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.
1050 ET - The population of Roku City is growing. Roku says it surpassed 100 million streaming households worldwide, reporting that more than half of U.S. broadband households use Roku streaming devices. Business is also growing in international markets including Mexico, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Latin America. "As streaming grows worldwide, the Roku Home Screen increasingly serves as the first thing viewers see when they turn on their television, becoming the starting point for how audiences discover and watch TV," the company says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
0708 ET - Artificial-intelligence chips are likely sold out through 2026, Counterpoint analyst William Li says after TSMC's 1Q results. "A massive influx of orders for AI GPUs and AI ASICs is pushing manufacturing capacity to its limits," he notes. "Resilient demand for premium smartphones and aggressive capacity prebooking by clients anticipating price hikes" are further supporting demand for TSMC's chips, Li says. Counterpoint estimates that TSMC's overall capacity utilization rate surged past 95% in 1Q. It reckons utilization rates for advanced nodes such as N3, N4 and N5 have exceeded 100%. TSMC is well-positioned to sustain its momentum and continue hitting new highs this year, the analyst adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0524 ET - VAT Group's sales guidance for the second quarter is below expectations because of supply-chain bottlenecks linked to the Middle East conflict, UBS analysts write in a research note. The Swiss group--a key supplier to the semiconductor industry--expects sales between 265 million and 295 million Swiss francs for the current quarter, below a UBS forecast of 315 million francs. VAT Group said certain components were blocked in transit after the Iran war broke out in late February, forcing the company to defer some orders. "We think supply chain bottlenecks are playing a role in why revenues do not yet follow orders." VAT Group shares trade 0.95% lower at 561 Swiss francs. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0507 ET - VAT Group's sales projections for the second quarter are below expectations, Citi analysts write in a note to clients. The Swiss company--a key supplier to the semiconductor industry--forecasts sales between 265 million and 295 million Swiss francs for the current quarter. The midpoint at 280 million francs is below a Citi estimate of 315 million francs as well as Visible Alpha consensus of 303 million francs. VAT Group shares trade 1.6% lower at 557.20 Swiss francs. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0500 ET - Historically low valuations for software stocks suggest the sector is likely to recover, UniCredit's Tobias Keller writes. The selloff earlier this year in software--despite improved earnings guidance--left "the gap between recently rebounding prices and strong earnings growth unusually wide." European software stocks extend a rally that began earlier this week, with a sector gauge rising 1.8% in morning European trade after gaining 1.9% in the last session. German software giant SAP is up 2.1%, while Wolters Kluwer gains 1.8%. U.K. group Sage is 0.9% higher. The sector is boosted by a broader rally in tech after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s strong first-quarter earnings.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0422 ET - Informa's appointment of David Lynn as CEO of its inD partnership with Dubai World Trade Centre should reassure, Panmure Liberum's Johnathan Barrett writes in a note. The move by the London-listed events and academic-publishing group is likely to comfort investors as it signals that Informa is managing the business well despite a more complex backdrop than expected when the deal was completed, he says. Shares are up 0.4% at 819.80 pence. ( najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0418 ET - Shares of European semiconductor companies are on the rise after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a strong first quarter. The world's largest contract chip maker--a bellwether for the industry and artificial-intelligence demand--logged 58% growth in net profit to 572.48 billion New Taiwan dollars ($18.12 billion). Revenue climbed 35% from a year earlier to 1.134 trillion New Taiwan dollars. Shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are up 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively. Shares of BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, are up 1.3%. German chip maker Infineon Technologies is up 0.9%. STMicroelectronics shares are up 0.4%. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0405 ET - TSMC's robust results and guidance show that robust artificial-intelligence demand is more than offsetting cost pressures, says Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro. TSMC raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to above 30% from around 30% in U.S. dollar terms after its 1Q results. Although the Middle East conflict and energy shock pushed up chemical and gas prices, TSMC has the power to command premium pricing, he says. "Companies building out AI infrastructure are not pulling back on spending. If anything, they're accelerating," the analyst says. TSMC's results also should provide confidence heading into results from the likes of Amazon, Meta and Microsoft over the coming weeks, he says. Shares last ended at NT$2,085.00. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0130 ET - UMS Integration's 2026-2028 earnings upcycle is likely to be strong, CGS International's William Tng says in a research report. Having renewed its three-year integrated system contract with a major customer, together with the progress in manufacturing of new products for this customer and a new client, the company is confident of its 2026 outlook. In its 2025 annual report, the precision engineering group noted that both customers have forecasted robust demand growth for 2026 and 2027 driven by the acceleration of AI applications. The brokerage lifts its 2026-2028 revenue forecasts for UMS Integration by 0.2%-12.7%. It raises the stock's target price to S$2.23 from S$1.88 with an unchanged add rating. Shares are 8.4% higher at S$1.94. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0035 ET - Lens Technology's 1Q results missed expectations and the company may be entering a transition period with its consumer electronics business under pressure and new businesses emerging and ramping up, Citi analyst Kyna Wong says in a note. Citi says that despite the disappointing results, the investment bank believes Lens will likely benefit from expectations that major clients such as Apple will be restocking from late 2Q to late 3Q. The bank cuts Lens Technology's target price for its A shares to CNY30.00 from CNY32.00 and for its H shares to HK$25.00 from HK$27.00 to reflect the 1Q earnings miss. The bank prefers the company's H shares, citing better risk-reward. Lens's A shares are down 13% at CNY25.83 and its H shares are down 14% at HK$16.88. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)
2157 ET - Canon Marketing Japan is likely pivoting to IT services using parent company Canon's sales networks, say SMBC Nikko Securities analysts. The Japanese company sells Canon products and offers contracted system development and other IT solutions, the analysts note. Canon Marketing Japan will probably continue to capitalize on its strengths and organizational structure, while expanding IT solutions business to raise sales and margins, achieving 5.3% net-profit CAGR over the next five years. This growth is expected to be partly driven by the usage of Canon products to develop new customer relationships with small- and medium-size enterprises. The brokerage initiates its coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and a target price of Y4,150. Shares are 2.9% higher at Y3,645. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
2105 ET - New Zealand-based telecoms company Chorus's 3Q connections update was encouraging, Forsyth Barr says. It featured the largest sequential increase in Chorus's total quarterly fiber zone connections since 2Q of FY 2018. "Alongside the step-up in fiber uptake, there was also a stabilization in mix, with fewer consumers trading down to lower speed plans," analyst Ben Crozier says. "Both represent an improvement on recent trends." Together, they should help reduce Chorus's reliance on larger price increases to fully earn its maximum allowable revenue--a key metric--over the medium term, Forsyth Barr says. It retains a neutral call and NZ$9.95/share price target on Chorus, which is up 1.8% at NZ$9.60.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 16, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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