The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0721 GMT - Sony Group is likely to retain its strong earnings and cash flow on the Japanese conglomerate's portfolio shift towards its entertainment business, says S&P Global Ratings in a note. Sony's entertainment business, including games, music, film and anime, could benefit from sustained growth in global demand for content, the ratings company says. These segments are likely to account for 60% of total Ebitda by end-March and support Ebitda margin reaching 18%-20% over the next one to two years. Sony could also leverage content crossover between segments as a unique strength, which S&P says differentiates it from peers. Still, each individual segment's competitiveness is somewhat weaker than those of Sony's global entertainment peers. S&P Global Ratings raises its long-term issuer credit rating on Sony and its foreign subsidiary to 'A+' from 'A'.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0540 GMT - Artificial intelligence is emerging as the most important driver of investment returns, Hamilton Lane says in its 2026 market overview. The private-markets firm argues concerns around tariffs, interest rates and the dollar may be overstated relative to AI's structural impact on markets. The performance of AI investments so far doesn't resemble a classic bubble, it says, noting much of the spending comes from companies with large balance sheets and cash flows, though it is still early days. Public markets seem heavily leveraged to large-language models, while private markets cover a broader range of the AI ecosystem, it adds. AI-related companies staying private for longer are likely to accrue gains to private investors, the report says.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0207 GMT - Tencent is relatively better positioned than its peers in the evolving AI agent landscape, Citi analysts say in a note. Tencent's dominant communication platforms in China--QQ and Weixin--provide a unique ecosystem advantage that allows seamless user management of AI agents, they note. Despite growing concerns about security risks given the surging popularity of OpenClaw in China, the analysts think Tencent's OpenClaw-like AI agent WorkBuddy seems to be a safer solution domestically as it runs within its secure cloud and bypasses local machine installation risks. "We remain constructive on Tencent's competitive standing and upcoming AI developments leveraging its existing ecosystem strengths," they add. Shares are last at HK$550.50. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
2358 GMT - Nine Entertainment could be at risk of being cut from Australia's S&P/ASX 200 at the benchmark stock index's June rebalance, Canaccord Genuity analyst Lachlan Woods warns. While the rebalance's three-month reference period began only recently, Woods flags the Australian media conglomerate as a possible candidate for removal. Nine's market capitalization has fallen since last year's divestment of its controlling stake in property advertiser Domain, and distribution of most of the A$1.4 billion proceeds to shareholders. Woods expects Temple & Webster, SiteMinder, WEB Travel, and Guzman Y Gomez to be removed. He sees 4DMedical, Electro Optic Systems, Alkane Resources and Kingsgate being added, but cautions that other moves are possible depending on M&A activity. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
Macquarie Technology's A$200 million investment from an Australian sovereign wealth fund is seen at Canaccord Genuity as a strong endorsement of its business. Analyst Conor O'Prey tells clients in a note that the investment from Australia's National Reconstruction Fund is a particular vote of confidence in the telecommunications provider's cloud services and government offering. O'Prey writes that the investment gives Macquarie Technology significant flexibility over its future funding options. He adds that NRF is likely to have conducted extensive due diligence, so the implied endorsement is a real positive. Canaccord Genuity has a buy rating and A$95.00 target price on the stock, which is down 1.8% at A$65.95. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
2340 GMT - Macquarie Technology's A$200 million investment from an Australian sovereign wealth fund is seen at Cannacord Genuity as a strong endorsement of its business. Analyst Conor O'Prey tells clients in a note that the investment from Australia's National Reconstruction Fund is a particular vote of confidence in the telecommunications provider's cloud services and government offering. O'Prey writes that the investment gives Macquarie Technology significant flexibility over its future funding options. He adds that NRF is likely to have conducted extensive due diligence, so the implied endorsement is a real positive. Canaccord Genuity has a buy rating and A$95.00 target price on the stock, which is down 1.8% at A$65.95. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
2048 GMT - Information technology was the sector that generated the highest gross annualized return--22.9%--for buyout funds worldwide during the past decade, according to performance benchmarks produced by HarbourVest Partners, a private-market investment firm in Boston. When measured during the past five years, however, the sector's 17.1% annualized return trailed those of industrial and financial sectors, at 21.2% and 19% respectively, HarbourVest says. "The consumer sector has faced persistent headwinds, trailing the aggregate benchmark" in both periods, the firm says. Within the technology sector, buyout funds have favored software makers, "whereas public markets have a stronger appetite for chip and hardware companies," HarbourVest adds. "Within industrials, buyouts have also focused more on services-oriented companies than the public markets." (luis.garcia@wsj.com; @lhvgarcia)
1714 GMT - Oracle's vertically integrated stack of cloud infrastructure, AI data and applications positions the company to capture an outsized portion of AI-driven demand, Cantor analysts say. A vertically integrated stack means Oracle owns multiple layers of the production process for cloud infrastructure. That makes Oracle better positioned than other software-as-a-service app providers because it is getting end-to-end engagement from enterprise customers, the analysts say. "Given its diverse product set, Oracle appears to be taking a more disruptive approach to deploying AI agents across its applications and application suites," the analysts write. Shares gain 9%. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1641 GMT - Oracle's 3Q beat was driven by its cloud infrastructure business, William Blair analysts say. The 81% jump in cloud infrastructure revenue helped drive an 18% increase in overall quarterly revenue, the analysts say. However, the increasing share of sales coming from cloud infrastructure did way on adjusted gross margins, which were just under 66%, they say. Oracle was able to show a sequential improvement in operating margin thanks to recent headcount reductions, as the company is using more AI tools internally to drive productivity and efficiency. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1626 GMT - Oracle dispelled a lot of concerns about its AI business, but still has challenges to overcome with tight supply, Jefferies analysts say. The cloud-computing company guided for cloud revenue to grow 44% to 48% in the current fourth quarter, which was a little lighter than the 48% growth Wall Street was estimating. The analysts say this likely reflects ongoing supply constraints and the timing of AI capacity deliveries. Demand is exceeding supply and Oracle has a sizable backlog, the analysts say. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1617 GMT - Oracle's earnings report doesn't entirely resolve ongoing debates about AI monetization, but it did hit on all the key points investors were worried about, Deutsche Bank analysts say. The cloud-computing company showed consistent execution to sustain cloud infrastructure acceleration into fiscal 2027, the analysts say. It also had high-teens growth in adjusted operating income, which reaffirms the profit-accretive nature of AI infrastructure, they say. Finally, Oracle's backlog is getting an extra boost from non-AI opportunities and non-capital-intensive AI, they say. "This leaves us walking away with further conviction in our view that the risk/reward skews strongly to the upside from here," the analysts say. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1438 GMT - Microsoft has a lot at stake in Anthropic's fate, likely contributing to its decision to support the artificial-intelligence company amid its ongoing fight with the Pentagon. Microsoft previously agreed to invest $5 billion in Anthropic's latest fundraising round. As part of that investment, Anthropic also agreed to buy $30 billion worth of cloud services from Microsoft. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 12, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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