybe even later this year, we'll be producing more chips than we can turn on," he says, making an exception for China, which is producing solar energy at a clip. He says two of his companies, SpaceX and Tesla, are separately working toward building 100 gigawatts a year of solar power in the U.S., which he said could take roughly three years. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
0822 ET - International trading patterns are "absolutely" being rerouted to avoid directly arriving in the U.S., Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Noel Hacegaba says in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Hacegaba still forecasts a busy 2026 for Long Beach trade traffic, but says it won't hit the peaks reached in 2025. Competition from other ports benefiting from U.S. avoidance, as well as a trend of deglobalization, is encouraging the port to proactively seek out other markets. "We have to be resilient, we have to be agile," Hacegaba says. The emptying of stockpiles built up over tariff fears will support trade flows to the U.S., he adds. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0517 ET - German warship builder TKMS's MEKO frigate is emerging as the only credible alternative to the F126 frigate program led by Naval Vessels Lurssen, MWB-Research analyst Jens-Peter Rieck says. Naval Vessels Lurssen was recently acquired by Rheinmetall. The F126 has been mired in delays and contractor issues, pushing the German defense ministry to consider other options, he adds. Rising geopolitical tensions underline the renewed strategic importance of battleships, strengthening the long-term investment case, he notes. TKMS remains MWB-Research's top long-term pick in the defense sector. MWB-Research lifts its rating on TKMS's stock to buy from hold, and its price target to 125 euros from 102 euros. Shares in TKMS are up 0.7% at 99 euros. (cristina.gallardo@wsj.com)
0422 ET - European defense stocks continue to fall after President Trump announced that he had reached a framework for a deal over Greenland and Arctic security with Mark Rutte, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Italy's Fincantieri falls 3%, Sweden's Saab loses 2.7%, while Germany's biggest arms maker Rheinmetall, Norway's Kongsberg Gruppen and Italy's Leonardo are all down 2.2%. German sensors provider Hensoldt is down 2%, followed by the U.K.'s Babcock International Group and QinetiQ, both falling 1.5%. In Paris, Dassault Aviation and Thales are both down 1.3%. (cristina.gallardo@wsj.com)
2230 ET - Singapore's construction sector is set to outperform, given strong demand and a new wave of infrastructure investments, UOB Kay Hian analysts write in a research report. There are many major public sector projects in the pipeline, including the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System, as well as coastal protection and flood mitigation works. Listed contractors also have a strong orderbook visibility of two to four years. UOB KH maintains an overweight rating on Singapore's construction sector, pegging Centurion Corp., Reclaims Global and Tiong Woon Corp. as its top picks.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)
2047 ET - Malaysia's automotive industry appears to be facing intensifying price competition that could weigh on margins, with any gains in market share likely to come at the expense of profitability, TA Securities analyst Angeline Chin says in a note. While auto sales rose modestly in 2025, growth was driven mainly by foreign brands, particularly Chinese and smaller marques, heightening competition and margin pressure for local companies. Rising electric-vehicle adoption is also reshaping pricing and competitive dynamics in the traditional passenger-vehicle market. Chin expects 2026 auto sales to drop 8.6% to 750,000 units, reflecting a cautious sector outlook. TA Securities maintains an underweight rating on Malaysia's auto sector and keeps Bermaz Auto, MBM Resources and Sime Darby at sell. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2026 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)
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