The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1537 ET - Signals of a coming wave of mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings are good for alternative asset managers the same way they are good for banks, Oppenheimer analysts write in a note. They view the Alts as irrationally undervalued due to fears of a private credit meltdown, and suggest that investors should reallocate some capital from traditional banks to stocks like KKR, Ares Management, Blue Owl, or Blackstone. Jeffries is another stock that has been hit by private credit fears but nonetheless stands to benefit from the investment banking cycle, they write. "While the bank stock prices generally seem to reflect good news, the Alts are assuming a lot of bad news," the analysts write. "Moreover, it is far-fetched in our minds to posit both an M&A rebound and a private credit meltdown at the same time." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1458 ET - Enphase Energy plans to lower distributor list prices for batteries in Europe by about 10% in May amid intense competition, particularly from low-cost string inverters and battery providers, CEO Badri Kothandaraman says during a call with analysts. That follows a 20% price cut for microinverters implemented in December, Kothandaraman says. The moves come as Europe becomes an increasingly critical market for batteries, he says. "As self-consumption, dynamic tariffs and VPP [virtual power plants] become more important, the company that wins the battery relationship is well positioned to win the broader home energy system over time, including solar, software and VPP," he says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1417 ET - Bloom Energy has a long runway of growth as AI-driven demand for power is only expected to increase, Evercore ISI analysts say. Because Bloom can bypass permitting and permission hurdles needed for other types of resources, its fuel cells will likely be the power source of choice for AI companies, the analysts say. The company has also quelled investors' concerns about supply, the analysts say. Management said it can add hundreds of megawatts worth of capacity per quarter. Shares climb 24%. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1350 ET - Uber is taking steps to become more of a one-stop shop for travel. Through a partnership with Expedia, the ride-hailing platform will allow U.S. users to book hotel stays through its app, with plans to also add vacation-rental properties listed through Expedia-owned Vrbo later this year. The company is also expanding into travel with other changes, including a new "travel mode" within the Uber and Uber Eats apps that offers recommendations on local favorites, tourist destinations and OpenTable reservations. The mode also offers Uber's version of "room service," allowing users to order food or forgotten items directly to their hotel door. "Users can now think of the Uber app as a personal travel concierge," the company says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1347 ET - Bloom Energy's demand shows no signs of slowing down, Susquehanna analysts say. Demand for the company's fuel cells is driven by persistent power growth trends in the U.S. and a lack of available power grid, the analysts say. Oracle is also using up to 2.45 gigawatts of Bloom's fuel cells to power its AI data center campus being built in New Mexico, which was originally slated to use gas turbines and diesel generators. The analysts say this Oracle deal will be by far the biggest single deployment of backlog of the fuel cells. Shares gain 23%. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1345 ET - Uber and Expedia are teaming up to offer each others' services on their respective platforms. Under the partnership, Uber customers will be able to book hotels directly in the ride-hailing app, with access to a selection of properties listed on Expedia. And following an initial pilot, Uber rides will be integrated directly in the Expedia app beginning in June. Travelers will receive push notifications before their hotel check-in date to book Uber rides at a discount for the duration of their trip, Uber says. Expedia says the partnership aims to make travel feel effortless. "This partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveler experience," Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1339 ET - Enphase Energy overshipped by about $25 million in the first quarter due to lower-than-expected sell-through, a result of weak U.S. residential demand, TD Cowen analysts say in a note. The company will now undership in the current quarter to get back on track, the analysts say. Those dynamics put Enphase's first-quarter results and second-quarter guidance for sell-through about 10% to 15% below management's prior expectations, weighed down by tax equity challenges and the expiration of a federal tax credit for homeowner-owned residential solar panels, the analysts say. Shares fall 11%, to $30.50. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1326 ET - Mondelez's 1Q results are cause for increased confidence about the company's prospects next year, Stifel analysts say in a note. Revenue growth and profit performance were strong, and higher cocoa costs seem to be gradually abating, but the real bright spots are sequential improvements in volume across each major category and region, as well as overall organic sales growth of +3%, the analysts say. Looking ahead to 2027 the analysts say, "we believe the company is well positioned to outperform its high-single-digit earnings growth target while increasing investment to maintain sustainable topline momentum." Mondelez rises 5.4%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1305 ET - Mondelez International has successfully positioned itself for growth and managed to resist input cost inflation, JPMorgan analysts say in a note. Cocoa costs are expected to turn deflationary in the second half of the year, and though direct fuel and packaging costs could rise, it won't be enough to swing the company's outlook for cost of goods sold, they add. "We view MDLZ as the rare U.S. food company that seems poised to return to volume growth and eventually outsized earnings growth--and we believe multiple expansion could follow," the analysts say. "This stands in contrast to larger cap peers that continue to grapple with how to stimulate volume growth while trying to manage deteriorating balance sheets, elevated dividend payout ratios, and sticky input cost inflation." Mondelez climbs 5.6%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1249 ET - Pershing Square's initial public offering adopts the structure of a closed-end fund, but the company will be different from other closed-end funds in scale, governance and strategy, Bill Ackman says on CNBC. Using the closed-end fund structure allows it to buy minority or majority stakes, use derivatives to hedge risk and benefit from having only one layer of tax. But whereas in traditional closed end funds, most of the investors are retail, in this IPO, more than 80% of the investors were institutions, Ackman says. A $200 billion family office invested, while a pension fund invested $500 million, he says. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1245 ET - Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth says the restaurant chain is making measurable progress against its key initiatives, even though macroeconomic challenges have hurt near-term results. The company is investing in new back-of-house equipment, dubbed the Wingstop Smart Kitchen, which has contributed to meaningful improvements in speed, accuracy and consistency across the company's network of stores, Skipworth says on a call with analysts. Wingstop has additionally launched a loyalty program that is driving deeper engagement, with members ordering greater volumes of food and more frequently than non-members. "We believe loyalty will be a meaningful driver over time, particularly as we scale nationally and integrate more deeply into our digital ecosystem," Skipworth says. The chain is also stepping up its marketing efforts to attract more customers, he adds. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1240 ET - Consumers are pulling back on eating out, as they are forced to pay more at the gas pump. "Rapidly rising gas prices stressed the balance sheet of the lower-income consumer that our business over-indexes to," Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth says on a call with analysts. "As a result, our same-store sales trend worsened during the quarter and resulted in a decline of 8.7%." The restaurant chain was also hurt by winter storms early in the year that prompted temporary store closures at over 700 locations, he adds. "If you exclude these unusual external factors, performance would have broadly been in line with our expectations," Skipworth says. Wingstop sinks 5%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2026 15:37 ET (19:37 GMT)
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